Hayden Panettiere’s mother claims she did not force her daughter to work as a child: ‘I was not abusive by any stretch…’
Hayden Panettiere’s passing has left the industry and her fans in shock. As the investigation into her demise continues, debates about the lack of protective measures for child actors have started online. Amid this, Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, has also been accused of “forcing” her daughter to work in the entertainment industry from a young age. In an official statement released online, Vogel denied all allegations and shared that she never forced her daughter to do something she was uncomfortable with.
Lesley Vogel denies allegations of forcing her daughter to work when she was a child
Hayden Panettiere had been in the entertainment industry since she was only 11 months old and starred in multiple brand commercials. Addressing the new allegations of making her daughter work as a child, Vogel shared with The Daily Mail that nothing of this sort ever happened. The 70-year-old commented, “I was strong, definitely, but I was not abusive by any stretch of the imagination.”She added, “She started with Wilhelmina at eight months old because she’s a beautiful baby. I mean, really beautiful baby. My thought then was, let her do some stuff, we’ll put it in her college fund, and she’ll go to college, and she’ll have this. I never expected her to be a professional actor, never.” Vogel was heavily involved in her daughter’s career in her early days as a minor in the industry and officially worked as her talent manager.Responding to allegations of pressuring Hayden, her mother denied everything and instead recalled those early days, sharing that the ‘Heroes’ actress put a lot of pressure on herself alone. She added, “I know that she has mentioned, you know, [that she] ‘always had to please Mom,’ or make sure it was, you know, I succeeded or whatever. I didn’t put that on her. I think she put that on herself.” As to whether she forced her daughter or not, Vogel added, “Try making a 2-to 5-year-old child do something they don’t want to do. Are you going to be successful? No, you’re not. Probably 99 percent of the time.”
Hayden Panettiere claimed that she was under a lot of pressure as a child
In an old interview in May, given only a few months before her passing, the ‘Nashville’ star shared that her childhood was filled with many issues. While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, she added, “I was like a little soldier, and I always have been. ‘No’ was never an option. It was just, ‘Here are your scenes, here’s your dialogue, memorize it, hit the marks, and do what your director tells you to do.’ I took my marching orders.”
About Hayden Panettiere’s death
Hayden passed away on August 16 in an apartment complex in Greenville. Her ex-partner Brian Hutcherson, along with his brother, Zach Hutcherson, was also present in the house when she passed away. They were also the ones who called the paramedics, who attempted “advanced cardiac life support measures”; however, they were unable to save her. An autopsy report from the coroner’s office reads that there were “no signs of trauma that would have contributed” to Panettiere’s death at the scene but deferred determining a cause of death “pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies.”Hayden Panettiere is survived by her daughter, Kaya, who lives with her father in Ukraine.
