Actress and cosplay show host Chloe Dykstra has written an essay in which she accuses an ex-boyfriend, assumed to be Chris Hardwick, of emotional and sexual abuse. "In my early twenties, I was a vibrant, goofy kid who loved video games, Doctor Who, dressing up in cosplay with my friends, and karaoke nights," Dykstra writes, saying that her life changed when she "met someone at a convention and ended up falling for a man almost 20 years my senior." Dykstra claims that within weeks the man had established rules for her, including that she not go out at night, drink alcohol, have male friends, or speak in public places where they might be overheard.
Dykstra also describes the man sexually assaulting her: "Every night, I laid there for him, occasionally in tears," she writes.
Heavy.com writes that a number of details in Dykstra's post corroborate the belief that the man being referenced is Hardwick, a TV personality and the founder of Nerdist Industries. Dykstra writes that she eventually left him "after three years of being snapped/yelled at constantly, very rarely being shown any affection." She claims 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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In her conclusion, Dykstra writes: "One of my favorite quotes comes from Bojack Horseman: 'You know, it's funny; when you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.' Please, please, keep an eye out for those red flags." Read her entire post at Medium here.
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
