life doesn’t always seem heroic Hayden Panettiere. The Heroes actress is opening up about the deeply traumatic experience she endured when she was just 18 years old. She opened up 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 an extremely disturbing situation during a boat ride with friends. She recalled the traumatic experience – a moment which she said had “shocked” her deeply – and described how she managed to deal with the situation and get herself to safety.
Hayden Panettiere recalls a traumatic incident
Recalling the incident, Hayden shared that at age 18, she believed she was mature enough to make healthy decisions, but she often failed to fully process situations until she was actually in danger. She recalled being on a boat and having a good time when someone she “had come to trust and see as a protector” took her to a small room and “physically” placed her on a bed next to a “naked man who was very famous”. According to the actor, the situation was considered completely normal by the people around him – almost like any other normal day.
She said, “Even though I’ve lived such a great 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 thought I could make healthy, safe decisions, I wasn’t able to be fully aware of what was going on around me. It wasn’t until I found myself in a difficult situation that I realized why. My perspective changed, but by that time, I was literally out of it; it was shocking because I was having such a good time, and it was done by someone I trusted and looked up to, but it was a surprise. Joe was very famous, and his hands looked like it was an average day for him.
How did Hayden Panettiere handle the situation?
After finding herself in an extremely compromising position, Hayden said she had to recognize the “lion” within her, protecting herself as she realized she could not let the situation escalate any further. The 36-year-old actor remembers desperately trying to escape and find a place to hide on the boat, knowing that jumping out and swimming away was not a realistic option. She also said that she was saddened that no one on board the ship would sympathize with her plight because, as she said, the situation seemed “nothing new to them”.
She said, “I was waiting for him to leave, and that lion inside me, that fire inside me, would give me goosebumps. I would become cruel and be like, ‘This is not happening.’ When you’ve been let down a lot before and you finally find someone you trust.”
About Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere is an American actor and singer best known for her roles as Claire Bennet Heroes and Juliet Barnes on Nashville. Starting her career at the age of 11 months, she rose to fame in Remember the Titans (2000) and voicing 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, will be out on May 19, discussing her career, trauma and personal battles.