AMC may consider future of Talking with Hardwick following allegations
According to a report from Deadline, representatives from some of the actors set to appear on the upcoming season premiering this weekend are lobbying the network to try to at least postpone the show in the wake of new allegations of physical and emotional abuse from Hardwick’s former girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. Representatives are reportedly saying that they are uncomfortable with the direct association between Hardwick and their performers, which makes sense given that many out there may not be aware that these interviews are pre-recorded. With that, it could be interpreted that these actors, by appearing on the series, are offering support to him. Some of the guests to film appearances on Talking with Chris Hardwick this season included Donald Glover, Bill Hader, and Chris Pratt.
Depending on what AMC decides, they may ultimately decide to pull these episodes altogether; postponing is another option, at least until some of Dykstra’s accusations (first made in a powerful Medium essay) are further investigated.
There has already been some movement against Hardwick since the accusations first surfaced. For example, mentions of him have been scrubbed from the company he previously ran in Nerdist. Meanwhile, he has come under tremendous fire from many within the entertainment industry.
A part of what makes this particular story so horrific is that for many people, Hardwick was viewed as a inspiration, someone who overcame addiction and found a way to get his career on track with hard work and dedication. HIs podcast was viewed as a venue of laughter and healing. This poisons whatever reputation he had and the course of his entire career is greatly changed. There are many different companies that need to decide on their future with him. For example, NBC needs to determine if they still want to air episodes of The Wall, a series he hosts that has performed rather well. Meanwhile, AMC also has Talking Dead to consider. They could simply replace him with a new host rather than canceling it altogether.
Our heart goes out to Dykstra, and we hope AMC finds a way to make a decision that is out of sensitivity to her and respect to some of the guests on Talking, who likely would not have chosen to appear were they aware of these allegations at that time.
We’ll have more to report once further news comes in. (Photo: AMC.)