36-year-old actress Hayden Panettiere passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, August 16, leaving her family, friends, and Hollywood peers grieving her loss.
Several of them paid their respects to her on social media, including Kathryn Henzler, an extra who worked with her on the set of Scream 4.
She recalled Panettiere maintaining a positive demeanor despite working under what she described as “not-so-great conditions.”
Highlights
- An extra who worked with Hayden Panettiere on Scream 4 remembered her as positive and considerate toward others, even under difficult filming conditions.
- Panettiere’s memoir, published earlier this year, detailed disturbing experiences involving several Hollywood figures.
- Some fans have speculated that the actress may have been silenced by someone in the industry to prevent her from revealing more.
“Gone too soon,” she added, echoing the thoughts of millions of her fans who have questioned the timing of the tragedy while suggesting foul play.
An extra who worked with Panettiere shared fond memories of the late actress
“I want to share something about Hayden Panettiere that will forever stay with me,” Henzler posted on X on Monday.
“My twin sister and I were background actors on the set of Scream 4, and were in the scene where Stab-A-Thon takes place in the barn. It was hot, dark, and buggy that whole night we were filming.
“Yet, Hayden was nothing but nice to everyone around her,” she wrote.
Henzler shared that Panettiere took time to chat with background actors and complimented their acting.
She described her as “super professional, supremely talented and just a lovely person to be on set with,” in addition to being “humble and kind.”
Panettiere was introduced to the entertainment industry at only eight months old, courtesy of her mother, former soap opera actress Lesley Vogel, who took her to auditions.
By 11 months, Panettiere had already booked her first gig, starring in a commercial for Playskool.
She soon moved into television, appearing on One Life to Live at four before joining Guiding Light at six.
The actress’s demise was announced by her father, Alan Lee “Skip” Panettiere, who described her as an “incredible light” and a “force of nature.”
A 911 call suggested that Panettiere’s demise could be substance-related
A source told TMZ that Panettiere flew into South Carolina from Los Angeles just a day before her passing.
Per the outlet, a friend called the cops at 1:51 p.m. on Sunday after finding Panettiere “unresponsive.”
Officers, according to 911 audio obtained by Page Six, spoke about administering “advanced cardiac life support” to an “unidentified female” while mentioning they were viewing the case as one of “overd**e.”
Speaking with NBC News, a spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department said that “preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.”
However, her admirers are not convinced.
Fans pointed out that her passing came just three months after the release of her memoir
Panettiere opened up about the inner workings of Hollywood and her encounters with multiple popular and powerful figures in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May.
Among the most disturbing revelations was her claim that people on her management team began giving her “happy pills” when she was just a teenager.
They were given to help make her appear more cheerful during interviews and red-carpet appearances, she said, before noting that it was this that contributed to her years-long struggle with substance dependency.
Then, Panettiere described a yacht incident she said occurred when she was 18.
The actress said that this situation was especially painful because an industry friend she had “grown to trust” and viewed as a protector allegedly set her up.
She said she was led to a small cabin by the individual and physically put into a bed next to a “very famous” unclothed man.
Panettiere said she immediately sprang into action and told that man, “Look, I don’t know what she said to you, but this is not going to happen,” before bolting to find a place to hide on the boat.
In a separate instance at 19, Panettiere said an Oscar-winning actor and director exposed himself to her at a private gathering.
“She was just starting to tell her truth out loud, and look what happened. That timing is not a coincidence,” a fan said on X.
“If it wasn’t the system silencing her actively, it was the system silencing her passively,” added another.
Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, has also faced scrutiny
Hickerson, also an actor, and Panettiere were first romantically linked in 2018.
The very next year, in 2019, he was arrested for domestic violence concerning an incident involving the actress.
The following year, Hickerson was arrested again in Wyoming for a violent dispute with Panettiere.
This time, Panettiere took to social media to urge those in a**sive relationships to “get the help they need and deserve.” However, she herself never got out of the loop.
Hickerson accompanied Panettiere to South Carolina, according to TMZ.
The detail did not sit well with her fans, as one commented, “Him being with her in her final minutes is sketchy as hell.”
“Was she m**dered?” asked another.
Hickerson archived all but one promotional post dedicated to SONY on Instagram after the backlash.
"Hollywood is so cruel," a netizen said
