Hayden Panettiere revisited some of the most difficult moments of her early years in Hollywood. The actress claimed in her new memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” that a respected Oscar-winning actor once exposed himself to her during a party when she was just 19 years old.
The revelation is among several personal stories Panettiere shared in the book, which chronicles her life in the entertainment industry, from childhood stardom to the challenges she faced behind the scenes.
Hayden recounts an Oscar-Winner pulling out his private parts at a party when she was 19
According to Panettiere, the incident happened at a private apartment gathering she attended with a friend. The Nashville alum wrote that she spent part of the evening chatting with a group of men before deciding it was time to leave.
As she was putting on her coat, Panettiere claimed an unnamed actor and director approached her. She described him in the memoir as a “well-respected” and award-winning figure in Hollywood, PEOPLE reported.
The actress alleged that the man pointed toward his pants and suggested there was gum stuck on them. When she looked down, she said she was immediately shocked by what she saw.
“This well-respected, award-winning actor’s testicles were hanging out from his unzipped fly,” Panettiere wrote.
Although she said the encounter never became physical, it left her rattled. “The gum on the pants, however, was a head-scratcher,” she wrote. “It hadn’t hurt me, and I was sure it was a drunken joke, but I’d never seen a grown man do something like that. I was shocked.”
Panettiere added that she never told the friend who attended the party with her. At the time, she believed the incident was over and assumed some older men simply lacked boundaries.
The memoir also details another unsettling experience from when she was 18. During a recent appearance on On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Panettiere recalled being brought onto a boat by someone she trusted and unexpectedly placed in a room with an undressed older celebrity.
She said the situation became frightening once she realized what was happening and that she was already “quite literally out to sea.” Panettiere recalled leaving the room immediately and searching for another place to stay on the boat.
The actress recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she chose not to identify certain people mentioned in the memoir because many still work in the industry and naming them could create legal complications.
This Is Me: A Reckoning is available now wherever books are sold.
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