Hayden Panettiere representative defends actor’s sobriety after fans express concern over unsettling interview

Panettiere recently spoke with ‘People’ regarding her younger brother’s death

Hayden Panettiere has previously spoken about her struggles with sobriety and substance abuse (Getty)

Hayden Panettiere’s representative has spoken out after fans expressed concern about a recent interview she gave.

On Wednesday, September 19, People released their September cover story alongside a video interview posted to the publication’s Instagram account where Panettiere spoke about her brother’s death.

However, many people in the comments section noted that her “speech was slurred” and her eyes “could barely stay open.”

Panettiere has been open in the past about her struggles with substance abuse and alcohol addiction.

However, a representative for the actor maintained her sobriety in a statement to Page Six: “Speaking about her brother for the first time was very emotional for her – and it had been a long and exhausting day for her. She was not under the influence.”

The Independent has reached out to Panettiere’s representatives for further comment.

Other commenters on People’s post felt that the interview should be taken down. “Can someone please take this video down. Hayden clearly is struggling here. This is exploitation. Remove this video immediately,” one person wrote.

“This interview should be removed asap!!” a second added.

“Take this video down please. Have some respect and compassion,” a third wrote.

Panettiere’s team said the actress had, had a ‘long day’ (Getty Images)

“Please do the respectful thing and delete this,” a fourth commenter urged.

The Heroes actor has previously spoken out about her history of addiction to opioids and alcohol, explaining in an interview with People in 2022 that she was only 15 years old when someone first started offering her pills.

“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” the actress told the outlet. “I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”

Panettiere continued, mentioning that although she “couldn’t be messy” while filming, she continued to consume alcohol and use opioids in her free time.

“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,” she said.

The actor became a mother in 2014. She shares daughter Kaya, nine, with former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko. While she remained sober during her pregnancy, she started drinking again after giving birth.

“He didn’t want to be around me,” she said of Klitschko at the time.

“I didn’t want to be around me. But with the opiates and alcohol, I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I’d feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction.”

The turning point for her was when she was admitted to the hospital for jaundice and received news about the state of her liver.

“Doctors told me my liver was going to give out,” she said. “I was no longer a 20-year-old who could just bounce right back.”

She entered rehab for eight months which allowed her to “get over the hump” of her addiction.

“It’s an everyday choice, and I’m checking in with myself all the time,” Panettiere said. “But I’m just so grateful to be part of this world again, and I will never take it for granted again.”