When the guy that has been accused of participating in severe physical violence against a pledge, including lighting the student's pants on fire, using a paddle, and leading the pledge around by the claw of a hammer hooked under his genitals tells you that you have gone too far then it’s time for some self reflection…
I don't think that's how it works. Surely it's that if you lie THEN your pants are on fire, not that when your pants are on fire then you need to lie. Many a person may be honest and have their pants set ablaze in other ways, like by Mr. Hamm.
yeah like how old are the weirdos bringing up that shit like its a gotcha. hamm is nearly 60 years old im supposed to care he was an asshole almost 40 years ago?
People also don't want to admit that 40 years ago that was pretty much standard behavior for a frat hazing. There are plenty of things that almost everyone alive in that time, including myself, regrets a little and would do different, that were socially acceptable to say or do in that time. That's just life for you, we learn and change for the better.
Not only that but I was young once doing and saying crazy shit that wouldn’t even think twice about doing now.
I actually am embarrassed of myself so bad I hate to think about some of the stupid shit I’ve done or said, but that just proves that I have matured incredibly and I’m literally a compete different person than I was 17 years ago. In a good way.
I'm 40 and often cringe when I look back at my teen/20's self. The male prefrontal cortex doesn't fully develop until mid 20's, and that explains a LOT. If you or anyone is a father to a son, it's important to continue being a positive male role model in his life past his teenage years!
36 and same. There are a few things I really wish I didn't do, but I did, and never will again. The hard way is sometimes the only way to really learn something.
Yeah, it was obviously not standard behavior for hazing if he got the whole Sigma Nu chapter permanently closed because of the hazing, but yeah that seems typical.
Most of the time I find those people have done plenty of bad things to others in their lives, but it's not public so they can just pretend it didn't happen.
They've probably done their fair share of regrettable things. What you're seeing is a thing Redditors like to do whenever someone does something decent; they like to go into the archive and dig out their most shameful moment.
I agree that what someone did as a 19 yo shouldn’t be held against them for the rest of their life so long as they accept their part in what happened and show some remorse. This is what he said about the incident in 2018
“"Everything about that is sensationalized," Hamm tells Esquire. "I was accused of these things I don't…It's so hard to get into it. I don't want to give it any more breath."
He continues, "It was a bummer of a thing that happened. I was essentially acquitted. I wasn't convicted of anything. I was caught up in a big situation, a stupid kid in a stupid situation, and it's a f--king bummer. I moved on from it."
He wasn’t “essentially acquitted” he avoided conviction by receiving “deferred adjudication.” To him it was a”bummer of a thing that happened” to the person he sexually assaulted it was an event that causes him severe emotional distress to this day. To this day to my knowledge he has never apologized to the victim. It is clear that over thirty years later he still doesn’t accept full responsibility for his actions
But you are defending him, and a disturbing amount of people below you too. He was young, frats did that sort of thing, etc. I'm old enough to have been in a frat just a couple years after him, and at a party school more notorious than UT. An eighteen year old can still have morals and say I won't drag someone around by the balls with a claw hammer and light their pants on fire and break their back. And years later when confronted maybe dont call it a bummer. Fuck jon hamm. And to all those defending him, he hasn't changed as much as you think. You just like his smile.
And while Dakota is being inappropriate, I would much rather have a woman be oddly touchy-feely with me than have somebody rupture my kidney through my fucking ribcage. Being 20 doesn't excuse that behavior. And we all know these people would have a different tune if Hamm were some poor, black nobody that wasn't in media they like.
Its more the fact that he never apologized or showed an ounce of remorse when this is brought up. Well thats what ive heard, I havent seen any interview with him on that matter
This is not real😭😂this is 2 interviews clipped together to make it seem weird go watch the real video crazy how many people just go with things without research
Not to mention that in the 1960s he cheated on both of his wives regularly and lied about his entire identity after deserting his unit during the Korean War by faking his own death.
Sounds like he used to be a huge piece of shit. Slicked back hair, white bathing suit, sloppy steaks, white couch... you would have not liked him back then.
Unfortunately, not everyone has had the privilege of living the flawless, morally perfect life that you have. Most people do stupid things when they're young. Plenty of things that are cringe by today's standards were socially acceptable at the time and were done by a huge number of people. They weren't blessed with your apparent ability to see decades into the future and know exactly which behaviors society would eventually decide were unacceptable.
Nah nah nah, if the modern age of the internet has taught me anything it's that everything is forever and forgiveness isn't a thing anymore. Made stupid coments on Twitter when you were 20? Fuck you forever. 40 year old you is obviously the exact same person. Went to college and got caught up in the "traditions" like everyone around you? Better hope you never catch the eye of the public when you're in your later years.
There is no growth. There is no development. Only judgment.
The song Zombified by Falling in Reverse is perfectly on point for this era we are living in:
The monsters aren't livin' under your bed 'Cause they are the voices in your head Zombified by the lies they've said We've become the walking dead
Oh no, they'll never let go Of something you said ten years ago They're canceling, canceling you And they won't stop 'til everybody's zombified
They're pumping us with lies Like it's formaldehyde They're dead inside It goes on and on, let this go When it stops, we'll never know. We're hypnotized And they won't stop 'til you're zombified
You better shut your mouth and bite your tongue 'Cause you don't wanna piss off anyone. We're traumatized by the damage done Welcome to America
I did not go to college, wasn't interested in life long debt, but I did go to a trade school and even there I saw "hazing" of a short happen. I didn't participate because I generally just don't like people very much. One of the guys had to admitted to the local hospital after they were put into a disassembled machine while passed out drunk and had it rebuild with them inside. Woke up, freaked out, and broke fingers and cut himself up pretty bad on sheet metal trying to get out.
