Actress Yvette Nicole Brown will temporarily fill in for Chris Hardwick as “interim guest host” of The Walking Dead and Talking Dead while AMC Networks reviews the sexual assault allegations against Hardwick.
Brown will guest host “The Walking Dead Season 9 Preview Special” on Aug. 5, as well as Talking Dead on Aug. 12. She will also fill in for Hardwick as the moderator of The Walking Dead panels at San Diego Comic-Con this week.
The announcement by AMC follows the recent online post by Hardwick’s ex-girlfriend. The 29-year-old actress alleged she was emotionally and physically abused by a former boyfriend who was nearly 20 years her senior. She described the man as an individual who “grew from a mildly successful podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company.” She later confirmed that the post referred to Hardwick.
Hardwick denied the allegations in a statement to Deadline, where he claimed that, “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.”