Hayden Panettiere has given more details about a traumatic experience she says happened when she was just 18 years old, as reported by Page Six.

In her new memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” released Tuesday, the 36-year-old actress recalls being forced into bed with what she calls a “very famous” and “undressed” man during a trip to the South of France.

Panettiere writes that the disturbing incident occurred aboard a “super yacht” filled with celebrities. She says she was traveling with a close friend, referred to under the pseudonym Stella McAmis.

Hayden Panettiere reveals the friend's name who allegedly put her in bed with a naked man.

Details: https://t.co/VAXzVJ6JFD pic.twitter.com/iZivJNyTrq— TMZ (@TMZ) May 19, 2026

The “Nashville” alum recalls the trip taking a dark turn near the end when McAmis approached her during dinner, asking her to come downstairs to meet someone.

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Panettiere follows McAmis down a narrow hallway and into a private cabin, where she was shocked to find a “famous thirty-something British singer-songwriter” shirtless in bed under the sheets.

“‘Oh my God,’ I thought. ‘Is he naked under there?’” Panettiere writes. She claims her friend then whispered, “I want you to get in bed with him. He has a huge d*ck,” before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Panettiere describes her heart as “pounding” and her thoughts “a blur.” She says she initially followed her friend’s instructions because she was so accustomed to being “managed” during her years as a child star.

Once alone with the man, however, she realized she couldn’t go through with it.

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“Look,” she recalls saying, “I don’t know what she said to you, but this is not going to happen.”

She says she quickly left the cabin and arranged to get off the yacht as soon as possible.

“I wasn’t scared, but I felt like I’d been kicked in the face,” she writes, explaining that she felt deeply betrayed by her friend.

“She’d confided in me, pampered me, and treated me like her best friend — then turned around and treated me like a call girl. I deserved better than that, by a lot.”

Panettiere has chosen to keep her former friend’s identity hidden, which led to fan speculation that it might have been “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Diana Jenkins.

Jenkins, however, denied the rumors through a statement from her spokesperson on May 13.

“Diana has had to deal with false online rumors before, and sadly, this is just another example of that,” the rep told TMZ. “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.”

When asked why she continues to hide the British musician’s name, Panettiere said fear of legal action remains a major concern.

“It was a bad look for them and [the people I didn’t name] were generally people within my industry,” she told the Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “They’re people I could run into again. I didn’t want to put myself in that position.”

The actress added, “Things happened a long time ago, but it was to protect me and my company from being sued by some very pissed-off famous people.”

Her memoir reportedly includes other painful and revealing moments from her life. Among them are difficult experiences with her mother and an uncomfortable encounter involving an “Oscar-winning actor and director.”

Panettiere’s story continues to draw attention for its raw honesty and the glimpse it offers into the darker side of fame.

Fans and readers have been quick to respond online, praising her courage for coming forward while respecting her choice not to disclose certain identities.

The incident, as described by Panettiere, sheds light on the manipulative environments that can surround young performers early in their careers.

For Panettiere, telling her story appears to be part of a larger effort to reckon with the past, confront betrayal, and reclaim her voice after years of silence.

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