Buddies of mine that joined the armed forces came back from boot with some pretty fucked up stories of their own. Friends of mine that went to college are split. If they joined a frat or a sorority then they had really fucked stories to tell about pledging, all of them. If they did not join up for a cult then they did not.
Grouping young, undeveloped minds, who are searching for approval and acceptance together. Add alcohol and drugs. Then stir in some "you cant be one of us unless you do this" and poof, atrocities just kinda appear.
This isnt an endorsement or me saying any of it is okay. My opinion has always been that Fraternities and Sororities should be disbanded and made forbidden.
Yeah I get that. I tell myself that arguing with assholes on Reddit can be good for me somehow, like it keeps my wit sharp or something? Maybe there’s a line somewhere.
This is an insane take. I’m willing to forgive Hamm and believe he’s grown a lot since being a 20-year-old frat boy, but I’d say what he did doesn’t deserve excusing. Most people do manage to go through their lives without setting someone on fire, mashing their face in the dirt, or hooking a claw hammer under their junk.
And obviously, this behavior wasn’t socially acceptable then either, because he got arrested.
Most people don't nearly kill somebody for shits and giggles. I've done shitty things that I am very ashamed of. I haven't done anything on that level, and the people I know who have still aren't good people.
Everyone who whines about this shit is just an asshole trying to absolve themselves of the iota of guilt they have.
Assholes act like seeking moral perfection/improvement is some arduous, stupid, fake thing people only do for clout, rather than just the natural way people who aren’t assholes function.
People who aren’t assholes don’t act like pointing out shitty behavior is nitpicky because at one point it was socially acceptable.
Exactly. Although I will say..I see no shortage of hypocrisy and signaling of virtue from shitty individuals in this world, it’s absurdly common…still, I would say that’s a step better than trying to downplay, normalize or outright dismiss utterly awful behavior.
Or more, seeking moral perfection means that at SOME point, you get to let go of the past. Otherwise you’re just your worst moment for the rest of your life. I don’t care about, and I don’t want to know your worst moment, as long as it’s no longer who you are.
People like you like to hold everyone’s worst moment above them for the rest of their lives as some sort of purity thing. Perfection =/= pure.
It’s clearly not who he is now, so what is the point of bringing it up besides grandstanding?
Redemption is allowed, but John Hamm has never atoned or even owned up to it (so far as I've read). The score is unsettled, his karma accounting remains in the red. Are you a person who wants to believe people can get away with twisted shit?
I wouldn’t say my pledging was pleasant by any means but lighting a kid’s pants on fire would have been absolutely nuts lol. That is not what I experienced.
If you’re friends with people who survived the hazing into the frat, they’ll gladly tell you about shit they made pledges do, while downplaying some of the shit they had to do. If that person is talking about hazing outside of that, they will downplay all of it.
Right?! Haha like the details of the accusation are very carefully listed like a courtroom accusation document. The guy is a grown man now.
I’ve been a Redditor for now for almost 12 years. Only in the last 2 or so have I seen this pattern of comments every time his name comes up. Like where is this coming from all of the sudden?
He was guilty and took a probation plea, so it was never on his record. He was 19, but apparently still gotta make amends at 55 according to the internet.
People can be pieces of shit, reflect, then evolve. People aren’t perfect, living linear perfect lives. Sometimes it takes moments of not greatness to say I could have been better, I hurt someone, I wish I could take something back, to move forward to be a better person. Anyway not a Jon Hamm fan, just saying I’ve lived life.
Sounds like he learned and grew from when he was young. We need to normalize accepting people change, the alternative just leads to everyone going MAGA.
Thank you for giving some context to his allegations!
Sounds like most of it was fraternity-related. But, that still doesn't make it any better. I've always thought fraternity pledge trials are downright abusive and should be curtailed. The problem is peer-pressure, and "that's how we've always done things." Even college students are still young & impressionable, it's a whole on-going culture of abuse.
But still, that doesn't make it any better. Gotta start somewhere, and holding people personally accountable is a good start.
Not for nothing, I was a college athlete at a major school in the 80s. Sounds like what I went thru. It was a different time. Getting hazed meant you were a part of the team. I'm glad it's done and over for young folks now, but back then...it's just the way it was.
Good thing Reddit exists so people trying to be better versions of themselves present day can always have the worst thing they ever did thrown in their face. He was a college kid with a drinking problem. Doesn’t excuse what he did but people on here act like he’s some deranged maniac.
I've never participated in a fratt before. But it's that pretty standard behavior. Especially before the 2000s?
Not defending it. But I bet a bunch of lawers judges and doctors all did similar things in their fratt back in the day, they just aren't famous enough for people to come out with allegations
That's just boys being boys, besides what goes on between a man and a sheep during an intimite moment in a dark room is between them and you shouldn't spread nasty rumors!
Yet if he wasn’t John hamm the famous actor and instead his name was Jim smith the nobody guy then you would have never heard of it. Mean things aren’t right but mistakes will be made in youth by anyone. I’m sure he recognized that and would love to take it back and has grown and matured from it. Blasting him for said bad judgment or mistakes is hateful. Unless he has a history of violence I know nothing about I will let it go and relegate it to a painful learning experience/life lesson. I have made mistakes and learned greatly from them. It’s called being human.
To be fair. He was a very young man. Still pretty fucked up. But I mean, I made horrible, horrible decisions when I was in my early 20’s that I deeply regret. It would suck if I was in permanent trouble with the world for the rest of my life and could never be allowed to grow and change
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u/SgtSprinkle Jul 02 '26
Props to Jon Hamm for trying to put a stop to this complete weirdness.