Why Are We Treating Cannibalism So Casually?

Let’s take a look at why Armie Hammer has been in the news as of late

( @armiehammer / Instagram )

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Armie Hammer’s name has been in the news consistently over the past few years — especially since landing a lead role alongside Timothée Chalamet in 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, the romance film beloved by many an indie film buff. All good things, of course. That is, until recently.

For those who may not be so up-to-speed on his recent scandal, here’s a brief rundown: a few weeks ago, screenshots of DMs Armie supposedly sent to various women were posted to @houseofeffie on Instagram. These screenshots detailed the extremely explicit, dark and cannibalistic proclivities he’d express to them. I had personally seen the screenshots when they were first reposted and widely circulated by celebrity gossip account @deuxmoi.

It’s important to note that there is a clear line here between being kinky and being outrightly abusive by ignoring safe words and emotionally traumatizing these women.

Though nothing has officially been proven by any reputable media outlet and Armie himself has publicly called “bullshit” in regards to the legitimacy of the screenshots, several women he has had romantic and sexual relations with have come forward to say they would not be surprised if he had sent the messages. Upsettingly, too much of the narrative online has focused on Armie and not enough on giving his victims a platform to speak out. Why is it that so many are giving the benefit of the doubt to an alleged abuser rather than the victims of abuse?

Interestingly enough, Google’s predictive search is working to his benefit; when you type “Armie Hammer ca--,” cannibalism doesn’t even come up on the list of the suggested options in the dropdown. As disturbing as the cannibalism is — and it is pretty disturbing — I haven’t seen much coverage about the abusive content of his DMs. (But I have seen too many TikToks about him with Kesha’s Cannibal playing in the background).

Social media is collectively making a meme out of the situation and glossing over the fact that a large percentage of the DMs’ content deals with abuse, grooming, and other disturbing topics.

The weird thing is that this has quickly become old news...why is it that this whole debacle got buried so casually? Either Armie has an insane PR team (which is unlikely, seeing as both his talent agency and personal publicist dropped him in the wake of the allegations) or he is just another attractive white boy™ with a charming personality and hella family money.

Could his family have anything to do with his abusive behavior?

If you look a little closer, there are a lot of layers of family trauma to ~digest~.

Abuse has clearly been a pattern in the Hammer lineage. Surviving My Birthright, a graphic and revealing memoir by Casey Hammer, Armie’s estranged aunt, details the intergenerational trauma and abuse that has allegedly been so prevalent amongst the men in the Hammer clan.

Armand Hammer, the late patriarch of the Hammers, was a cunning and severely self-centered Soviet spy turned oil tycoon. Armand’s son/Armie’s grandfather, Julian Hammer, struggled with mental illness, a meth addiction, and even had a first-degree manslaughter charge against him. This is unsurprising, given that he purportedly would brutally abuse his wife and host meth-fueled soirées where the primary entertainment was handing out loaded guns like candy and instructing partygoers to shoot. Casey recalls Julian making her hold a phonebook so he could shoot at it, as well as being chased around the house by a meth addict with a knife dressed in a ghost costume. You literally can’t make this shit up.

This is definitely learned behavior because Michael Hammer, Armie’s dad/Casey’s brother, has his own slew of nefarious and abusive actions to reckon for. In her book, Casey discusses the sexual abuse she recalls being subjected to by both Michael and Julian. (Yes, you read that right -- incest.) Casey further implies that Michael had something to do with Armand’s death, and because Julian couldn’t be trusted to handle the late Armand’s assets, everything went to Michael (though it was supposed to go partly to Casey, as well). Michael has a super sketchy track record when it comes to his management of his grandfather’s estate.

For a more detailed account of the Hammers’ history of emotional and physical manipulation, see @thezenblonde’s multi-part series on TikTok about Surviving My Birthright.

Now, I don’t think Armie being part of a lineage filled with such abuse and dysfunction from such a young age is any excuse whatsoever for his recent behavior, but it certainly didn’t do him any favors.

So, what’s next?

Good question. Supposedly, an exposé about Armie’s cannibalism and abuse is set to be published by the LA Times, but only time will tell. Also, something coincidental (but completely unrelated): CMBYN costar Timothée Chalamet will likely be starring in a film with cannibalism as its central theme sometime in the future.

I’m very curious to see where all of this goes!

TLDR: Armie Hammer might be a cannibal and has an insanely dysfunctional and abusive family — and it’s honestly not a surprise that allegations like these have come out against him

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Madison Rosenfield is an Online Writer at Rowdy Magazine. When she's not going down internet rabbit holes at 2 AM, she can usually be found curating the perfect Spotify playlist, celebrating her Jewish heritage, crafting, watching coming-of-age films, or taking action in support of causes she cares about. You can find her at @madisonrosenfield on Instagram or @madisonleahh on Twitter to get a deeper look at her passions and perspectives.