Chris Hardwick’s former fiancée Jacinda Barrett stepped up to defend her ex amid sexual assault and emotional abuse allegations.
“Imagine you are sitting in a courtroom,” the Suits alum, 45, wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, June 26, tagging Hardwick. “A person walks in and in their own words reads a statement accusing you of wrongdoing. The punishment for this crime is to lose your livelihood, legacy, reputation and to be publicly shamed. Without examination of evidence, without due course the judge turns to everyone there and says what do you think? Guilty?”
She continued: “This past week I have watched someone I once loved and shared four years of my life with be publicly accused of misconduct and abuse, then swiftly fired and shunned. The accuser’s story bears no resemblance to the one I shared with him all those years ago, but what is of supreme importance here is that every woman and every man deserves a voice. Accuser and Accused. Everyone deserves to be heard. A rush to judgement denies the right to due process; the Metoo movement deserves due process.” Barrett, who is now married to Gabriel Macht, was engaged to Hardwick in the ‘90s.
Chloe Dykstra, whom Hardwick dated from 2011 to 2014, alleged in a Medium.com essay published on June 14 that an unnamed ex subjected her to sexual assault and emotional abuse. “Every night, I laid there for him, occasionally in tears. He called it ‘starfishing.’ He thought the whole idea was funny,” the 29-year-old explained. “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.”
Several clues point to the 46-year-old @midnight host being the ex in question, though Hardwick denied the accusations in a statement to Us Weekly on June 15. “These are very serious allegations and not to be taken lightly, which is why I’ve taken the day to consider how to respond,” he said at the time. “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 added: “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.”
Barrett is not the only woman who has defended Hardwick amidst the backlash. (Nerdist Industries cut ties with the comedian, and AMC pulled his talk show after he was linked to Dykstra’s claims.) The actor’s wife, Lydia Hearst, also released a rebuttal via Instagram on Thursday, June 21. “This is not a statement in defense, this is a statement of defense. Defense for all the women who have been sexually abused, raped, trafficked, and tortured; defense of all the people who this movement was started for,” she wrote. “Over the last year the #MeToo movement has rightly aimed a spotlight directly on women whose stories needed to be told. As someone who has been involved in toxic relationships in the past, I know firsthand the importance of sharing these stories and do not take this situation lightly.”
The actress, 33, elaborated: “I have made the decision to come out in support of my husband not out of obligation, but out of necessity to speak the truth about the person I know. Chris is nothing but loving and compassionate and is the only person who has stood by me, never judged me, helped me heal, and feel whole. To defend my husband would be giving credence to any of these accusations. I will not do that. Chris Hardwick is a good man.”
“I remain in complete support of my husband, and I believe that the truth will always win,” Hearst concluded. “#TimesUp because I know my truth and I believe in due process.”
