Armie Hammer won't face charges in sexual assault case

Embattled actor Armie Hammer won't face sexual assault charges in Los Angeles, the district attorney's office has announced.

Director of the Bureau of Communications Tiffiny Blacknell confirmed to CNN that prosecutors "conducted an extremely thorough review" into an allegation of sexual assault against the "Social Network" star "but determined that at this time, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr. Hammer with a crime."

In 2021, a woman identified as Effie alleged Hammer "violently raped me for over four hours" in 2017 and "committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent." She said she and Hammer had an on-and-off relationship. Hammer denied the allegations and told Air Mail that "this alleged rape was a scene that was her idea." The actor claimed he and Effie both agreed to "engage in what is called a 'consensual non-consent scene" and that "every single thing was discussed beforehand."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Due to the complexity of the relationship and inability to prove a non-consensual, forcible sexual encounter we are unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," Blacknell told CNN.

Hammer said on Instagram he is "very grateful" to the district attorney and looks "forward to beginning what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together now that my name is cleared." Effie, meanwhile, told CNN she is "disappointed" with the decision not to prosecute Hammer, adding that she "felt a duty to speak out and file a report in order to try to hold Armie accountable for all the harm and trauma he has caused me and in order to protect other women from experiencing similar abuse."