Armie Hammer now under investigation by LAPD after woman comes forward with rape accusation
Warning: The following contains descriptions of sexual assault.
According to Variety, the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed that it has opened an investigation into rape accusations made against Armie Hammer, saying in a statement that he is the “main suspect” in an alleged sexual assault. This comes after a woman—choosing only to be identified as “Effie”—came forward today in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred to publicly make accusations that she first started sharing anonymously on social media earlier this year (at least that’s the assumption, as Allred would not confirm whether or not Effie is the same person who posted these claims on Instagram). The woman says that Hammer “violently” raped her “for over four hours” in April of 2017, saying, “he repeatedly slapped my head against a wall, bruising my face,” in addition to “other acts of violence” like hurting her feet so she couldn’t walk. She also added that she tried to get away from him, but “he wouldn’t let me.” Afterward, Effie says, Hammer left “with no concern” for whether she was okay.
Effie hasn’t pressed charges and Allred wouldn’t say whether or not her client filed a police report in 2017 when the alleged rape occurred, but she has given the authorities evidence that she “thinks might be relevant.” Since the press conference, as noted above, the LAPD has begun an investigation of some sort.
Hammer has denied the allegations, with his attorney saying that all of the actor’s relationships have been “completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory.” The attorney also shared an image of a text message, supposedly between Hammer and Effie, in which the actor seemingly tries to distance himself from her. The attorney says it is “just one of hundreds.” These are just the latest developments in weeks of scandal that have left Hammer’s career dismantled, with him dropping out of a rom-com, losing his agent, and leaving a series about the making of The Godfather.