Chris Hardwick has another defender.
Ex-girlfriend Jacinda Barrett said on Instagram Monday that Chloe Dykstra’s story “bears no resemblance to the one I shared with him all those years ago.”
“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 “Bloodline” actress said in her post caption.
“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,” Barrett continued. “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 and Hardwick dated in the 1990s, when he was the host of MTV’s “Singled Out” and she was a member of the “Real World” cast. The two became engaged to wed at one point.
Barrett is now married to her “Suits” co-star Gabriel Macht. The two, who starred alongside Meghan Markle on the USA Network show, attended her royal wedding to Prince Harry in May.
Hardwick was accused by ex-girlfriend Dysktra in a Medium post of mental and sexual abuse during their three-year relationship, and that he tried to derail her career after they broke up four years ago. Though Dykstra 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.
Hardwick responded hours after Dykstra’s post was published, saying that he “was heartbroken” after reading it.
“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,” his statement continued. He did not address the allegations of career retaliation.
Nerdist employees who worked under Hardwick told TheWrap that the controlling behavior described by Dykstra was consisted with their personal experience interacting with the podcast host. But Hardwick has had some notable defenders, including his wife, Lydia Hearst, his mother-in-law, Patty Hearst, and fellow podcast host Adam Carolla, who described Hardwick on his show as a “gentle soul of a guy.”
Hours after Dykstra’s post was published, Nerdist Industries, the podcast-based digital media empire launched by Hardwick and sold to Legendary Entertainment in 2012, removed Hardwick’s name from the website. In a statement, Legendary said Hardwick had not had any operational involvement with Nerdist for more than two years.
AMC, which has collaborated for years with Hardwick on aftershows for hit series like “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead,” announced on Saturday that his latest program, “Talking With Chris Hardwick,” had been pulled from its schedule one day before the second season premiere was set to air. NBC is also considering dropping Hardwick as the host of its game show, “The Wall,” which begins production on its next season in September.
Hardwick has also stepped down as moderator on Hall H panels for AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and BBC’s “Doctor Who” at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
See Barrett’s Instagram post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkc7SGhnCxM/?utm_source=ig_embed