Chris Hardwick, the Nerdist founder and host of NBC’s game show “The Wall,” AMC’s “Talking Dead” aftershow and a regular emcee in Hall H at Comic-Con, has been scrubbed from the Nerdist website he founded after being accused of sexual abuse and “long-term abuse” by his former girlfriend Chloe Dykstra.
Legendary Entertainment, which owns Nerdist Industries where Hardwick launched his career as a comic and podcaster, just released a statement.
“Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017,” it reads. “He no longer has any affiliation with Legendary Digital Networks. The company has removed all reference to Mr. Hardwick even as the original Founder of Nerdist pending further investigation.”
The move comes after Dykstra, a TV personality and host, penned a first-person account of their three-year relationship that posted on Medium. Dykstra never mentioned Hardwick by name, but details about the “mildly successful podcaster” who grew into “a powerhouse CEO of his own company” suggest she was referring to him.
Dykstra, in an essay she said was part closure and part warning, detailed a relationship in which she was restricted from going out at night, having male friends or speaking in public places, and was the victim of sexual assault. “I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work,” she writes.
“I lost myself, both mentally and physically. I lost 15 lbs within weeks, started pulling out my hair (and had to get extensions regularly to hide it),” she wrote. “I generally stopped speaking unless spoken to while with him, drifting through life like a ghost. I would try to sleep in as late as possible so my days were shorter. I stopped listening to music entirely. I ceased to be. I was an ex-person.”
Dykstra said she left Hardwick after three years, and that after the breakup he made calls to companies “to get me fired by threatening to never work with them,” and that he and a female colleague “steamrolled my career.”
Deadline has not independently confirmed Dykstra’s accusations.
In March, NBC renewed its Hardwick-hosted game show “The Wall” for a 20-episode third season, though no premiere date was announced. AMC also just announced his summer bridge talk show “Talking With Chris Hardwick” returns this Sunday.
On Thursday, BBC America announced that Hardwick would moderate the network’s “Doctor Who” panel at Comic-Con in San Diego next month. Hardwick, a Comic-Con panel host staple, is also penciled in to host AMC’s “The Walking Dead” panel in Hall H as in years past.
NBC and AMC have not responded to requests for comment on Dykstra’s post, and reps for Hardwick also declined comment.
(UPDATED WITH NERDIST STATEMENT) Chris Hardwick, the Nerdist founder and host of NBC’s game show The Wall, AMC’s Talking Dead aftershow and a regular emcee in Hall H at Comic-Con, has been scrubbed from the Nerdist website he founded after being accused of sexual abuse and “long-term abuse” by his former girlfriend Chloe Dykstra.
Legendary Entertainment, which owns Nerdist Industries where Hardwick launched his career as a comic and podcaster, just released a statement.
“Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017,” it reads. “He no longer has any affiliation with Legendary Digital Networks. The company has removed all reference to Mr. Hardwick even as the original Founder of Nerdist pending further investigation.”
Repeating the Legendary statement, Nerdist itself also address the matter online:
The moves come after Dykstra, a TV personality and host, penned a first-person account of their three-year relationship that posted on Medium. Dykstra never mentioned Hardwick by name, but details about the “mildly successful podcaster” who grew into “a powerhouse CEO of his own company” suggest she was referring to him.
Dykstra, in an essay she said was part closure and part warning, detailed a relationship in which she was restricted from going out at night, having male friends, or speaking in public places, and was the victim of sexual assault. “I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work,” she writes.
“I lost myself, both mentally and physically. I lost 15 lbs within weeks, started pulling out my hair (and had to get extensions regularly to hide it),” she wrote. “I generally stopped speaking unless spoken to while with him, drifting through life like a ghost. I would try to sleep in as late as possible so my days were shorter. I stopped listening to music entirely. I ceased to be. I was an ex-person.”
Dykstra said she left Hardwick after three years, and that after the breakup he made calls to companies “to get me fired by threatening to never work with them,” and that he and a female colleague “steamrolled my career.”
Deadline has not independently confirmed Dykstra’s accusations.
In March, NBC renewed its Hardwick-hosted game show The Wall for a 20-episode third season, though no premiere date was announced. AMC also just announced his summer bridge talk show Talking With Chris Hardwick returns this Sunday.
On Thursday, BBC America announced that Hardwick would moderate the network’s Doctor Who panel at Comic-Con in San Diego next month. Hardwick, a Comic-Con panel host staple, is also penciled in to host AMC’s The Walking Dead panel in Hall H as in years past.
NBC and AMC have not responded to requests for comment on Dykstra’s post, and reps for Hardwick also declined comment.
Digital entertainment company Nerdist is distancing itself from founder Chris Hardwick, severing ties after his Chloe Dykstra accused a past boyfriend who she did not name of sexual assault and emotional abuse.
“Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017,” the company said in a statement. “He no longer has any affiliation with Legendary Digital Networks. The company has removed all reference to Mr. Hardwick even as the original Founder of Nerdist pending further investigation.”
In Dykstra’s essay, titled “Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession,” the 29-year-old actress and TV personality doesn’t name the subject, though certain key details have led many fans on Twitter to believe that she is referring to Hardwick.
Dykstra and Hardwick announced their split in July 2014 via Twitter. Hardwick married heiress/actress Lydia Hearst in 2016.
