Armie Hammer’s Aunt Gets Candid About How She Felt When ‘Cannibal’ Accusations Were Leveled Against The Actor

Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name
(Image credit: Sony Pictures Classics)

More than a year following his text message scandal, Armie Hammer now finds himself back in the news due to the situation. The actor, who reportedly sent out sexually explicit messages involving cannibalism and more to various women, is now the subject of a docuseries. As evidenced by House of Hammer’s trailer, it sheds light on the controversy as well as other alleged issues within the Hammer family. Amid the series’ release, Hammer’s aunt, Casey, has been vocal about her family, making a number of claims about their history. And more recently, Casey got candid about how she felt when the “cannibal” accusations were first leveled against her nephew. 

Casey Hammer is one of the most prominent interviewees in Discovery+’s House of Hammer, and many of the stories covered on the show were detailed in her 2015 memoir, Surviving My Birthright. In the past, she’s specifically discussed alleged instances of abuse involving the men in her wealthy family, from which she is currently estranged. With all of this, Hammer was apparently not surprised when the allegations against her nephew began to surface: 

I wasn’t shocked when the allegations came forward. Based on my experiences in my family, I suffered from abuse. It was just a way of life. You don’t wake up one day and become a monster—it’s learned behavior. Once [the allegations] started unfolding, I was like, here we go, another Hammer man and something that’s being said about them.

It was in early 2021 that the purported text messages from Armie Hammer made their way online and apparently showed the actor describing sexual fantasies involving cannibalism. Shortly after, Hammer referred to the rumors as “bull,” though he eventually dropped out of Jennifer Lopez’s Shotgun Wedding, one of several projects he would depart around that time. On top of the texting allegations, Hammer was later accused of sexual assault, as a woman claimed that she was “violently raped” by the actor. She also alleged that in 2017, Hammer committed “violent acts” against her, including banging her head against a wall during an encounter. 

During her interview with The Daily Beast, Casey Hammer seemed to suggest that when the accusations were made, there was too much emphasis on her nephew. She believes that the public didn’t put enough focus on those who made the allegations: 

The focus seemed to be about Armie being ‘a cannibal’ or what was going to happen to his career or ‘cancel culture,’ but it’s like, wait a minute—let’s shift the light onto the victims. What about the people that are scarred for life because of all that happened?

Said individuals are the main focus of the new docuseries, which debuted this past Friday. One of the actor’s accusers responded after the House of Hammer trailer dropped by simply taking to social media to share an “onwards and upwards” caption. It’s been said that Armie Hammer himself was trying to prepare himself ahead of the show’s premiere. So far, Hammer has featured a biting story from one of Hammer’s former partners among other things. 

It remains to be seen just what other details will be featured on the docuseries before it concludes its run. One thing we can assume at this point, though, is that Casey Hammer isn’t going to mince words whenever she appears on screen and discusses her famous nephew and brood.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.