Armie Hammer says he 'misspoke' in apology to Casey Affleck after mistakenly claiming actor had 'three cases of sexual assault against him'

By Kate Thomas for MailOnline and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 12:24 GMT, 21 November 2017 | Updated: 11:59 GMT, 9 December 2017

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Armie Hammer is backpedaling from his recent remarks aimed at Casey Affleck.

The Call Me by Your Name actor, 31, singled out the Academy Award-winning star of Manchester by the Sea in a piece last month published in The Hollywood Reporter in which he delved into the ongoing sexual harassment scandals swirling around Hollywood.

'I would like to sincerely apologize to Casey and his family for my recent comments about him in my THR interview,' Hammer told the publication in a statement on Friday.

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Mea culpa: Armie Hammer (L) apologized Friday for remarks he made about Casey Affleck in a piece in The Hollywood Reporter last month

The inflammatory comments surrounded Birth of a Nation filmmaker Nate Parker's fall from grace as news spread of his acquittal of a rape charge by an 18-year-old female student in 1999, while Affleck was relatively unscathed after he was sued by two women in 2010 amid claims of sexual harassment on the set of the film I’m Still Here, taking home the Best Actor Oscar for Manchester by the Sea.

'Nate had the stuff in his past, which is heinous and tough to get beyond. I get that,' Hammer said in the original article, published November 20. 'But that was when he was 18 and now he’s in director jail. At the same time, the guy who went and won an Academy Award has three cases of sexual assault against him.

'And [Parker] had one incident - which was heinous and atrocious - but his entire life is affected in the worst possible way.'

But Armie was singing a different tune on Friday, as he admitted that he confused the 'sexual harassment cases' against the actor 'with a criminal case involving sexual assault charges.'

Speaking out: Hammer spoke out against sexual misconduct in Hollywood, but confused the facts over Affleck's past sexual harassment imbroglio

In the news: Birth of a Nation filmmaker Nate Parker (L) was acquitted of a rape charge by an 18-year-old female student in 1999, while Affleck (R) was sued by two women over sexual harassment in 2010

The 31-year-old actor said: 'It’s been permissible for too long for people in positions of power to abuse, and for the powerless to be expected to just take it'

Hammer said that 'while intending to make a social comment about double standards in general, [he] mistakenly compared reports of prior, public civil allegations that never proceeded to trial with a criminal case that was fully tried.'

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. star said he 'deeply regret making' the comparison between the director and actor, adding that he was in no way attempting to implicate 'that Casey or anyone from his camp had anything to do with leaked information that took place during the press for Birth of a Nation.'

Speaking out: Armie also discussed the controversy surrounding his Birth of a Nation director Nate Parker, and how it impacted the movie

Oops: Hammer initially characterized Affleck as 'the guy who went and won an Academy Award has three cases of sexual assault against him'

Hammer said that the experience has taught him 'a valuable lesson about the need to be more accurate with disseminating information, especially in this age of instantaneous, unchecked communication.'

The Lone Ranger performer said that while his intentions were good, he 'unintentionally made [himself] part of the problem,' and is 'truly sorry' for doing so.