At 18 years old, when she was already a Hollywood star, Hayden Panettiere went through a situation she described years later as one of the most disturbing experiences of her life.
The actress said she was enjoying a trip on a superyacht in the south of France when a friend she deeply trusted led her toward a small cabin.
Up to that point, Hayden suspected nothing.
But when she entered, she found a famous man, half-naked, lying on a bed. According to her account, her friend had taken her there with the intention that she have a sexual encounter with him and then left the place.
The situation became even more unsettling when the door closed.
“My survival instinct kicked in”, Panettiere recalled. The actress explained that only then did she realize that something was very wrong and that she was in danger.
What affected her most was the betrayal: the person who had taken her there was someone she trusted and considered a protector.
Panettiere managed to refuse and get out of the situation, but years later she explained that the episode changed the way she understood trust and danger.
The mystery that remained was the man’s identity.
In her autobiography, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Hayden revealed that he was a very famous British singer and songwriter, around thirty years old, but she did not publish his name.
After the actress’s death at age 36, that interview began circulating again and the account received unexpected attention.
An 18-year-old young woman, in the middle of a luxurious trip along the French Riviera, believed she was enjoying a vacation.
Until a friend closed the door of a cabin and left her alone with a famous man.