Armie Hammer is, somehow, even less attached than he once was. After a week that saw the recently divorced actor embroiled in a social-media scandal due to unsubstantiated private messages that he allegedly sent being made public, Hammer has exited his upcoming film Shotgun Wedding with Jennifer Lopez. In a statement to Variety, Hammer said, “I’m not responding to these bullshit claims but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for four months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I’m grateful to them for that.â€
The “vicious and spurious online attacks†to which Hammer is not responding to are alleged direct-message exchanges with women sent from his social-media accounts, which began trending on Twitter earlier this week. In the unverified messages, Hammer shares graphic sexual fantasies involving rape and cannibalism, allegedly writing to one woman that he was “100% a cannibal†and wanted to “drink your blood.†A spokesperson for Shotgun Wedding confirmed that Hammer would be exiting the project, stating, “Given the imminent start date of Shotgun Wedding, Armie has requested to step away from the film and we support him in his decision.†Hammer was set to play Tom, one half of an engaged couple planning a destination wedding that goes horribly awry when the entire wedding party is taken hostage. Hammer is still attached to the Paramount Plus TV series The Offer, a behind-the-scenes story of the making of The Godfather.