You may recognise him from movies such as "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "The Social Network", "Call Me By Your Name", and "Rebecca".
On Jan. 13, news media outlets reported that American actor Armie Hammer is giving up his starring role opposite actress Jennifer Lopez in "Shotgun Wedding", an action-comedy.
A representative from the production told Yahoo Entertainment, “Given the imminent start date of Shotgun Wedding, Armie has requested to step away from the film and we support him in his decision.”
What happened
Hammer started trending on Twitter after a series of screenshots were leaked on Jan. 11 by Instagram user @houseofeffie.
The screenshots show snippets of Direct Messages (DMs) conversations that allegedly happened between the 34-year-old actor and unknown parties.
The messages reveal extreme sexual fantasies, as well as explicit details of cannibalistic fetish and practices.
In the screenshots, Hammer allegedly admits to being "100% cannibal" and having eaten the heart of a living animal while it was warm.
Other controversial statements he allegedly make include needing to drink the other party's blood, cutting off one of her toes and keeping it in his pocket, and wanting to eat her heart.
Warning: Grotesque descriptions.
Image via @houseofeffie on Instagram
Image via @houseofeffie on Instagram
Image via @houseofeffie on Instagram
Image via @houseofeffie on Instagram
Hammer responds
Variety obtained a statement from Hammer that says:
“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.”
Disputes over authenticity
The stories remain available for viewing in the user's Story Highlights, under "Hammer Horror" and "Hammer Horror 2".
Her screenshots were then reposted on Twitter, which further provoked heated discussion about the authenticity of these screenshots.
Twitter user @tevinauguste started a thread compilation of testimonials and screenshots from multiple girls who have identified themselves as victims.
The first post has garnered more than 2,900 retweets, 8,500 thousand quote tweets, and 15,000 thousand likes to date.
The thread also comes with a disclaimer from @tevinauguste, clarifying that he is just sharing what he has found, implying the unverified nature of the content.
In an attempt to debunk accusations that the screenshots were doctored, @houseofeffie and Tumblr user @dominastya have provided screen recordings.
Top image via @houseofeffie on Instagram and Stefanie Keenan on Getty Images.