By TJ Gibson
Staff Writer
It’s official: After several weeks of being subjected to a myriad of controversies and character assassinations, Chris Hardwick has been formally reinstated as the host of AMC’s incredibly popular “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” aftershow, “Talking Dead.”
The talk show host, podcaster, comedian, actor and general geek extraordinaire was originally suspended from his post — as well as removed from a San Diego Comic Con panel and erased from his popular website, Nerdist — back in June, in the wake of sexual and emotional abuse allegations detailed in a lengthy blog post written by actress and ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra.
Within the blog post — in which Hardwick was not explicitly named but rather indirectly-described and circumstantially-inferred.
Dykstra spoke about her relationship with a man who forced her to have sex with him, placed tight restrictions on her eating and drinking, prohibited her from having friendships with others and even later blacklisted her from a variety of Hollywood productions, among other offenses.
Given the severity of these charges, once enough evidence was connected by the public to indict Hardwick as the alleged abuser described in the post, the professional consequences were carried out swiftly and the public’s #metoo-fueled outrage was even more so.
Indeed, as if suffering the aforementioned career damages (plus potentially even losing his successful NBC game show, “The Wall”) wasn’t enough, Hardwick was quickly condemned by social media users, journalists, and hashtag activists alike to be another offender brought to justice by the #metoo movement, destined to forever live among the likes of shamed others such as Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, or Louis C.K.
But even despite all this, AMC did still promise to conduct a full investigation of the charges, as despite their severity, they still weren’t technically founded in anything other than hearsay at this junction of their development.
Unlike the more thoroughly corroborated cases involving many of the others who had been recently exposed in the court of public opinion.
So, for the following month or so, AMC kept their promise and investigated Dykstra’s claims to the fullest of their abilities, which ultimately turned out to be unfounded (at least as far as AMC could gather), thus resulting in the network announcing July 25 that it would be reinstating Hardwick effective Aug.12, the night of the “Fear the Walking Dead” midseason premiere.
Notably, Hardwick has also since been allowed to return to all of his other professional positions, including as host and guest host respectively of NBC’s “The Wall” and “America’s Got Talent,” as well as having been restored in name to the Nerdist website.
Hardwick’s first episode back to “Talking Dead” was both a return to form for the program after Aug. 5. Yvette Nicole Brown-hosted “Walking Dead” season nine preview episode as well as an intriguing departure from the usually light-hearted, comedy-based tone that the show tends to rest upon.
Right from the opening moments, it was clear that this was a very different episode from most in many ways, as rather than start off with some tongue-in-cheek pun or reference, Hardwick began with a rather heartfelt and impassioned statement, which was as follows:
“This show is not just a job to me, this is a vital part of my life. This has been a sanctuary these last seven years we’ve been here. This has been with me through good times and bad times, and I have so much gratitude to you the fans, the producers, and the casts of these amazing shows for allowing me to be a part of this community every week. This is what this is, a community, and we’re on the precipice of a lot of changes on both ‘Walking Dead’ shows in the coming weeks and months, and I am so looking forward to going on that journey with you. I’ve said the following words a million times, countless times, [and] I’ve never been more thankful than I am in this moment to say to you: I am Chris Hardwick and this is ‘Talking Dead.’”
This statement — as well as Hardwick’s return to form in general — has, on the whole, received mostly positive reactions from fans of both “The Walking Dead” and of Hardwick himself, as posts and comments across the social media world can attest.
It would seem that the combination of Hardwick’s sincerity and the lack of corroboration gleaned from the investigation have proven incredibly beneficial to the pop culture personality, mostly re-solidifying his image as one of pop culture’s most lovable geeks.
Mostly is the key word, however, because while this reinstatement has garnered generally positive reactions, it is still not without some of its own controversy, as Hardwick’s return to “Talking Dead” has led to the resignation of several members of the show’s staff, including one of its executive producers.
Whether this is any indication of there being some truth to Dykstra’s claims or merely a showing of solidarity with the actress is unclear — as none of the staffers have spoken publicly about their departures and AMC has declined to comment on the matter — but it’s an important development in a seemingly closed case as it begs the question in the first place.
Regardless, though, it would seem now that everything is, for all intents and purposes, back to normal in the life of Chris Hardwick. “Talking Dead,” “The Wall,” and Nerdist.com have all been essentially returned to their pre-Dykstra controversy states (barring the resignations, of course), and Hardwick’s public image has been mostly restored to a positive standing.
Whether this is the end of the controversies surrounding Hardwick is impossible to say for now, but we shall wait and see as his return to form continues over the next several months.
