Names and faces
Chris Hardwick’s cable talk show is on hold and he has withdrawn as moderator of AMC and BBC America’s Comic-Con panels, AMC Networks said Saturday. The company said it had a positive working relationship with the host and producer but takes seriously what it called “troubling” allegations by his former girlfriend, Chloe Dykstra. In an online post, she lodged claims of sexual assault and emotional abuse against a man whom she didn’t identify. But she included details about his age and work history that led some to link her allegations to Hardwick, who acknowledged Dykstra was referring to him even as he denied her claims. “I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post,” Hardwick said in a statement Saturday. He said the couple’s three-year relationship was imperfect and included arguments but that he loved her. “As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women,” he said. AMC Networks said Talking with Chris Hardwick won’t air on AMC while it assesses the situation and that Hardwick decided to step aside from next month’s Comic-Con panels in San Diego. Hardwick gained attention as host of AMC’s Talking Dead, a talk-show companion to the drama series The Walking Dead. The initial public fallout to Dykstra’s post Thursday involved Nerdist, which Hardwick founded as a podcast and then expanded into a digital network that was acquired by Legendary Entertainment. His name has been removed from the Nerdist website, which said the behavior claimed in the post by Dykstra is contrary to what it stands for.
Chris Cornell’s daughter released a recording of a duet with her late father as part of an emotional tribute to the late rocker on Father’s Day. Toni Cornell released the duet of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” on Sunday along with a note thanking her dad for his support of her. “You gave me courage when I didn’t have any. You believed in me when I didn’t. I miss your love everyday,” Toni Cornell, 13, wrote in posts that accompanied the song on Instagram and YouTube. “Recording this song with you was a special and amazing experience I wish I could repeat 100 times over and I know you would too.” Chris Cornell died in May 2017 while on tour, and his death was ruled a suicide. He was a leader of the grunge movement with Seattle-based Soundgarden, and he enjoyed a successful career with other bands and as a solo artist.