Hayden Panettiere knows sharing everything on social media can be 'a double-edged sword.' She's trying to find her own balance.
Hayden Panettiere doesn't always have a lot in common with her roles. She's best known for playing a cheerleader who has to save the world and a country superstar. But in her new horror-comedy A Breed Apart, it was easy to step into the mind of her character. After all, she's playing an actress named Hayden.
"I was playing me, down to the hairstyles and the clothes," she laughs to Yahoo Entertainment about her character, actress Hayden Hurst. An actress playing an actress? While it might not have been enough of a challenge for some, the 35-year-old says she found it to be "an amazing outlet to get out frustrations."
"There are definitely parts of me all over the character," she says. "So both Haydens had fun."
It was clear Panettiere, in a relaxed mood, was excited to talk about the project during our phone call. She has been steadily working since 2023, when she reprised her fan-favorite role, Kirby Reed, in Scream VI. The film ended a four-year acting hiatus for the actress, and she's been hanging around the thriller genre ever since. Although I've been a fan of her work (especially Nashville), it was the first time I interviewed the former child star. I anticipated her to be guarded, but she had an ease about her.
A Breed Apart, which came out in theaters and on demand on May 16, follows a group of social media influencers who score an invite to a private island. The trip turns into a horrific reality show when the guests are pitted against each other to capture the island's man-eating dogs.
Campy, yes, but, according to Panettiere, also 'badass.' And it's the first time since Heroes that she's gotten to flex those muscles. (The actress played Claire Bennet in the sci-fi series, which ran from 2006 to2010, about ordinary people with superpowers.)
"I don't want to terrify anyone by saying how easily it comes to me, but to feel like you have permission to really go there and you don't have to worry about hurting people's feelings or being considered rude or people thinking badly of you? To get that temporary permission to be a hellion and a badass is so much fun. I love it," she says.
What was harder for Panettiere was putting herself into the shoes of a content creator.
Among the social media platforms, Panettiere is only active on Instagram, with 860,000 followers. She shares photos every few weeks, typically about her films, animals and the occasional motivational selfie. She doesn't share content on TikTok or X, although she previously posted on the platform when it was known as Twitter. In fact, the actress didn't even go public on Instagram until June 2020.
Keeping her personal life (mostly) offline feels intentional for Panettiere, who has only known life in the public eye. The child star appeared in her first commercial before she turned 1 and started acting in soap operas at age 5. The actress has been open about her sobriety journey. Her private life was tabloid fodder for years, which is perhaps why she never gets too personal on social media these days.
"I have tried to develop a better relationship with social media," she admits. "I've been acting in this industry for so long that it's not something that I grew up doing. But it's a great platform to be able to talk about charity work, or promote movies or talk about whatever it is. It is a great platform at the end of the day."
Panettiere says, like most of us, she just seeks to find the right footing.
"I don't know how some of these influencers literally make it their job and do it all day, every day. I mean, my hat's off to them. I couldn't do that," she explains. "It encourages people to have an opinion about everything and to voice it, which can be a double-edged sword."
Panettiere knows better than anyone that social media can be a dog-eat-dog world. Last year, she was 'forced to address' a video interview she did with People magazine that went viral, with viewers dissecting her speech patterns. She called out the "toxicity of social media," saying, 'It's unfathomable that I'm even in this position' to have to address this publicly. This all happened just months after her brother's unexpected death.
'Mental health is so important, and I hope those reading this now understand that what you say hiding behind a computer screen can have a detrimental impact on someone,' she wrote on Instagram in September 2024.
While some celebrities say their peace and then delete the post, Panettiere still has it up. The more than 3,000 comments are overwhelmingly supportive. ('Well said baby!' wrote her Custody co-star Catalina Sandino Moreno.) It's clear the actress has an online community ready to mobilize if she should say 'go.' That's one positive side to the double-edged sword.
So where does Panettiere's relationship with social media stand today?
