Hayden Panettiere, who became a household name by her early teens, is opening up about her rise to fame for the first time in a new memoir.
In “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” out May 19, the now 36 year-old actor recounts the traumatizing Hollywood experiences and tabloid scrutiny she experienced through the early-aughts, in addition to candid stories about postpartum depression, addiction and domestic abuse.
One of Panettiere’s more shocking revelations from her book is her memory, from when she was 18 years old, of being lured by friend of hers into a room and told to get in bed with a famous male actor who was naked. She shared the story, which she also recounts in her book, on a recent episode of the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast.
“Even though I felt I could make healthy decisions, safe decisions [at that age], I wasn’t capable of being fully aware of what was going on around me,” Panettiere said. “It wasn’t until I found myself in predicaments that I realized my perspective completely shifted and I realized I was in danger. By the time I realized I was in danger, I was quite literally out to sea.”
In the book, Panettiere also opens up about the “heartbreaking” decision to give up custody over her daughter, her experience with postpartum depression and her struggle with alcoholism — all issues that she says began to mirror the storyline of Juliette Barnes, the troubled singer she was playing on “Nashville” at the time.
Pre-order Panettiere’s new memoir here.
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