Armie Hammer exits Broadway play The Minutes amid cannibalism and abuse allegations saying: ‘I need to focus on my health for the sake of my family’
- Hammer, 34, has left Broadway play The Minutes amid the fallout from his cannibalism controversy and rape allegations which first came to light last year
- The actor announced Friday that he will be leaving the production due to ‘personal reasons’ following sexual assault allegations made against him
- Leaked texts about BDSM, cannibalism and excessive drug use gave way to Armie being dropped from the Jennifer Lopez film Shotgun Wedding this year
- Los Angeles police said last month they had opened an investigation into rape allegations made against Hammer after a former partner filed a complaint
Armie Hammer has announced that he will exit the new play The Minutes on Broadway amid his ongoing cannibalism controversy and abuse claims.
The 34-year-old actor announced Friday that he will be leaving the production due to ‘personal reasons’ following sexual assault allegations made against him.
‘I have loved every single second of working on The Minutes with the family I made from Steppenwolf. But right now I need to focus on myself and my health for the sake of my family,’ Hammer said in a statement, adding: ‘Consequently, I will not be returning to Broadway with the production.’
Out: Armie Hammer exits Broadway play The Minutes amid cannibalism and abuse allegations saying: ‘I need to focus on my health for the sake of my family’
Meanwhile, a statement from the production – via Variety – of the play said: ‘Armie remains a valued colleague to all of us who have worked with him onstage and offstage on The Minutes. We wish only the best for him and respect his decision.’
The play by Tracy Letts was set to debut in March 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic saw the whole of Broadway temporarily shut down.
The exit comes just one day after it was revealed that he’d been replaced in yet another on-screen opportunity amid the fallout from his cannibalism controversy and rape allegations which first came to light last year.
Hammer was initially set to star alongside Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in the Watergate drama Gaslit, but sources told Deadline that executives dropped the actor in favor of Dan Stevens.
Stevens will portray former White House counsel John Dean in the Starz series which is based on the podcast Slow Burn.
On hold: The play by Tracy Letts was set to debut in March 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic saw the whole of Broadway temporarily shut down
Moving back: He has a starring role in Disney’s detective thriller Death on the Nile, which was pushed back to a February 2022 release date
The Downton Abbey star most recently received rave reviews for his role as Alexander Lemtov in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Sam Esmail and Chad Hamilton will serve as executive producers and work alongside Robbie Pickering who is also set as showrunner.
Leaked texts and graphic descriptions about BDSM, cannibalism and excessive drug use gave way to Armie being dropped from the Jennifer Lopez film Shotgun Wedding earlier this year.
New: Hammer was initially set to star alongside Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in the Watergate drama Gaslit, but sources told Deadline that executives dropped the actor in favor of Dan Stevens; seen in 2018
Hammer was then replaced by Josh Duhamel and filming has been underway in the Dominican Republic.
He has a starring role in Disney’s detective thriller Death on the Nile, which was pushed back to a February 2022 release date.
Gal Gadot, Leticia Wright and Kenneth Branagh co-star in the adaptation of the Agatha Christie mystery which serves as the sequel to 2017’s hit Murder on the Orient Express.
It was followed by a leak of private Instagrams where Hammer was seen bragging about passing a drug-test despite having DMT in his system, and also flashing an image of a lingerie-clad woman on all fours.
Yikes: Leaked texts and graphic descriptions about BDSM, cannibalism and excessive drug use gave way to Armie being dropped from the Jennifer Lopez film Shotgun Wedding earlier this year; seen in 2019
Armie addressed the allegations on Jan. 14, sharing: ‘I’m not responding to these b*****t claims but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic.
Los Angeles police said last month they had opened an investigation into rape allegations made against Hammer after a former partner filed a complaint.
The alleged victim said Hammer ‘violently raped’ her for ‘over four hours’ in 2017 and was also ‘mentally, emotionally and sexually’ abused throughout their four-year on-off relationship.
She added that the 34-year-old actor, whom she had met over Facebook the year before, also ‘repeatedly slammed’ her head against the wall and beat her feet with a riding crop to the point where she was unable to walk.
Oh no: The film had originally been scheduled for a December 2019 release date, but was pushed back multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and underperformances by other feature films at the box office
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