Hayden Panettiere is finally putting one major piece of that shocking yacht story to rest — and the answer is definitely not what the internet expected.
After LOTS of intense speculation surrounding the actress’ disturbing memoir claims about being led into bed with a “very famous” British singer in his 30s — who was allegedly completely naked while there — when she was only 18 years old, Hayden is now revealing the identity of the woman she claims brought her into the situation in the first place. And according to her account, it was not the celebrity socialite many online sleuths had convinced themselves was involved.
Related: Hayden Emotionally Shaken Talking About NEARLY DYING During Childbirth — & More!
In her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, the Heroes alum identifies the woman as Stella McAmis, someone she says she once considered a trusted friend within the industry. Hayden claims Stella repeatedly encouraged her to “trust” her while guiding her downstairs on a luxury yacht to meet the older singer, who was allegedly waiting for her in bed.
And the details only get more unsettling from there.
Hayden recalls walking into the room and seeing the singer stretched out beneath the covers with his arms behind his head, casually waiting as though the encounter had already been arranged. She says Stella was talking up the man the entire time, allegedly making comments about his “huge d**k” among other things, while acting like the whole scenario was glamorous and exciting instead of deeply inappropriate.
Even now, Hayden seems haunted by how powerless she felt in that moment. The actress admitted in her memoir that she climbed into bed despite feeling completely overwhelmed and uncomfortable. And that was because she trusted Stella and didn’t know how to process what was happening quickly enough to stop it.
Ugh.
She then describes mentally checking out as panic set in, saying her heart was racing while she struggled to understand how she had ended up in such a dangerous situation.
Thankfully, according to Hayden, things did not go further physically. Once Stella left the room, the actress says she snapped back into survival mode, climbed out of bed, and immediately started figuring out how to get off the yacht as soon as possible.
The revelation is especially notable because social media users had been aggressively accusing Diana Jenkins of being the mystery woman involved in the story after Hayden first discussed the experience publicly. Jenkins strongly denied the allegations and reportedly threatened legal action against people spreading the rumors online. Hayden’s memoir now appears to completely debunk that theory by naming someone else entirely.
Still, Hayden doesn’t hold back when reflecting on Stella’s alleged behavior. Looking back now, she says she felt as though she had essentially been treated badly and placed into an exploitative setup for the benefit of a wealthy, powerful celebrity. At the same time, she also paints Stella as someone consumed by status, money, and proximity to famous men.
The deeper Hayden gets into her memoir, the more heartbreaking these stories become. Between the pressure of fame, toxic relationships, addiction struggles, and now these deeply uncomfortable Hollywood experiences, This Is Me: A Reckoning is definitely painting an incredibly dark picture of what was really happening behind the scenes during some of the biggest years of her career.
Reactions, y’all?
[Image via WENN]
