Actress Hayden Panettiere is opening up about a frightening experience she had as a teenager. During an appearance on Jay Shetty’s popular podcast, “On Purpose,” the “Bring It On” performer got candid about the time she was placed in a bed with a very famous “undressed” man on a boat. Panettiere, 36, touched on the moment in her upcoming memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” and now she’s revealing how it impacted her.
Shetty opens the conversation on his podcast by asking Panettiere about the moment her friend took her on a boat and was later led to a room with a much older man and told to perform sex acts.
Paneittere said that, looking back on the moment, she finds it appalling given how young she was. “The fact that I was 18, even though I’d lived such a huge life and I thought I was oh so mature at 18 … scientifically, your frontal lobes don’t develop until we’re what, 25, 26?” she said.
The actress explained that while she believed she was mature enough to make challenging decisions, she said, “I wasn’t capable of being fully aware of what was going on around me.”
Hayden Panettiere Says She Was Put In This Situation By Someone She Trusted
Panettiere said her mindset shifted once she realized that she was “in danger.” Before that, the mother of one called the moment “shocking,” stating that she believed she and her friends were spending the night together to celebrate.
She went on to say how badly the moment affected her, especially because she was put in the compromising position by someone close to her. “It was led by somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector and somebody who had my back,” she said. “When you really find somebody that you trust, you hold on to them for dear life, and you feel so lucky.
While Paneittere doesn’t reveal who the man was, the author described him as “very famous,” adding that the situation seemed like “an average day for him.”
Thankfully, Panettiere said she was able to flee the room and hide elsewhere on the vessel. “That lion in me, that fire in me … my hair stood on end and I became ferocious,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is not happening.’”
Hayden Panettiere Is Revealing Even More In Her New Memoir, Out May 19
Also in her book, Paneittere breaks her silence on her sexuality. According to a previous report from The Blast, the “Nashville” alum said that while she wishes she had spoken about it earlier, she’s fully embracing this side of herself.
“It’s sad that I had to wait till I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?” she said. “I’ve chosen to share it with the world. I’m comfortable saying I’m bisexual. I’m comfortable to confidently say that, yes, I am bisexual. I said it!”
The actress admitted that living life in the spotlight influenced what information she shared with the public about herself. However, she said she had always been attracted to women.
“[I was] much more into women,” she said before revealing why she didn’t date them publicly. “I didn’t really have the courage to throw myself fully, emotionally into it,” she said. “Because then if I did fall in love, that wasn’t something that I wanted to ever have to hide.”
Panettiere Lost Her Younger Brother
Another report from The Blast details the struggles Paneittere went through after losing her brother, Jansen, at 28.
The actress said that she will always be “heartbroken” over the loss, and even shared that it triggered previous disorders to reemerge.
“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she said. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”
The 28-year-old died from cardiomegaly, which is an enlarged heart, along with aortic valve complications.
According to Panettiere, her brother’s death prompted her agoraphobia (severe anxiety disorder) to resurface after she was followed by paparazzi.
“I had to see horrific paparazzi pictures of myself coming out of Jansen’s funeral, which happened in a very private place, and it was shocking,” she said. “It became a destructive hamster wheel of, do I feel good enough to go out?”
Panettiere Struggled With Addiction
Prior to that, Panettiere broke her silence after struggling with addiction. “I was on the top of the world, and I ruined it,” she said, adding, “I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens.”
Paneittere revealed that she sought help for her addiction and attended both trauma therapy and inpatient treatment between 2021 and 2022.
“I put a lot of work into myself, and I had to be willing to be incredibly honest,” she said, revealing that her recovery journey was far from easy.
“But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.”
