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Armie Hammer admits he ‘scraped’ his initials into ex-girlfriend Paige Lorenze’s groin with a knife

‘I mean, there wasn’t even blood in the situation,’ scandal-plagued actor tells Piers Morgan

Helen Coffey
Friday 19 July 2024 11:03 BST
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Armie Hammer said it was a ‘romantic gesture’
Armie Hammer said it was a ‘romantic gesture’ (Getty Images for Palm Springs In)

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Armie Hammer has admitted that he traced his initials into ex-girlfriend Paige Lorenze’s groin with the tip of a knife during their turbulent four-month relationship.

However, the Call Me by Your Name star, 37, claimed that he didn’t “brand” her, as she had previously alleged, and said “there wasn’t even blood”.

Lorenze first accused him of “marking and branding” her in 2021, stating he had carved his first initial into her groin with a knife before licking blood from the wound.

Speaking to Piers Morgan in a new interview, Hammer, who has been the subject of numerous rumours and allegations over the past three years, said of the incident: “I wouldn’t say brand, no.

“There was a scenario that we talked about beforehand, that we had discussed where, you know, I would basically take a little, tiny point and just kind of trace the letter ‘A’ – just like the tip of a small knife.”

Armie Hammer said he is ultimately ‘grateful’ for the allegations that derailed his career
Armie Hammer said he is ultimately ‘grateful’ for the allegations that derailed his career (Getty Images)

He added: “I mean, there wasn’t even blood in the situation. It was more like a scrape… It’s along the lines of couples getting their own initials tattooed on each other.”

When Morgan replied that using a knife was “a bit different to a tattoo”, Hammer replied that it “was less permanent. I guarantee it was such a small thing.”

The Social Network actor responded to Morgan’s admission that he was “shocked”: “Yes, I think to some it probably sounds really strange.

“To some, it probably sounds like a very romantic gesture.”

Hammer, 37, first became the centre of a social media scandal in 2021 after messages allegedly sent from him detailed graphic sexual desires and cannibalistic fetishes.

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He was subsequently accused of rape and abuse by various women, but has consistently denied any criminal wrongdoing. His attourney has repeatedly stated that all of his relationships with women were consensual.

Last month, Hammer finally addressed allegations of a cannibalism fetish he’s faced over the past three years, saying he is ultimately “grateful” for the experience – despite the fact it derailing his Hollywood career.

During an appearance on podcast Painful Lessons, Hammer said: “I’m actually now at a place where I’m really grateful for it because, where I was in my life before all of that stuff happened to me, I didn’t feel good.

Armie Hammer says being cancelled was 'liberating'

“I never felt satisfied. I never had enough. I never was in a place where I was happy with myself, where I had self-esteem.”

He described the scandal as “almost like a neutron bomb [that] went off in my life.

“It killed me, it killed my ego, it killed all the people around me that I thought were my friends that weren’t – all of those people, in a flash, went away.

“But the buildings were still standing. I’m still here, I still have my health, and I’m really grateful for that.”

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