Three months after Chloe Dykstra published a harrowing essay on Medium detailing a years-long, emotionally, physically and sexually abusive relationship with “a mildly successful podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company,” later revealed to be AMC’s Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick, the actor has granted Time her first public interview.
In it, Dykstra opens up about the harassment she’s faced since checking Twitter the morning after she published her piece: “I opened trending and saw my face. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. I was just like, ‘No, no, no.’”
That changed once Hardwick was revealed to be the subject of the accusations:
“The tide kind of shifted. I was attacked relentlessly. There was an organized group of people online whose sole purpose was to try to disprove me. I was terrified people were going to figure out where I lived.”
And it continues today:
“After months of reading horrible things about myself, I got to such a low point that I considered ending it. I didn’t really have guidance because you can’t really Google, ‘How to handle being an accuser?’”
When asked about Hardwick’s very temporary removal-slash-immediate reinstatement at AMC/Talking Dead, Dykstra said she was strangely grateful:
“When I found out he had gotten his jobs back, I was actually relieved because I knew [the online harassment] wasn’t going to stop until he was reinstated.”
Unfortunately and perhaps unexpectedly, the abuse has yet to subside. Read the full article here.