Hayden Panettiere’s onscreen father Jack Coleman slams paparazzi who ‘hunted’ her as a teenager
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hayden Panettiere's death has been a shock to the whole entertainment fraternity. Being an actress who had practically been in Hollywood from a young age made it impossible for her to have personal time.
Now, the actor's onscreen father, Jack Coleman, shared an emotional tribute and shed light on how the paparazzi 'hunted' her as a teenager. He highlighted that they would ask inappropriate questions of her despite knowing that she was just a child and not a grown-up.
He recalled that the first time he and Panettiere met, she shouted 'daddy' and threw her arms around him. They met on the sets of 'Heroes'.
Hayden Panettiere's onscreen father Jack Coleman shares emotional post
Coleman shared four never-seen images of him and his onscreen daughter from the sets of 'Heroes'. He started with “I’m heartbroken. I couldn’t begin to put my thoughts into words until now, and they will be inadequate."
He continued, “I’ve loved Hayden since day one of the pilot of ‘Heroes,’ 20 years ago, when she introduced herself by shouting ‘daddy’ and throwing her arms around me. From that day on, she called me daddio. She was Haydini, because she was a magician.”
Right after this, he couldn't help but point out the industry's negativity and how paparazzi questioned Panettiere when she was a teenager.
“By 17 she was #1 on IMDB Pro. She was routinely asked obnoxious questions, mostly some version of ‘when are you going to go off the rails?'” Coleman shares. “Today, we’d recognize those questions for the misogynistic provocations they were.”
“She was hunted. Everywhere she went, there were photographers with 300 millimeter lenses — the kind that can make even the most innocent activity look sinister,” he continued. “Once, when she came to our house, paparazzi hid in the bushes behind our yard and drove onto neighbors’ lawns. They were predatory. No one, especially a teenager, should be targeted that way.”
Coleman concluded, “Today I’m filled with sorrow and regret. And anger. But that’s for another time. Right now I want to remember an extraordinary young woman who was blessed and cursed. She was vulnerable. She felt everything. It made her a remarkable actor and susceptible to the heartache and thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.”
Hayden Panettiere's untimely death
The 36-year-old actress's untimely death at a temporary apartment is under investigation. As per Variety, there were "no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances."
Her family has shared a tribute, along with her 'Heroes' co-stars, her daughter Kaya's father and other celebrities. Some talked about how lively she was as a person, while others talked about how untimely and sudden her death was.
