‘Humble’ Armie Hammer Could Stage a Comeback Following Controversy: PR Expert (Exclusive)

Armie Hammer is following the proper playbook to stage a potential comeback after the actor’s self-described “career death,” according to crisis management PR expert Gary Rosen.

The disgraced star’s June 16 appearance on the Painful Lessons podcast, hosted by Hammer’s friend Tyler Ramsey, was a “no-lose” situation in a safe environment, continues Rosen. “He has no career, Hollywood’s not offering him any roles and he’s talking to his friend. He’s testing the waters.”

During Hammer’s hourlong chat with Ramsey, the Call Me By Your Name star opened up about the “bizarre” allegations of cannibalism leveled at him, as well as the pain of having loved ones turn their backs on him. He also revealed his own feelings of self-loathing. “I never was in a place where I was happy with myself, where I had self-esteem; I never knew how to give myself love,” Hammer said.

Rosen says Hammer struck the right tone: “He seems to be humble, and that’s what he needs to do.”

The actor, 37, experienced a spectacular fall from grace in 2021, when multiple women came forward with allegations of misconduct. 

One of those women, named Effie, accused Hammer of "mentally, emotionally and sexually" abusing her during a 4-year affair, which occurred while the Social Network star was married to TV personality Elizabeth Chambers, 41, with whom he shares two children, Harper, 9, and Ford, 7. They have since divorced and co-parent their children.

Though Hammer admitted to having an affair, he denied any allegations of wrongdoing and said their encounters were consensual.

In the wake of the allegations, Hammer was dropped by his publicist, his talent agency, WME, as well as several high-profile projects, including the Jennifer Lopez movie Shotgun Wedding and the prestige limited series Gaslit, starring Julia Roberts. 

The next year, two of Hammer’s two exes, Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison, alleged in the 2022 documentary House of Hammer that Hammer sent them text messages and voice notes outlining disturbing cannibalistic fantasies they claim he harbored.

In a 2023 interview with the newsletter Air Mail, Hammer admitted he was emotionally abusive with some partners and acknowledged a power imbalance.

The LAPD investigated Hammer, but announced in 2023 there was “insufficient evidence to charge [him] with a crime."

A source recently told PEOPLE that Hammer is indeed hoping to make a comeback. “He wants to prove himself and win back credibility by clawing his way back into Hollywood," the insider says. "He doesn’t want to be seen as taking favors.”

But Rosen says the extent of Hammer’s comeback, if there is one, will likely be limited at first. “He’s not going to be the next James Bond.”