'There's a lot of knowledge out there, and then there can be a lot of judgment,' she says. 'So I think like anything else, you just try to find that balance."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
9 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Crumbl announces its newest celebrity collaboration cookie
Crumbl Cookies is a business that grew so fast, it leaves people wondering what it did to achieve such explosive success. Originally founded in 2017 in Utah by Sawyer Hemsley and Jason McGowan with the intention of creating the world's best chocolate chip cookie, today Crumbl sells one million desserts a day and has 1,071 locations nationwide. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Crumbl attributes a lot of its success to both a robust social media presence and its formula of limited weekly drops of new flavors, which one founder says is an idea they got from another industry. Related: Costco adds new food item members already love "In the fashion industry, they really came up with the idea of these drops," McGowan said in a CNBC interview, "and it's an idea we use in our business. It creates that hype, excitement. And it also creates scarcity, because you can only have that cookie for that week." Crumbl also started doing celebrity and film collaborations in December 2023, starting with a partnership to commemorate the launch of the "Willy Wonka" film with its Wonka's Wildly Wonderful Red Velvety Cookie. It teamed up with singer Olivia Rodrigo next to promote her album "Guts." This was excellent timing for the brand, as Rodrigo's popularity was at an all-time high. Now Crumbl has another celebrity collaboration on the way, and it's safe to say fans of the brand are probably going to love it. On June 19, Crumbl shared via its Instagram account that it would drop a new cookie next week in partnership with Benson Boone, the pop-rock sensation and "Beautiful Things" singer who just released the new album "American Heart." The company describes its Moonbeam Ice Cream Cookie, which will be on sale at Crumbl stores only from June 23-28, as "a mystical, magical chilled chocolate cookie packed with cookies and cream pieces, crowned with vibrant moonbeam ice cream-inspired lemon, berry, and marshmallow toppings, finished with a sweet white drizzle and a final sprinkle of cookies and cream." Comments on the complicated-sounding new treat were mixed, with some fans thrilled and eager to try it, and others not so much. "I'm gonna backflip in the store when I get my paws on this," Instagram user eggtyler said. "I'M DEFINITELY GETTING THIS! Love Benson Boone! Seeing him in September!" Instagram user tfnice18 said. However, some Crumbl employees seemed less than enthused about the new collaboration. Related: General Mills quietly discontinues three cereals fans loved "Great. No one asked for another celebrity partnership, especially not the employees," said Instagram user sammy_slocum. Several commenters also asked for Crumbl's take on another viral food sensation that's been sweeping TikTok lately. "Give us a release date for the Dubai chocolate cheesecake and the Dubai chocolate brownie," Instagram user itstheavarose said. While Crumbl's viral popularity has softened a bit since it first exploded a few years back, the brand still has plenty of pull. The privately owned company has more than 10 million followers on TikTok alone, and fans still regularly flock to its stores to try out new flavors or search online for the weekly menu. In a Reddit thread hosted by a franchise owner who offered to answer questions about what it's like to run a Crumbl, Reddit user FromCustomertoFP revealed how much it cost to invest. "It depends on many factors, but it is between $500K to $1M," the user wrote. "Equipment is the biggest chunk of the initial investment. Crumbl is not a cheap franchise to get into." While the franchise owner did not answer when asked if the investment was profitable, they did share some thoughts on Crumbl's growth. "Let's say a Crumbl franchise is a good investment if 1. You can afford it, and 2. You put it in a good location. The last point sounds easy, but it's not. In my opinion Crumbl expanded too much and in some areas allowed stores to be too close, and that is hurting some owners. I think Crumbl stores should be no less than 45 mins. apart from each other," they wrote. Related: Taco Bell adds new beverages to hop on viral fast-food trend The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lizzo Reacts to Performance of ‘About Damn Time' at President Trump's Military Parade
When Lizzo sang, 'Turn up the music, let's celebrate,' Donald Trump's widely protested military birthday parade was not what she had in mind. After video of a performer singing Lizzo's Billboard Hot 100-topping hit 'About Damn Time' at the event in Washington, D.C., on Saturday (June 14) surfaced online, the hitmaker made her feelings quite clear in a TikTok posted over the weekend. Stitching the clip with a few seconds of footage of the parade singer's breathless live rendition of the self-love anthem — performed in front of a gathering on the National Mall — Lizzo then cuts to a shot of herself staring pointedly at the camera, looking perplexed and disgusted. More from Billboard Tyler, the Creator, Finneas, Kehlani & More React to Los Angeles Protests Against ICE Addison Rae Announces Dates For Debut 2025 Headlining World Tour How Brandon Lake Is Leading A Whole New Flock To 'What's Real And What's True' In Christian Music 'cease & desist,' she wrote in the caption. It's unclear