Hayden Panettiere has revealed she was lured into bed with a “very famous” naked Hollywood actor when she was just 18.
Panettiere made the revelation during an episode of the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, where she discussed her upcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
In the book, Panettiere, who hit the height of her fame as Claire Bennet in Heroes, recalls an incident during a boat trip in which a friend led her into a room where she was unexpectedly instructed to get into bed with a well-known male actor who was already naked.
Describing the experience, Panettiere said on the podcast: “Even though I felt I could make healthy decisions, safe decisions [at that age], I wasn’t capable of being fully aware of what was going on around me.
“It wasn’t until I found myself in predicaments that I realized my perspective completely shifted, and I realized I was in danger. By the time I realized I was in danger, I was quite literally out to sea.”
She added, “I had been having a great time. There were, no hints of anything like that happening, so I was shocked. It took me by surprise.
“I was led by somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector and somebody who had my back… [we] walked down the stairs. It was a small room. She physically put me in the bed next to this undressed man who was very famous, and this was just an average day for him, and this is something that happens all the time.”
“I waited for her to leave, and that lion in me, that fire in me. My hair stood on end and I became ferocious. I was like, ‘This is not happening,’” she continued. “But I had nowhere to hide. I bolted. I hid wherever I could think to hide on a boat. There was no jumping off and swimming away. and I realized that there was nobody who was going to be empathetic to my situation, that this was nothing new to them.”
Panettiere began her career as a child performer, first appearing in soap operas including ABC’s One Life to Live and CBS’ Guiding Light. She also did early voice work in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life.
She has also appeared in Remember the Titans, Tiger Cruise, and Ice Princess, and later starred in films including Bring It On: All or Nothing and Scream 4. On television, she is best known for her breakout role in NBC’s Heroes and, later, as country music star Juliette Barnes in ABC’s Nashville.
