Director Griff Furst, who worked with Hayden Panettiere on her final film "A Breed Apart", has disclosed that her team asked him to take part in an "intervention" over her struggles with addiction. Furst made the revelation in a second Instagram video paying tribute to the actress, who died aged 36 on Sunday. The disclosure adds further detail to accounts of Panettiere's final months and comes as investigators, including the DEA, examine the circumstances of her death.

Furst said he agreed to participate after wrapping the film in 2025, but the intervention never ultimately took place, and he stressed it would not have been "appropriate" for him to lead it. He recalled a "dark" atmosphere on set when Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson visited her, saying she deserved "better company" than he observed. Panettiere, known for roles in "Heroes", "Nashville", "Ice Princess" and the "Scream" franchise, was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina; a 911 call reportedly referenced a possible overdose. No official cause of death has yet been confirmed.