Nerdist Founder Chris Hardwick Accused of Sexual Assault

Chris Hardwick and Chloe Dykstra
CULVER CITY, CA - JUNE 07: TV personality Chris Hardwick (L) and actress Chloe Dykstra attends Spike TV's "Guys Choice 2014" at Sony Pictures Studios on June 7, 2014 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spike TV)

In a lengthy essay on Medium, actress and TV personality Chloe Dykstra detailed alleged years of abuse she endured. While she didn’t name her abuser, the details she provides point to Nerdist founder Chris Hardwick as the accused.

In the essay titled “Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession,” Dykstra talks about her 17 attempts to pen her essay over the years after consultation with multiple parties, such as lawyers, therapists, and friends. According to her, she took a friend’s advice to simply write from the heart.

Even though Chloe does not name her abuser details are given in the essay all but point to the former G4 personality.

She details the alleged years of abuse she went through with the host of the Talking Dead including methods of control he used.

She details a list of rules he set up when the two began dating and clarifies these are just some of them.

  1. I “should not want to go somewhere at night”. My nights were expected to be reserved for him, as he had a busy schedule. This alienated me from my friends.

  2. I was to not have close male friends unless we worked together. All photos of male friends were to be removed from my apartment. This was heartbreaking for me, as my best friend happened to be male.

  3. As he was sober, I was not to drink alcohol. Before we began dating he said, “I noticed you have a glass of wine with dinner. That’s going to stop.”

  4. 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. Our dinners out were usually silent, him on his phone.

  5. I wasn’t allowed to take a photo of us. (Eventually, he softened on this rule, but was very stern about me asking permission.)

She does admit that she accepted his controlling behavior, but says it was “a huge mistake.”

She goes on to detail that she “let him sexually assault” her as well. And it happened regularly. She explains, “I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work.”

Once Dykstra finally left Hardwick, she admits he had her blacklisted from the industry.

She accuses him of making calls to several companies she worked for to get her fired. She describes his actions as steamrolling her career.

Chloe Dykstra even recalls a story when she was pregnant and had to have surgery to remove the child. The unnamed man believed to be Hardwick slept in a cot at the foot of her bed in the hospital. However, when the surgery was successful and she had recovered, her mother and the man greeted the doctor. The man allegedly asked the doctor, “That’s great. When do you think I can have sex with her again?”

Dysktra concluded with a sobering statement:

PS: 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. 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.

On Twitter she thanked fans for well wishes and support and said that she was taking time off the internet:

Reps for Hardwick have yet to respond to the essay. With the current trend of #Metoo and more and more people coming out with accusations it is no surprise.

This isn’t the first time big time entertainers and creators have used their influence to hide predatory behavior. Most famously, Harvey Weinstein was accused by a number of actresses of using his position to procure sexual favors from up and coming actresses. He was also accused of sexual assault and rape.

This is a developing story and we’ll have updates as they become available.

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