Chris Hardwick has spoken out following the allegations made by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. On Thursday, June 14, Dykstra, 29, penned an essay for Medium.com about an abusive relationship she had been in. She did not name Hardwick but described him as someone who went “from a mildly successful podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company,” noted he was nearly 20 years older than her – Hardwick is 46 – and that they split roughly four years ago when she was 25. Their split was made public in 2014.
“These are very serious allegations and not to be taken lightly which is why I’ve taken the day to consider how to respond,” Hardwick said in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday, June 15. “I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post. 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.”
He continued: “When we were living together, I found out that Chloe had cheated on me, and I ended the relationship. For several weeks after we broke up, she asked 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. I’m devastated to read that she is now accusing me of conduct that did not occur. l was blindsided by her post and always wanted the best for her. As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women.”
AMC announced on Saturday, June 16, that it was pulling Hardwick’s talk show, which was set to return on Sunday, June 17, amid the allegations.
“We have had a positive working relationship with Chris Hardwick for many years,” the network said in a statement to Us. “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.”
In the essay, Dykstra accused her ex of sexual assault, claiming that when Hardwick initiated sex and she turned him down due to illness, he allegedly told her, “I just want to remind you, the reason my last relationship didn’t work out was because of the lack of sex.”
“It was a veiled threat. I succumbed. Every night, I laid there for him, occasionally in tears. He called it ‘starfishing.’ He thought the whole idea was funny,” she wrote. “He thought the whole idea was funny. To be fair, I did go along with it out of fear of losing him. I’m still recovering from being sexually used (not in a super fun way) for three years.”
When she did end their relationship, leaving him for another man, he allegedly ruined her career, she said in the essay.
“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. He succeeded. I was blacklisted,” she wrote. “With the assistance of a woman who’d gained my trust and my heart over the past year, he steamrolled my career. The woman actively made it her mission to destroy my friendships. And she did, because by the time they’d realized she was… an unreliable source… the damage had already been done.”
As @hardwick has chosen to deny Chloe’s account, I’ll take the opportunity to say I have seen the proof myself, I have seen the evidence first hand, I’ve seen the people who have come forward to tell @skydart how Chris ordered her blacklisted, there isn’t just one, there are many
— Robert Kazinsky (@RobertKazinsky) June 16, 2018
Following the release of his statement, actor Robert Kazinsky took to Twitter to defend Dykstra. “As @hardwick has chosen to deny Chloe’s account, I’ll take the opportunity to say I have seen the proof myself, I have seen the evidence first hand, I’ve seen the people who have come forward to tell @skydart how Chris ordered her blacklisted, there isn’t just one, there are many,” he wrote. For years the pain @skydart carried around was overwhelming, and even now @hardwick doesn’t have the decency to offer first an apology to the woman he destroyed intentionally. That’s all that mattered.”
He continued: “I’ve sat on this for years as it isn’t my story to tell, I even had to work with him and his accomplices, @skydart supported me through that like a god damn soldier. But now the whole world gets to see the incredible strength and resilience of a survivor like @skydart.”
