Warning: The following article contains details that may disturb some readers.
Armie Hammer's aunt Casey Hammer says she's not surprised by abuse allegations levelled against her actor nephew.
Her comments came ahead of the release of the House of Hammer docuseries, which premieres in the US and on ThreeNow in Aotearoa on Friday.
Casey told US website The Daily Beast she "wasn't shocked when the allegations came forward".
"Based on my experiences in my family, I suffered from abuse. It was just a way of life," she said.
"You don't wake up one day and become a monster - it's learned behaviour.
"Once [the allegations] started unfolding, I was like, 'here we go, another Hammer man and something that's being said about them'."
She also said it was time the spotlight shifted to Hammer's victims, rather than his actions.
"The focus seemed to be about Armie being 'a cannibal' or what was going to happen to his career or 'cancel culture', but it's like, wait a minute - let's shift the light onto the victims.
"What about the people that are scarred for life because of all that happened?
"As shocking as what he's doing right now, there's a generational pattern that's been in play for a very long time and that no one took notice of."
"It just didn't start there - it goes way back."
In the docuseries, two of Armie Hammer's ex-girlfriends claim he was obsessed with cannibalism during the time they were dating.
Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison revealed some of the harrowing texts they said received while they dated the disgraced actor in the series.
The documentary includes screenshots of messages and voice notes the Social Network star allegedly sent them, revealing the extremes Hammer apparently wanted to reach in their relationships.
"I have a fantasy about having someone prove their love and devotion and tying them up in a public place at night and making their body free use," one alleged message from Hammer says.
Another says: "I am 100% a cannibal" and "I want to eat you".
Vucekovich also shared an alleged handwritten note from the actor, in which Hammer said he was "going to bite the f**k out of you".
A lawyer for Hammer said in a statement to Vanity Fair that all of the interactions had been "consensual".
"All interactions between Mr Hammer and his former partners were consensual," said Andrew Brettler.
"They were fully discussed, agreed upon in advance with his partners and mutually participatory. The stories perpetuated on social media were designed to be salacious in an effort to harm Mr Hammer, but that does not make them true."
House of Hammer premieres on ThreeNow on Friday September 2 at 8pm
