On Friday, Nerdist scrubbed all traces of founder and CEO Chris Hardwick, and over the weekend, his career has suffered even more fallout in the wake of abuse allegations from an ex girlfriend. This news arrives after Chloe Dykstra, who dated Hardwick for three years, penned a Medium post, in which she accused an unnamed ex of “long-term abuse,” both of an emotional and sexual nature. The timeline and details included within the post led many people to believe she was talking about Hardwick, and backlash against him has been swift, with the impact upon his various gigs continuing to be severe.
A day after the allegations surfaced, AMC, for which Hardwick has hosted several programs (including the Talking Dead and Talking Bad aftershows), announced that they’ve pulled this Sunday night’s Talking With Chris Hardwick second season premiere. The network hasn’t specified whether the move is a permanent one, but they’ve at least shelved the show — and Hardwick won’t moderate July Comic-Con panels for AMC and BBC America as planned — while they “assess” the allegations. Via EW:
“We have had a positive working relationship with Chris Hardwick for many years. We take the troubling allegations that surfaced yesterday very seriously. While we assess the situation, ‘Talking with Chris Hardwick’ will not air on AMC, and Chris has decided to step aside from moderating planned AMC and BBC America panels at Comic-Con International in San Diego next month.”
Hardwick has spoken out to deny that he abused Dykstra in a statement to the New York Times, in which he also accused her of cheating on him:
“Our three year relationship was not perfect — we were ultimately not a good match and argued — even shouted at each other — but I loved her, and did my best to uplift and support her as a partner and companion in any way and at no time did I sexually assault her.
“When we were living together, I found out that Chloe cheated on me, and I ended the relationship. For several weeks after we broke up, she asked me to get back together with me and even told me she wanted to have kids with me, ‘build a life’ with me and told me that I was ‘the one,’ but I did not want to be with someone who was unfaithful.”
Further, Deadline reports that NBC is considering taking action on Hardwick’s upcoming game show, The Wall, while stating that accusations “took us by surprise as we have had a positive working relationship with him.” While the isn’t scheduled to begin production until this September, the network plans to “assess the situation” and decide whether or not the show will proceed.
(Via EW, New York Times, Deadline)