Armie Hammer has stepped away from his role opposite Jennifer Lopez in the upcoming “Shotgun Wedding,” decrying “vicious and spurious online attacks” against him as the cause.
Hammer was set to begin production on the romantic adventure immediately, but will now be recast. The news comes after the “Call Me by Your Name” star began trending on social media last weekend after direct Instagram messages that appeared to be written by Hammer — which have not been verified — were posted.
“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 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I’m grateful to them for that,” Hammer said in a statement.
A representative for the production said “Armie has requested to step away from the film and we support him in his decision.”
The messages shared graphic sexual fantasies, going as far as cannibalism, with the actor appearing to write to a woman on the app that he is “100% a cannibal” and desired to “drink your blood.”
Hammer was most recently seen in Netflix’s “Rebecca” and is also set to reprise his role in the upcoming “Call Me by Your Name” sequel with Timothée Chalamet and directed by Luca Guadagnino. He is also set to star in the Paramount Plus TV series “The Offer,” the behind-the-scenes story of the making of “The Godfather.”
Elizabeth Wagmeister and Ellise Shafer contributed to this report.