A new report says that Hayden Panettiere suffered from mysterious pain that felt like “pins and needles” in her legs and that she gave specific instructions during a Manhattan book tour in May that ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson could not attend.
The New York Times on Sunday said Panettiere was accompanied by private security during the visit to Barnes & Noble that gave “clear instructions to keep [Hickerson] away.” Hickerson was present when Panettiere, 36, was found dead Aug. 16 in an apartment in Greenville, S.C. Police initially announced that no foul play was suspected; an initial autopsy found no signs of trauma.
Panettiere wrote about Hickerson in her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning, that was released in May. The book addresses how Hickerson was violent toward Panettiere, which resulted in three arrests and some time in jail, according to the newspaper.
The NYT also quoted Panettiere’s mom, Lesley Vogel, who said she spent time in Los Angeles with her daughter a year ago “when she was in pain. She was afraid. She couldn’t physically function properly.” Vogel took Panettiere to doctors and an acupuncturist to try to treat the feeling of “pins and needles” in her legs that impacted her daughter’s ability to walk.
On Saturday, Melissa Gilbert cited Panettiere’s death by saying there needs to be better protections for child actors.
“How is it possible that no one in the mainstream media has picked up on this?” she began in a Substack essay. “Within one year, Michelle Trachtenberg, Daveigh Chase and Hayden Panettiere have died. DIED! Three former female child actors of the same generation are gone. Tragically, heartbreakingly, agonizingly too soon.”
Panettiere had been open about her struggles with depression and addiction. The actress once told People she was given “happy pills” at the age of 15. She got Heroes at 16, and graduated to drinking and occasionally taking opioids. “My saving grace is that I couldn’t be messy while on set and working,” she said. “But things kept getting out of control [off set]. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
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