Late last night, actress and well-known cosplayer Chloe Dykstra posted a first-person account on Medium, detailing a period of her life in which she was engaged in an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with an unnamed man—albeit an unnamed man who many people have been comfortable identifying as her ex-boyfriend, comedian, podcaster, and TV host Chris Hardwick. Including, apparently, Hardwick himself, who, after a day of silence that saw his former company Nerdist remove his name as founder from its website, and the TV networks he’s associated with face mounting pressure to distance themselves from him, has now issued a statement directly addressing Dykstra’s account, and offering a flat denial to many of her claims.
Most pointedly, Hardwick denies the portions of Dykstra’s account in which she describes her unnamed partner as emotionally coercing and threatening her into sex on multiple occasions, and despite her stated lack of desire. Noting that these are “very serious allegations that are not to be taken lightly,” Hardwick described his relationship with Dykstra this way: “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.”
Hardwick then went on to accuse Dykstra of infidelity, stating that he ended their relationship after she cheated on him. (Dykstra’s account mentions kissing another person near the end of the relationship, but characterizes the subsequent events in a very different light.) “I’m devastated to read that she is now accusing me of conduct that did not occur,” Hardwick’s statement concluded. “I was blindsided by her post and always wanted the best for her. As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women.”
Hardwick’s AMC talk show, Talking With Chris Hardwick, is currently gearing up for its second-season premiere, featuring Donald Glover, on Sunday night. Without naming names, Deadline reports that a number of the upcoming season’s guests—a roster that includes Glover, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, and more—have expressed their discomfort with the show’s premiere so soon after the allegations against Hardwick came to light.
You can read Hardwick’s full statement here.