Hayden Panettiere insisted she did not fabricate the shocking stories about “very famous” men in her new memoir to sell books.
The actress explained to “Tamron Hall Show” viewers Wednesday that she did “want to call people out” in “This Is Me: A Reckoning” — but couldn’t.
“This is still an industry I have to exist in and people are not, like, readily willing to admit to what they did,” the “Nashville” alum, 36, said.
She, instead, decided to “tell [her] stories without dragging anything else through the mud.”
As for claims the Golden Globe nominee made stories “like that up just to sell a book,” she replied, “You don’t [do that], sorry. Been doing this too long.”
Panettiere subsequently agreed with Tamron Hall’s defense that “this is [her] story” to tell.
“[It has] nothing to do with [selling books],” the “Heroes” alum added.
Regardless, Hall pointed out that the memoir’s release has “set off this whodunnit” online as readers speculate at the identities of the celebrities described.
In one particular anecdote, Panettiere called out someone she “had grown to trust and see as a protector” who put her in bed with an “undressed … very famous” man when she was 18.
The “Ice Princess” star detailed the experience on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast last week.
“My hair stood on end and I became ferocious. I was like, ‘This is not happening,’” she said, recalling tapping into her “lion” within.
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Diana Jenkins, notably, has denied being the “protector” in question who put Panettiere in the harrowing situation.
“Diana has had to deal with false online rumors before, and sadly this is just another example of that,” her rep wrote in a recent statement. “So let me be 100 percent clear about this: It most certainly is not Diana, and anyone who claims it is her will be sued.”
In another viral story, Panettiere accused an “Oscar-winning actor and director” of exposing his genitals to her at a star-studded party.
She wrote about feeling “shocked” by “this well-respected, award-winning actor’s testicles … hanging out from his unzipped fly.”
The former soap star’s memoir, published Tuesday, additionally covers her addiction struggles, her failed relationships and more.