Royal wedding guest Jacinda Barrett has leapt to the defence of her ex-boyfriend Chris Hardwick, after his talk show was put on hold amid allegations of sexual abuse.
Australian-born actress Jacinda, who attended Harry and Meghan’s Windsor Castle wedding last month on the arm of her husband, Suits star Gabriel Macht, dated Hardwick in the mid-1990s, when she was a model and reality TV star, appearing on MTV’s The Real World: London in 1995.
Earlier this month actress Chloe Dykstra, 29, who had a three year relationship with Hardwick, 46, that ended in 2014, wrote an essay accusing an unnamed ex-partner of sexually assaulting her and being mentally abusive towards her while they were together – allegations that were quickly linked to the Los Angeles-based actor, talk show host and stand-up comic.
Jacinda, 45, wrote on Instagram: ‘This past week I have watched someone I once loved and shared four years of my life with be publicly accused of misconduct and abuse, then swiftly fired and shunned.’
Actress Jacinda Barrett, who attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding on the arm of her husband, Suits star Gabriel Macht, posted on Instagram after her ex boyfriend Chris Hardwick was suspended from his US talk show host following sexual abuse allegations
‘Everyone deserves to be heard’: The actress leapt to the defence of her former partner on Instagram, tagging him in a lengthy post in which she said ‘the accuser’s story bears no resemblance to the one I shared with him all those years ago’
Jacinda and Chris dated during the 1990s when she was a rising model and reality star, and he was an MTV dating game show host; they are pictured together in July 1996
She said the ‘accuser’s story’ bore no resemblance to ‘the one I shared with him’, adding that ‘every woman and man deserves a voice’ – ‘accuser and accused’ – adding that the Me Too movement ‘deserves due process’.
Hardwick, who has denied the allegations, has seen his talk show put on hold in the US and his name wiped from the website of The Nerdist – a company he founded.
Actress Jacinda, who married the Duchess of Sussex’s former Suits co-star Gabriel Macht in 2004, tagged her ex-partner in the lengthy Instagram post, which she shared with a photo of a quote from her that appeared to urge people to put themselves in Hardwick’s shoes.
It said: ‘Imagine you are sitting in a courtroom. A person walks in and in their own words reads a statement accusing you of wrongdoing. The punishment for this crime is to lose your livelihood, legacy, reputation and to be publicly shamed.
‘Without examination of evidence, without due course the judge turns to everyone there and says what do you think? Guilty?’
Barrett appeared to be drawing parallels with the essay that actress Chloe penned for the website Medium, in which she described falling for a man almost 20 years her senior, who sexually assaulted her ‘regularly’ and was mentally abusive throughout their relationship.
While she did not name the man in the piece, several details she described in the essay indicated she was describing the Talking Dead host, from whom she split in 2014.
Chris Hardwick is seen in 2003 with Chloe Dykstra, who claimed in an essay that the Talking Dead host was mentally abusive and sexually assaulted her during their three year relationship – Hardwick has denied the allegations
Chris married publishing heiress Lydia Hearst in August 2016. Lydia, 33, pictured with Chris in May, also recently spoke out to defend her ‘loving and compassionate husband’
The actress, who dated the embattled talk show host in the Nineties, appeared to suggest Chris should be treated as innocent until proven guilty
Hardwick has denied the claims, and said he broke up with the actress because she cheated on him.
Jacinda was among the congregation when the now Duke and Duchess of Sussex exchanged vows in Windsor on May 19th
His wife, Lydia Hearst, has said publicly she is standing by her ‘loving and compassionate’ husband.
Now mother-of-two Jacinda, who was born in Australia but found fame on the The Real World: London, met Hardwick on the set of Singled Out, an MTV dating show that ran from 1995 to 1998.
They were together for four years after meeting in 1995, during which they lived together and are understood to have planned to wed.
Jacinda, who herself had a bit part on Suits, the legal drama in which Meghan Markle rose to fame, was part of the giddy gaggle of cast-members who descended on Berkshire last month to see the former actress exchange vows with her British prince.
The former model, who wore a burgundy Emilia Wickstead dress with a cut out and a coordinating hat as she strolled to St George’s Chapel on the arm of her dapper husband on May 19th, posted on Instagram about the royal couple’s ‘beautiful and joyous day’, during which she described dancing to Elton John’s impromptu performance at the lunchtime reception, and laughing at Prince Charles’ speech.