In a carefully worded statement released late Friday, Chris Hardwick said he is “heartbroken” and “devastated” over accusations by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra that he abused her during their relationship — and insisted that “at no time did I sexually assault her.”
In a Medium post published on Friday, Dykstra said that Hardwick abused her mentally and sexually during their three-year relationship, and that he tried to derail her career after they broke up four years ago. Though she did not name identify Hardwick by name in the post, the timing and key details suggested that she was referring to the former “@Midnight” host and Comic-Con mainstay.
“These are very serious allegations and not to be taken lightly which is why I’ve taken the day to consider how to respond. I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post,” Hardwick’s statement begins. “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.”
In addition to denying her accusation of sexual assault, Hardwick also accused Dykstra, an actress and former on-air personality on the Nerdist YouTube network that he founded, of infidelity during their relationship.
“When we were living together, I found out that Chloe had cheated on me, and I ended the relationship,” he said — contradicting Dykstra’s post, in which she said that she was the one who broke things off. “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.”
Hardwick continued, “I’m devastated to read that she is now accusing me of conduct that did not occur” — though he does not specify what conduct he is denying beyond his prior dismissal of sexual assault.
“l was blindsided by her post and always wanted the best for her,” he wrote. “As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women.”
In addition to accusing Hardwick of “controlling behavior” and “sexual assault,” Dykstra also said that after the breakup her ex-boyfriend and an unnamed female colleague “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.”
Hardwick does not address Dykstra’s accusation of career retaliation in his statement.
Soon after the accusations became widely known, Hardwick’s name was scrubbed from the Nerdist website. Hardwick co-founded Nerdist in February 2012, and the company was sold to Legendary Entertainment in July of that year.
“Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017,” a Legendary Entertainment representative said Friday in a statement to TheWrap. “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 rep continued.
On Friday afternoon, Nerdist said in a statement that it was “shocked” by the accusations, and that the behavior Hardwick is accused of “is contrary to everything we stand for and believe in.” The statement also provided contact information for organizations that help abuse survivors.
— Nerdist (@nerdist) June 15, 2018