The actor had months prior denied any criminal wrongdoing. In a 2023 Air Mail magazine interview, he admitted to being emotionally abusive toward former partners and recalled his own sexual trauma at age 13 at the hands of a youth pastor, which he said first spurred his interest in BDSM.
Also in 2023, Hammer spent time in a treatment program for drug, alcohol, and sex issues.
“It was a crisis, a spiritual crisis, an emotional crisis, and the way I saw it was, I have two options here. I can either let this destroy me or,” Hammer said on the podcast, “I can use this as a lesson.”
He continued, “It was awful and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy but for the people in my life that I truly love, I hope some version, preferably smaller than what I went through, would happen to them as well so they could learn everything that I’ve learned, and I feel great about it now.”