Hayden Panettiere says Oscar-winner exposed his testicles to her when she was 19 at Hollywood party
Actor Hayden Panettiere has said an unnamed male Oscar-winner exposed himself to her when she was a teenager at a Hollywood party.
Panettiere, who is now 36 and made her name in the 2000s due to her starring role in the hit series Heroes, detailed the alleged incident in her new memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which is out today (May 19th).
In the book, Panettiere recalled being at one specific party when she was 19 and feeling “deeply uneasy”, noting, “These men seemed to be a little too comfortable together, like they knew something I didn’t. As a woman in a room dominated by men, it was also hard not to feel like I was being watched.”
Due to feeling uncomfortable in the environment, Panettiere made the decision to exit the occasion when she was approached by the Oscar-winning actor.
After exchanging pleasantries, Panettiere claimed the actor told her, “Just be careful when you leave because someone spit their gum out somewhere, and I got some on my pants.” He then allegedly said, “‘Look here… ‘There’s a big wad of gum on my pants.’”
Panitierre wrote, “I looked down and recoiled. This well-respected, award-winning actor’s testicles were hanging out from his unzipped fly.”
The Nashville star stated that she kept the incident to herself, not even disclosing it to her friend with whom she attended the party.
Panetierre wrote that this was the first time she was exposed to the darker side of Hollywood, explaining that men in those circles had “always been kind and respectful around me” prior to this incident.
She added, “The gum on the pants, however, was a head-scratcher. 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.”
In an interview with Far Out last year, Panetierre discussed the complexities of becoming a child star when all her friends were at traditional school, noting, “I’d have to switch to algebra or science, and you’re just on an emotional rollercoaster.”
However, her own experiences have made Panetierre look out for children she now works with as an adult, sharing,” “I get very protective of kids, because I feel like when I grew up, there wasn’t a whole lot of understanding that, you know, that’s a tricky manoeuvre. So, every time I get to work with kids, I get excited because I want to help them have the best experience they can have.”
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