Yahoo News Chris Hardwick replaced on Walking Dead after-show
UPDATE: Former Community star Yvette Nicole Brown will replace Chris Hardwick as the presenter of Walking Dead after-show Talking Dead, at least on an interim basis.
An AMC spokesperson said Friday (July 13): "Yvette Nicole Brown will step in as an interim guest host of The Walking Dead Season 9 Preview Special on August 5 and Talking Dead when it returns following the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead on August 12, as we work to complete our assessment related to Chris Hardwick."
Brown has been a popular guest on Talking Dead throughout its existence, and was recently announced to be replacing Hardwick as the moderator of The Walking Dead's Comic-Con International panel. She had previously denied being interested in taking over Talking Dead.
I will say this once. I am filling in for a friend, which I have done before. I am not jockeying for a job. I have enough of my own. It is my prayer that God's Will is done in the midst of this process & that everyone is okay. My character is known & sound. Nothing has changed.
- yvette nicole brown (@YNB) July 4, 2018
Original story: The Walking Dead has lined up Yvette Nicole Brown to take over from Chris Hardwick to moderate the show's panel at San Diego Comic-Con this month (via Deadline).
Talking Dead host Hardwick was originally announced for the panel, which takes place on July 20 in Hall H, but he dropped out after his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra penned an essay accusing him of emotional and sexual abuse during their relationship.
Brown, who is known for playing Shirley Bennett on sitcom Community, is an avid fan of The Walking Dead and has made numerous appearances on Talking Dead as a guest.
[Above: Chloe Dysktra and Chris Hardwick in 2014]
Last month, AMC said in a statement regarding Hardwick's withdrawal from moderating the panels for both The Walking Dead and Doctor Who: "We have had a positive working relationship with Chris Hardwick for many years. We take the troubling allegations that surfaced yesterday very seriously.
"While we assess the situation, Talking with Chris Hardwick will not air on AMC, and Chris has decided to step aside from moderating planned AMC and BBC America panels at Comic-Con International in San Diego next month."
On June 15, Dykstra made an unlisted post on Medium detailing allegations of facing years of abuse at the hands of an unnamed boyfriend, who she described as someone who went from a "podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company".
She said that she was barred from going out at night alone, having male friends, or speaking while out on dates with her boyfriend.
The Heroes of Cosplay star also wrote that she was expected to submit to sex with him nightly, which she says she went along with "out of fear of losing him".
"I generally stopped speaking unless spoken to while with him, drifting through life like a ghost," she said of their relationship. "I would try to sleep in as late as possible so my days were shorter. I stopped listening to music entirely. I ceased to be. I was an ex-person."
When she finally left him after three years, Dykstra said that her boyfriend and a former female friend did everything possible to get her blacklisted from the entertainment industry as a form of revenge.
In response, Hardwick released a statement denying allegations of sexual assault.
"These are very serious allegations and not to be taken lightly which is why I've taken the day to consider how to respond," he said.
"I was heartbroken to read Chloe's post. Our three-year relationship was not perfect – we were ultimately not a good match and argued, even shouted at each other – but I loved her, and did my best to uplift and support her as a partner and companion in any way and at no time did I sexually assault her."
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