An ex-girlfriend of TV host Chris Hardwick has accused him of being sexually abusive and emotionally controlling.(Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
AMC has decided to pull Chris Hardwick's "Talking with Chris Hardwick" talk show from the air following allegations of sexual and emotional abuse made by his former girlfriend, actress Chloe Dykstra, in a Medium.com essay Friday.
The network announced the news in a statement obtained by USA TODAY Saturday, which also noted that Hardwick would not be moderating the AMC and BBC America panels at Comic Con as previously planned.
"We have had a positive working relationship with Chris Hardwick for many years. We take the troubling allegations that surfaced yesterday very seriously," the statement read. "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."
NBC also commented on the allegations against Hardwick in a statement Saturday.
"These allegations about Chris Hardwick took us by surprise as we have had a positive working relationship with him. However, we take allegations of misconduct very seriously," the statement read. "Production on 'The Wall' does not begin until September, and in the meantime we are continuing to assess the situation and will take appropriate action based on the outcome."
Hardwick was also scrubbed from Nerdist, the sci-fi and pop-culture podcast and website founded by TV host Chris Hardwick, Friday.
Though she didn't come out and name Hardwick as her abuser, Dykstra dropped enough hints — noting their nearly 20-year age gap (he's now 46 and she's 29) and his occupation as a podcaster-turned-CEO — that readers connected the dots for themselves.
In addition to sexually assaulting her, Dykstra says her controlling boyfriend expected her to reserve her evenings for him, forbade her from having close male friends, from drinking alcohol, speaking in public places or taking photos of them. She says he also pressured her to take an on-camera job at his company.
Eventually, the stress led to an eating disorder and Dykstra pulling out her own hair. After she broke up with him in 2014, she says he got her blacklisted in Hollywood, leaving her suicidal.
More: Hollywood power players accused of sexual misconduct
He married publishing heiress Lydia Hearst in 2016.
Hardwick, a TV veteran who began his career on MTV's dating show "Singled Out," currently hosts AMC's recap shows "Talking Dead," "Talking Saul" and "Talking Preacher" and the NBC game show The Wall. He also hosted the now-defunct Comedy Central game show "@midnight."
Neither network immediately responded to USA TODAY's request for comment; nor have Hardwick's representatives.
Nerdist, however, addressed the story Friday afternoon.
"Like you, were shocked to read the news this morning," the company said in a statement posted to Twitter. "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's statement went on to say that its parent company, Legendary Digital Networks, had "removed all references to Mr. Hardwick even as the original founder of Nerdist pending further investigation" and added that he had not been involved with the company for years.
Dykstra's essay was published one day after BBC America announced Hardwick would moderate the "Doctor Who" panel featuring the show's first female Doctor (Jodie Whitaker) at Comic-Con in July.
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