Armie Hammer is no stranger to controversy and backlash, having raised eyebrows for his questionable behavior and comments as far back as the early days of his career.
The actor came under fire in January 2021 after multiple women took to social media to share screenshots of graphic direct messages that he had allegedly sent them. The DMs, which have not been verified, detailed domineering sexual fantasies ranging from rape to mutilation to cannibalism.
Hammer called the screenshots “bulls–t” in a statement to TMZ in addition to slamming the “vicious and spurious online attacks” that caused his name to trend on Twitter for several days straight. In the midst of the scandal, he decided to step away from the movie Shotgun Wedding, in which he had been set to star alongside Jennifer Lopez. He cited spending more time with his children, Harper and Ford, whom he shares with estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers, as the reason for his exit.
The alleged DMs were not the Call Me By Your Name star’s first controversy, though. He previously made headlines for being outspoken on Twitter and Instagram as well as sharing TMI details during interviews.
As a result of his online antics, Hammer was the subject of a number of op-eds since he broke through in the entertainment industry in 2010 with his portrayal of the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network.
In November 2017, BuzzFeed made waves by publishing an article titled “Ten Long Years of Trying to Make Armie Hammer Happen,” in which the website’s senior culture writer Anne Helen Petersen wondered whether he was “truly a unique star who’s finally finding his niche — or simply a beautiful, pedigreed white man who’s been allowed, in a way that few others in Hollywood have, endless attempts to discover it.”
The Gossip Girl alum infamously called the journalist “bitter AF” after reading her viral story. He subsequently announced that he would be taking a break from Twitter, only to fan the flames with Petersen once more upon his return two months later.
In May 2021, the J. Edgar star checked into a Florida rehab facility, according to a report from Vanity Fair. A friend of the Hammer family told the outlet at the time that the actor was “committed to getting healthy and having custody of his kids.”
Nearly seven months later, Us Weekly confirmed that the Mirror Mirror star checked out of the facility. “I can confirm that Mr. Hammer has left the treatment facility and is doing great,” a lawyer for Hammer said in December 2021, without specifying when the actor checked out.
Keep scrolling for a look back at some of Hammer’s most controversial moments:
