Nashville star Hayden Panettiere says that when she was 18 years old, she was lured into a room on a boat and told to get in bed with a naked, famous and much-older male actor.
Panettiere recalled the alleged incident during a new appearance on the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, and she’ll also detail her experience in her upcoming book, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
READ MORE: Hayden Panettiere Says Nashville Was ‘Very Traumatizing’
“By the time I realized I was in danger, I was quite literally out to sea,” she explained to host Jay Shetty. “…That moment shook me, and was shocking.”
How Was Hayden Panettiere Lured Into a Bed With a Naked, Famous Actor When She Was 18?
Panettiere says she’d been “having a great time” on the boat and had no reason to believe she was being set up for the encounter.
She recalls being led down a set of stairs into a room by a person that “I had grown to trust and see as a protector.” The woman, whom Panettiere didn’t name, allegedly “physically put me in the bed next to this undressed man who was very famous.”
“Like, this is just an average day for him, this is something that happens all the time,” she continued describing how the unnamed man had his hands clasped behind his head as he laid back in bed.
After the woman left the room, Panettiere says she became “ferocious.”
“I was like, ‘This is not happening.’ But I had nowhere to hide. And I bolted and I hid wherever I could think of to hide on a boat,” she continues. “And I realized that there was nobody that was going to be empathetic to my situation. This was nothing new to them.”
READ MORE: Hayden Panettiere Opens Up About Giving Up Custody of Her Daughter
The actor said that being betrayed by a woman whom she’d trusted, despite the fact that she’d already been disappointed by people in her life as a child, was especially painful.
“When you really find somebody that you trust, you hold onto them for dear life and you feel so lucky,” she reflected. “So to be betrayed like that is just an awful feeling.”
What Else Does Hayden Panettiere Talk About In Her New Book?
Elsewhere in her appearance on On Purpose With Jay Shetty, Panettiere speaks about her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression and grief.
READ MORE: Would Hayden Panettiere Do a Nashville Reboot?
She spoked about the heartbreaking decision to give custody of her daughter Kaya to Kaya’s father, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2018 while Panettiere sought treatment for alcohol addiction and substance abuse.
Panettiere’s book, This Is Me, promises an unflinching look at the star’s childhood, career and personal life. The book is due out on May 19.
PICS: See the Cast of ‘Nashville’ Then and Now
After capturing the hearts of country music fans for several years, Nashville aired its last episode in 2018. The fictional drama centered around the world of Music City and those chasing their big neon dreams.
The show first premiered on ABC before finishing out the final two seasons on CMT. Nashville was a bright spot on many actors’ resumes, including Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton, but it also served as a launching pad for others.
Keep scrolling to see what the cast of Nashville looks like today!
