Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick Accused of Disturbing Abuse by Ex-Girlfriend Chloe Dykstra

Chloe Dykstra, the actress/host and former girlfriend of Nerdist founder Chris Hardwick, is now accusing him of emotional abuse and sexual assault over the course of their three-year relationship.

Dykstra made the allegations in an essay for Medium, and while she doesn’t name him specifically, it is clear who she is talking about. She says she is coming out with the allegations now for the sake of closure and for her own mental health.

Chris Hardwick has yet to comment on the allegations.

In addition to allowing him to dictate every aspect of their relationship, Dykstra claimed Hardwick raped her multiple times during their relationship. “I was terrified to piss him off,” she wrote. “So I did what he said.…Including let him sexually assault me. Regularly. I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work.”

In the essay, she also detailed how he set rules to dominate even small aspects of their relationship.

“Our relationship started out poorly. Within 2 weeks, rules were quickly established. Some of these included:

*”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.

*”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.

*”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.’

*”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.

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

Dykstra was in her early twenties at the time, and her relationship lasted three years. She is 29 now, so these events are fairly recent. Hardwick is no longer with Nerdist, as he sold the company to them in 2012, and has not been actively working with them for years.

The Verge details Nerdist’s attempts to distance themselves from Hardwick.

Hardwick hasn’t made any public statements since Dykstra’s account was published. Nerdist Industries, however, made a statement on Twitter this afternoon. “Like you, we were shocked to read the news this morning,” read the note. It included an additional statement from parent company Legendary Entertainment: “Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017. 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.”

Since the controversy broke earlier today, several Nerdist contributors have quit the website, saying they do not want to be a part of a company Hardwick started, even though he no longer is affiliated with them.

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