Hayden Panettiere says friend put her in bed with ‘older British singer’ at 18
Hayden Panettiere (Getty Images)
Hayden Panettiere is sharing new details about a disturbing experience she says happened when she was 18 years old aboard a celebrity-filled yacht in the South of France.
In her new memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, the actress describes being led into a private cabin by a close friend, only to find a “famous thirtysomething British singer-songwriter” waiting shirtless in bed.
Panettiere, who came out as bisexual earlier this month, says her friend told her to “get in bed with him” before leaving the room, leaving the actress shocked and disoriented.
She reflected on growing up in the entertainment industry and how it had conditioned her to ignore her instincts and trust the adults around her.
Panettiere says she quickly realised the situation was unsafe and told the man: “This is not going to happen,” before leaving the room and packing to leave the yacht entirely.
Looking back on the incident years later during an 11 May appearance on the On Purpose podcast, she said she now understands how vulnerable she really was at 18, despite believing she was mature at the time.
The Heroes star also explained to The Hollywood Reporter why she chose not to publicly identify certain people involved, saying she wanted to protect herself from legal retaliation and avoid further trauma. “Things happened a long time ago, but it was to protect me and my company from being sued by some very p***** off famous people,” she said.
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