which performer is singing 'About Damn Time' in the video Lizzo shared, but according to USA Today, the parade stage's lineup included DJ Nyla Symone, Lee Greenwood, Scotty Hasting, Noah Hicks and Warren Zeiders. The choice to cover the Grammy-winning hit at Trump's procession was certainly an interesting one, though, as Lizzo — who endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — has made her disapproval of the twice-impeached POTUS very clear over the years. She's not the only one. While Trump was celebrating the U.S. Army's 250th birthday — as well as his own 79th birthday, which was also Saturday — through a grand show of military might in D.C., a slew of 'No Kings' gatherings broke out across the country in protest of his administration. Those overlapped with the ongoing protests in Los Angeles against the country's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which recently launched raids into multiple workplaces across the city in the name of alleged immigration violations. Lizzo also posted several times about the ICE raids on Bluesky a few days prior to her TikTok about the military parade. 'The irony of an ice agent forcing a Mexican person off of their ancestral land when that agent's ancestors are European immigrants is just…,' she wrote in one post, adding in another: 'And still … there are people who voted for this who are going to sleep with a smile on their faces pleased as pie … It's a wild world y'all.' See Lizzo's TikTok below. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Newsweek
25 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Ronda Rousey Reacts to UFC, WWE Return Rumors
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ronda Rousey remains one of the most recognized women in combat sports with historic runs in both UFC and WWE, earning multiple titles in both organizations. More Pro Wrestling: Released WWE Star Teases AEW Debut However, Rousey hasn't been in a professional fight of any kind since 2023, leaving her fans wanting more. To this day, rumors persist that she could make her return to either UFC or WWE in the near future, especially since she has recently released clips of herself training on Instagram. Now, Rousey is ready to lay those rumors to rest. LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Ronda Rousey celebrates her victory over Cat Zingano in their UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 184 event at Staples Center on February 28, 2015 in Los... LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Ronda Rousey celebrates her victory over Cat Zingano in their UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 184 event at Staples Center on February 28, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. MoreDuring an appearance on "Untapped" with Spencer Matthews, Rousey quickly shut down any rumors that she will return to MMA or pro wrestling, saying that her focus is now on being a mom. "I am like deep in mom mode," Rousey said, per Steve Carrier of Ringside News. "I am not in the studio, you know. I'm working out in my garage, and I'm just trying to reclaim my body from motherhood, you know?" Rousey has just given birth to her second child in January, and Rousey has made it clear that these workouts aren't meant to get her fight ready, but to make her feel more like herself. "You become this like human assembly factory, and you completely like lose your own autonomy," Rousey said. "And you literally—like—a baby is like a parasite. It is like sucking the life out of you and just taking over everything." "I'm just, you know, just trying to reclaim myself from—you know—this amazing thing that women's bodies are designed to do. "But it really does just like take you over entirely... you're left with what's left over, you're like, 'Oh my god, will I ever be the same again?' Or... the answer is no. But you could—you could be a new something." More Pro Wrestling: WWE Hall of Famer Calls Out Wrestling Fans Critical of Goldberg Rousey first made her mark competing in Judo, where she won multiple medals and competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the latter. Rousey would eventually translate her skills to MMA success, becoming the final Women's Bantamweight Champion in Strikeforce and the inaugural Women's Bantamweight Champion in UFC, successfully defending the title six times. Rousey quietly retired from UFC after a loss to Amanda Nunes and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018. More Pro Wrestling: WWE Has Discussed Adding New Members To Fan-Favorite Faction: Report In 2015, Rousey made her debut with WWE, when The Rock brought her into the ring to hit Stephanie McMahon. After a few more appearances of the years, she took on the moniker "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey in tribute to "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, becoming one of the top talents in the company. During her tenure in WWE, Rousey would take home the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship twice, the WWE RAW Women's Championship once, and the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship once with Shayna Baszler. Rousey also won the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble. She was the first woman to main event WrestleMania alongside Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. More Pro Wrestling: WWE's Liv Morgan To Undergo Surgery: Report Injured WWE Star Breaks Silence On Retirement Rumors For more UFC, WWE, and professional wrestling news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
