“Effie,” one of the women who, in 2021, had accused Armie Hammer of rape and physical abuse, called producers of the new Discovery+ docuseries “House of Hammer” “disgusting” for “exploiting” her trauma even though she opted to not be included in the project.
The three-part documentary from Elli Hakami and Julian Hobbs that premiered on Friday explores the allegations leveled against the “Call Me by Your Name” star last year, as well as the disturbing history of his family.
Only one accuser, Courtney Vucekovich, agreed to be interviewed for the series; Effie did not. She told the LA Times on Friday that, when she was first approached by Hakami and Hobbs, she responded to them in writing, saying, “It is extremely inappropriate of you to exploit such a tragic, vulnerable time in many people’s lives, with no regard whatsoever for our healing process and privacy.”
Despite her refusal and her letter, the docuseries includes photos of her Instagram account where she described her assault and footage from a 2021 press conference in which she tearfully said Hammer “violently raped” her for four hours in 2017.
“The way they’ve been exploiting my trauma is disgusting,” she told the Times in Friday’s statement, comparing the lack of permission nearly as much of a violation as Hammer’s alleged abuses: “When I keep screaming ‘no’ and they keep going, saying they don’t need my permission, they remind me of Armie,” she said.
Publicists for the series did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Hammer’s attorney Andrew Brettler has previously denied Effie’s claims, saying that anything that transpired between her and the actor — “and every other sexual partner of his for that matter” — was “completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory.”
The case against Hammer began in early 2021 when Effie, who is the only woman who has publicly accused the actor of rape, began to share on Instagram her experience with him. As a result, other women stepped forward with accusations against him, including two of his former girlfriends, Paige Lorenze and Vucekovich.
While both women have said in interviews that Hammer convinced them to participate in BDSM activities (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadochism and masochism), among the most shocking abuse claims against the actor are those from Lorenze, who also declined to be interviewed for the series. Lorenze said that Hammer carved the letter “A” into her body and asked her to have her ribs removed so he could eat them.
Greg Risling, a spokesperson for the L.A. County district’s attorney’s office, said on Thursday that a “specially assigned prosecutor” is currently investigating the allegations against the actor.
