Life has not always felt heroic for Hayden Panettiere. The Heroes actor is opening up about a deeply traumatic experience she endured when she was just 18 years old. She spoke candidly about it during the May 11 episode of Jay Shetty’s podcast, ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
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In the interview, she reflected on several moments from her memoir, including a terrifying incident that occurred when she was just 18 years old and found herself in a deeply disturbing situation during a boat ride with friends. She recalled the harrowing experience – a moment she said deeply “shook” her – and opened up about how she managed to navigate the situation and get herself to safety.
Hayden Panettiere recalls a traumatic incident
Recounting the incident, Hayden shared that at 18, she believed she was mature enough to make healthy decisions, but often failed to fully process situations until she was actually in danger. She recalled being on a boat and having a great time when someone she “had grown to trust and see as a protector” led her into a tiny room and “physically” placed her on a bed next to an “undressed man who was very famous.” According to the actor, the situation appeared to be treated as completely normal by those around her – almost like just another ordinary day.
She said, “Even though I’d lived such a huge life and thought I was so mature at 18, scientifically, our frontal lobes don’t develop until we’re 25 or 26. Even though I felt like I could make healthy, safe decisions, 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 realised my perspective shifted and I was in danger, but by that time, I was quite literally out to sea. That moment shook me; it was shocking because I had been having a great time with no hints of anything like that happening. It was led by somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector and someone who had my back. It was presented as though it was a surprise, but she physically put me in the bed next to this undressed man who was very famous, and he had his hands like this was just an average day for him.”
How Hayden Panettiere managed the situation
After finding herself in the deeply compromising situation, Hayden said she had to tap into “the lion” within her, becoming fiercely protective of herself as she realised she could not let the situation escalate further. The 36-year-old actor recalled running away and desperately trying to find a place to hide on the boat, knowing that jumping off and swimming away was not a realistic option. She also noted that she was painfully aware that no one onboard would likely have empathised with her distress, because, as she put it, the situation seemed to be “nothing new to them.”
She said, “I waited for her to leave, and that lion in me, that fire in me, made my hair stand on end. I became ferocious and was like, ‘This is not happening’. But I had nowhere to hide; I bolted and hid wherever I could on a boat where there was no jumping off and swimming away. I realised that there was nobody who was going to be empathetic to my situation, and that this was nothing new to them. To be betrayed like that is just an awful feeling, especially when you’ve been let down so much before and finally find somebody you trust.”
About Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere is an American actor and singer known for her roles as Claire Bennet on Heroes and Juliette Barnes on Nashville. Beginning her career at 11 months old, she gained fame in Remember the Titans (2000) and voiced Dot in A Bug’s Life (1998). She recently made headlines for coming out as bisexual and her upcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, discussing her career, trauma, and personal battles, comes out on May 19.