Armie Hammer is breaking his silence amid the "vicious and spurious online attacks" against him. On Wednesday, the actor announced that he has decided to step down from his role opposite Jennifer Lopez in Shotgun Wedding.

"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," Hammer said in a statement to ET. "Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I’m grateful to them for that."

A production spokesman also told ET in a statement, "Given the imminent start date of Shotgun Wedding, Armie has requested to step away from the film and we support him in his decision."

Last weekend, the Call Me By Your Name actor was trending after private messages that appeared to be written by him went viral. In the alleged DMs, which have not been confirmed were authored by Hammer, sexual graphic fantasies are described.

Hammer's role in Shotgun Wedding, in the meantime, will be recast. The rom-com was announced in October and centers on a couple who gather their very opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding just as the pair begins to get cold feet.

Hammer's departure comes just a week after he reunited with his children in the Cayman Islands following a 14-day quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hammer, who shares Harper and Ford with estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers, had been separated from his children for months.

The family had been quarantining in the Cayman Islands at the start of the pandemic last year. After Hammer and Chambers announced their split in July, he returned to Los Angeles, while she and the kids remained in the Cayman Islands.

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