Hayden Panettiere reveals horrifying moment she was placed in bed aged 18 with ‘very famous undressed man’
Hayden Panettiere couldn’t hold back her tears as she relived the traumatic experience of being put to bed with a “very famous man” when she was just 18 years old.
The 36-year-old Heroes actor, who recently came out as bisexual, shocked fans by revealing he was forced into bed with the “undressed” older celebrity while on a boat.
Panettiere further elaborated on the harrowing incident, described in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning. Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcastsOn Monday, he admitted that he now realizes how naive he was about the danger he was in.
Shetty said: ‘You write about a moment in your career when a friend took you on a boat. ‘You’re led into a room with an older man in it and then you’re basically told to perform sexual acts.’
Panettiere responded: ‘Even though I’m 18, I’ve lived a very big life and I think I’m very mature at 18… scientifically your frontal lobes don’t develop until we’re what, 25, 26?
‘So although I felt I could make healthy and safe decisions, I did not have the ability to be fully aware of what was going on around me.’
Hayden Panettiere broke down in tears as she relived the traumatic experience of being put to bed with a “very famous man” when she was just 18
The Heroes actress, 36, shocked fans by revealing she was forced into bed with the “undressed” older celebrity and “told to perform sexual acts” – she was pictured as Claire Bennet in Heroes in 2007 at the age of 18
Panettiere claims that the person who put her in the shocking situation was a friend she trusted and saw as a ‘protector’ before ‘laying me down physically next to this very famous naked man’.
The actress said she was taken downstairs to a small room before being tucked into bed with an unidentified man, who acted ‘as if this was just another day for him’.
Nashville star Panettiere said she immediately became ‘wild’, adding: ‘That lion inside me, that fire inside me… my hair stood on end…
“This isn’t happening” I thought before running out of the room and trying to hide.
‘There was no jumping in and walking away,’ he said. ‘And there was no one to empathize with my situation. I realized this was nothing new for them.’
Panettiere rose to fame in 2006, at the age of 17, playing Claire Bennet, a spontaneously regenerative high school cheerleader, in Heroes.
The revelation comes just days after Panettiere came out as bisexual after years of feeling ‘forced to be perfect’ to avoid public scrutiny.
‘It’s sad that I have to wait until I’m 36 to share this part of myself, but better late than never, right?’ The Nashville alum said. Us Weekly last week.
‘I have chosen to share this with the world, I can safely say that I am bisexual. I can easily say that yes, I am bisexual. ‘I told you!’
Panettiere claims that the person who put him in the shocking situation was a friend he trusted and saw as a ‘protector’ before ‘he laid me down next to this very physically famous naked man’.
Nashville star Panettiere said she immediately became ‘wild’ and added: ‘That lion inside me, that fire inside me… my hair stood on end… – picture 2007, age 18
Panettiere recently came out as bisexual after years of feeling ‘forced to be perfect’ to avoid public scrutiny.
Despite having little privacy due to ‘the paparazzi always waiting for me outside’, Panettiere managed to secretly date women whom he preferred to men from a ‘very, very young age’.
‘[I was] “I’m much more attracted to women,” the two-time Golden Globe nominee said.
‘But yes, I looked into it but I don’t think I ever had the courage to do it because I never shared it with anyone.
‘I didn’t have the courage to devote myself fully emotionally to it because if I fell in love, it wasn’t something I would ever have to hide. I didn’t feel safe enough and I was too afraid to really let that part of me explore that part of me.’
Panettiere was concerned that she would appear to be ‘joining the lizard’ at a time when ‘people, especially women, felt it was trendy to come out and say they were bisexual or that they liked girls’.
The Grammy-nominated narrator decided to be “completely brutally honest” about his sexuality during the two years he wrote his memoirs.
Panettiere has only ever dated men in public, most recently breaking up with convicted felon Brian Hickerson in 2020 after eight domestic violence arrests.
Panettiere has only ever dated men in public, most recently breaking up with convicted felon Brian Hickerson in 2020 after eight domestic violence arrests. Above, together in 2019
The Grammy-nominated narrator lost custody of her 11-year-old daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko to her ex-fiancé (retired heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko), whom she amicably split from in 2018 after their nine-year on/off relationship. Above, together in 2013
Panettiere has also previously dated Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia (above in 2007), retired NFL wide receiver Scotty McKnight, Welsh TV host Steve Jones, singer Jesse McCartney, The Hills alum Stephen Colletti and late Pink Taco founder Harry Morton.
She lost custody of her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, from her ex-fiancé, retired heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko, whom she broke up amicably in 2018 after their nine-year on/off relationship.
The Equal Means Equal activist also previously dated Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia, retired NFL wide receiver Scotty McKnight, Welsh TV host Steve Jones, singer Jesse McCartney, The Hills alum Stephen Colletti and the late Pink Taco founder Harry Morton.
Panettiere is scheduled to kick off her four-day This Is Me book tour on May 19 at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square in her hometown of New York City.
