Andrea Savage is coming to Chris Hardwick‘s defense amid allegations of emotional abuse and sexual assault brought against him by ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra.

“I’ve known Chris for over 15 years. We dated years and years ago,” Savage tells PEOPLE. “He is one of the kindest, most supportive, women-supporting, intelligent people I’ve ever met.”

Based on her own experiences with Hardwick, Savage, 45, says she did not recognize the person described in Dykstra’s post.

“None of this rang true in terms of my experience with him,” she says. “He’s truly one of the least controlling people. That’s not the Chris I know.”

Savage dated Hardwick from 2002 to 2003 and the two have remained close friends in the years since. The actress reached out to him shortly after the allegations first surfaced.

“I was just like, ‘Hey, I’m sure you’re having a really, really terrible day. Just wanted to say you have support out there if you need it,’ ” she says.

Savage says she ultimately decided to speak out on Hardwick’s behalf out of a greater concern for the #MeToo movement. She doesn’t want people to feel afraid of standing up for those they love.

“I feel like we’re suddenly in this environment where people are able to publicly name and accuse you of things, but then nobody else is allowed to give their experience with that person and defend their character,” she explains. “If you’re a woman and you say something like this, you’re not supportive of women and against the MeToo movement. If you’re a man, forget it, you can’t say anything.”

She continues: “I feel like the MeToo movement is so important, and it’s such a fragile platform on social media and the Internet for women whose voices are not being heard and literally, have no where else to turn. I feel like as much as we’re calling on men to take responsibility, women need to, as well, to protect this channel because it is powerful. When you say something, it has serious repercussions.”

But despite her own relationship with Hardwick, Savage does say that if he is guilty of any inappropriate behavior, he should have to face the consequences.

“If he’s done something criminal, he’s got to be called to it,” she says. “I just felt like, ‘You know what? This doesn’t feel right.’ Even if something is true, that doesn’t change my 17-year history with him.”

Dykstra, 29, wrote about her painful experience with sexual assault in an emotional first-person essay earlier this month, although she never named her former boyfriend.

In the essay, titled “Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession,” the TV personality doesn’t name the subject, though certain key details led many fans on Twitter to believe that she was referring to ex-boyfriend Hardwick, 46.

Hours after Dykstra’s claims went public, Hardwick gave a statement obtained by PEOPLE saying he made sure to take time to respond to the “very serious allegations.”

“I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post. Our three-year relationship was not perfect — we were ultimately not a good match and argues — 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,” said Hardwick.

As you may know, AMC host Chris Hardwick was recently accused of abuse by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. In response, Chris issued a statement denying those allegations. AMC has said that while they assess the situation fully, Talking with Chris Hardwick will not air on the network going forward. In the interest of full disclosure, I have known Chris professionally and personally for many years. I consider him a good friend. I say this because I want to be open and clear about my relationship to Chris, and I want people to know that you can know and like someone and still reserve judgment on behavior of theirs of which you have no firsthand knowledge. I share the concerns expressed by the network and the public over these very serious claims. Unapologetic is and will remain a place to discuss all issues relevant to women, no matter how close to home they may hit. We take our responsibility seriously, and we will continue to monitor this story.

The lengthy negative column listed things like, “designs too many options; seems like she’s trying too hard; asks too many questions.” When I shared the document with my candid male mentor, who openly acknowledged the culture of sexism at Pixar, he said, “If you were a man, every one of those negatives would be in the positive column.”