Hayden Panettiere’s tell all, This is Me: A Reckoning, came out yesterday. A lot of outlets are discussing the blind items she drops. We talked about her reveal that a female friend put her in bed, at just 18, as a sort of offering to an older male celebrity on a yacht. In her book Hayden states that it was a 30-something British singer. Many people have speculated that the evil friend was Diana Jenkins, who has denied it’s her. (Hayden seemingly addressed this in an ET interview, saying, “What’s worse is the denial of it, because that’s not a story that somebody just makes up.”) Hayden also dropped a horrifying anecdote about an Oscar-winning actor who exposed himself to her at a party.
In This is Me, Hayden writes that her mom, Lesley Vogel, refused to have a personal relationship with her after Hayden fired Lesley as her manager. Late last week, we covered Lesley’s mean response to Hayden’s memoir, which was typical DARVO and blamed Hayden for everything. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hayden responded to Lesley’s statement, saying that it was false and that her mom is closing the door to a potential reconciliation.
On the abuse she went through as a child
I was like overwhelming that I hadn’t like made the connection so much sooner in their forms of abuse and some things that I have to work on and keep my eye out eye out for because no one else is going to protect me.On her mom’s statement
It was so false. She slammed that door in my face. When people ask me about the relationship, if there’s any hope for future, I always say that I always leave that door cracked open in case because who doesn’t want a relationship with their mother? You pray for it and you hope it eventually comes, but she slammed that door pretty hard in my face.On if she’s talked to her mom
No, she has very clearly prioritized herself, which I should not be shocked by. But I can’t imagine how she feels about doing what she did and then saying what she said. I don’t know how she lives with that.
[From ET Online’s YouTube transcript]
It’s surprising to me that Hayden is open to having a relationship with her mom, because it seems like a textbook situation that calls for no contact. For what it’s worth, Hayden’s abusive ex boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, called Hayden’s mom “one of the worst people I’ve ever met in my life.” TMZ interviewed Hickerson because of course they did.
Later in the interview, Hayden was asked about the fact that she recently came out as bisexual. She said she didn’t want people to think she was coming out for the wrong reasons or that it was a fad for her. I’m 53 and bisexual and this is sadly relatable to me. I hardly ever mention it for that reason and am grateful that the younger generation is more open and understanding.
Kudos to Hayden for being so forthcoming about everything she’s gone through. She’s so matter-of-fact and vulnerable. I’m so happy to see her on the other side of everything she went through and I hope she has a long career as a scream queen.
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