Chris Hardwick's ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra accuses him of "long-term abuse" and career blacklisting

TheWrap

Dykstra, an actress and former Nerdist host, released a Medium essay early this morning titled “Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession" that didn't name her ex-boyfriend, but strongly suggested that she was in an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with Hardwick. In the essay, Dykstra recalled "falling for a man almost 20 years my senior" (Hardwick is 46, she's 29). "I watched and supported him as he grew from a mildly successful podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company," she wrote. "He was obsessed with celebrity, being famous, famous people." She wrote that she took an on-camera role at his company and made her stay in her hotel room at San Diego Comic-Con. Dykstra, whose relationship with Hardwick ended in 2014, wrote that “after three years of being snapped/yelled at constantly, very rarely being shown any affection- I finally left him.” She added that after the breakup, the man “made calls to several companies I received regular work from to get me fired by threatening to never work with them. He succeeded. I was blacklisted.” Hardwick, Dykstra and AMC, where he hosts Talking Dead, have yet to formally respond to the essay when The Wrap reached out for comment.