Armie Hammer Releases Public Apology Statement to Casey Affleck
Did someone get a call from Casey Affleck's team?
You'll recall Armie Hammer's reference to an Oscars season double standard favoring Casey Affleck over Nate Parker. That's from a recent interview the "Call Me by Your Name" star did with The Hollywood Reporter. Hammer's very candid interview -- defending Parker and questioning Best Actor winner Affleck -- also included the suggestion Hammer knew who leaked information about Parker's 1999 rape case (he was acquitted) during the awards campaign for "Birth of a Nation."
Hammer knew he was making serious accusations -- and almost caught himself, it seemed, before diving in. THR's reporter even added information correcting Hammer's version of the charges against Affleck.
But now Hammer has issued a public apology statement, with that statement being emailed around to outlets (like ours) that wrote about Hammer's initial THR comments.
Here's Hammer's full apology statement:
"I would like to sincerely apologize to Casey and his family for my recent comments about him in my THR interview. Without knowing the facts about the civil lawsuits at issue (which I now understand were settled), I misspoke. I conflated sexual harassment cases with a criminal case involving sexual assault charges. The cases in which Casey was involved were not criminal and instead involved civil claims from his 2010 movie 'I'm Still Here.' While intending to make a social comment about double standards in general, I mistakenly compared reports of prior, public civil allegations that never proceeded to trial with a criminal case that was fully tried. I understand now that this was a poor comparison, which I deeply regret making. I also didn't mean to insinuate, nor do I believe, that Casey or anyone from his camp had anything to do with leaked information that took place during the press for 'Birth of a Nation.' I respect Casey's work, and I've learned a valuable lesson about the need to be more accurate with disseminating information, especially in this age of instantaneous, unchecked communication. While attempting to be part of the solution, I unintentionally made myself part of the problem, for which I am truly sorry."
How many publicists and lawyers had to go over that statement before it was released? Armie Hammer is an off-the-cuff guy, and we like that about him, but it's true that public figures have to be careful, especially when it comes to legal issues.
Hammer seems to be on the Oscars campaign trail himself for 2018, aiming to be the next Best Actor after Casey Affleck.
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