Hardwick, 46, currently hosts The Wall, an NBC gameshow, as well as a Walking Dead after-show on AMC. He previously hosted @midnight with Chris Hardwick, a nightly comedy gameshow on Comedy Central. Reps for Hardwick did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In the essay, Dykstra said when she was in her early 20s, she began dating a man almost 20 years her senior who began displaying “controlling behavior” and within two weeks, “rules were quickly established.”
According to Dykstra, her nights “were expected to be reserved for him, as he had a busy schedule,” which alienated her from her friends.
Dykstra also said she was not to have close male friends and was not to drink alcohol, as he was sober. (Hardwick stopped drinking in 2003.)
“I was not to speak in public places (elevators, cars with drivers, restaurants where tables were too close) as he believed that people recognized him and were listening to our conversations,” she said.
Dykstra said she was “terrified to piss him off, so I did what he said. Including let him sexually assault me. Regularly.”
“I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work,” she said. “Every night, I laid there for him, occasionally in tears. He called it ‘starfishing.’ He thought the whole idea was funny.”
“To be fair, I did go along with it out of fear of losing him,” she said. “I’m still recovering from being sexually used (not in a super fun way) for three years.”
After three years “of being snapped/yelled at constantly,” Dykstra said she finally left him. After the breakup, she said her ex “made calls to several companies I received regular work from to get me fired by threatening to never work with them.”
“He succeeded,” she continued. “I was blacklisted. With the assistance of a woman who’d gained my trust and my heart over the past year, he steamrolled my career.”
Dykstra went on to say that she considered suicide “many times” over the years. Though she managed to “rebuild” her life, she said she “never received closure for the long-lasting trauma, physical and emotional.”
She concluded, “To the man who tried to ruin my future: A sincere and heartfelt apology could have made my last four years a hell of a lot easier.”
“The person I used to date would try to sue me due to pride — I would not recommend it,” she added. “I have audio/video that will support and prove many of the things I’ve stated in this post. I’ve chosen not to include it for your sake, in the hopes that the person you’ve become will do the right thing.”
Chris Hardwick, the founder of Nerdist and host of AMC’s “Talking Dead,” is facing allegations that he abused and blacklisted his ex-girlfriend, cosplayer Chloe Dykstra.
Dykstra published a lengthy essay on Medium on Thursday, alleging that she was subjected to sexual assault and controlling behavior over the course of a three-year relationship. She did not name Hardwick, but offered sufficient details that he was quickly identified.
Hardwick launched the Nerdist podcast in 2010 and built it into the digital network Nerdist Industries, which was sold to Legendary Entertainment in 2012. He recently separated from Legendary to launch a rebranded podcast called “ID10T.”
In a statement on Friday, Legendary distanced itself from Hardwick, and said that references to his role as the founder of Nerdist would be scrubbed.
“Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017. He no longer has any affiliation with Legendary Digital Networks,” the company said. “The company has removed all reference to Mr. Hardwick even as the original Founder of Nerdist pending further investigation.”
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Nerdist responded, “Like you, we were shocked to read the news this morning. Nerdist prides itself on being an inclusive company made up of a positive, diverse community of people who come together to share and discuss the things we love. That type of behavior is contrary to everything we stand for and believe in, and we absolutely don’t tolerate discrimination, harassment, and other forms of abuse.”
Nerdist also included numbers for sexual assault hotlines in its statement.
Hardwick has yet to respond to the allegations. AMC and NBC have not responded to requests for comment.
Last year, Hardwick formed a new production company, Fish Ladder, signing of a first-look deal at AMC Studios. Hardwick is the longtime host of “The Walking Dead” aftershow “Talking Dead,” which last year was expanded to a year-round chat series with a broader pop-ciulture focus. He also hosts NBC primetime gameshow “The Wall,” which he executive prodiuces alongside LeBron James.
In her essay, Dykstra said that her ex-boyfriend was emotionally abusive. She also said that she was coerced into having sex with him whenever he wanted. She said that he laid down rules for her social interactions, isolating her from her friends and other sources of support. During the relationship, she said she became anorexic and had an ectopic pregnancy. Shortly after surgery, she said that her ex asked the doctor, “When do you think I can have sex with her again.”
She said she left him after three years, only to have him blacklist her in the industry.
“Because of my leaving him for someone else, he made calls to several companies I received regular work from to get me fired by threatening to never work with them,” she wrote. “He succeeded. I was blacklisted.”
At her lowest point, she said she contemplated committing suicide by jumping off a 101 freeway overpass.
She wrote that she was writing the essay to obtain closure and to offer a warning about abusive relationships.
“This kind of relationship is so common, and so easy to slip into,” she wrote. “Normalizing behavior happens incredibly quickly, and one can lose track of what is acceptable treatment… And when your self-worth reaches such depths after years of being treated like you’re worthless, you might find you think you deserve that sort of treatment, and no one else will love you.”
Though she did not name Hardwick, she described her ex-boyfriend as growing “from a mildly successful podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company” over the course of their relationship. Dykstra, 29, also said she ended the relationship when she was 25, so roughly four years ago. Hardwick announced their breakup on Twitter in 2014. She also said that her ex was almost 20 years older than she is. Hardwick is 46. He married actress-model Lydia Hearst in 2016.
