James Blunt breaks silence on claims he was ‘famous British singer’ who Hayden Panettiere was put into bed with when she was 18
James Blunt has publicly backed a Substack article rejecting online speculation that he was the unnamed "famous British singer-songwriter" whom Hayden Panettiere's memoir describes putting her into bed with when she was 18. The rumours arose after the actress, who died last week aged 36 of a suspected overdose, described the incident in her book This Is Me: A Reckoning, prompting internet sleuths to link it to Blunt based on old photographs and reports. Blunt's representatives had already denied the claims when approached by the Daily Mail, and the singer's decision to share the rebuttal article marks his first public response to the speculation.
The Substack piece, written by journalist Dean Piper, argues the timeline does not support Blunt's involvement, noting that a widely circulated photo of Blunt and Panettiere from Cannes was taken in 2009, when she was actually 19, not 18. Panettiere's memoir describes being led onto a yacht in the South of France by a trusted friend and finding a shirtless British singer-songwriter in his thirties waiting in a cabin. Panettiere was found dead on 16 August at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, where she had travelled with on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson; the DEA has since joined the investigation into her death.
- James Blunt backs article denying he's the singer in Panettiere's memoir
- Piece argues photo/timeline evidence rules Blunt out
- Panettiere died aged 36; DEA now involved in the probe
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James Blunt has publicly rejected online speculation linking him to an anonymous figure described in Hayden Panettiere's newly published memoir. In the book, the actress recounts an incident from when she was 18, in which she says she was led onto a yacht in the South of France and found a shirtless British singer-songwriter in his thirties waiting for her. Without a name given in the memoir, internet users began speculating based on old photographs, and settled on Blunt.
Panettiere, best known for roles including the TV series Heroes, died last week aged 36 at a rented property in South Carolina, with a suspected drug overdose being investigated. Her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, has drawn wider attention because of the personal revelations it contains about her life in the entertainment industry, of which this incident is one.
Blunt's team had already denied any connection to the claims, and the singer has now shared an article that argues the timeline does not fit, pointing out that a widely circulated photograph of him with Panettiere was taken when she was 19, not 18. The story matters both because it touches on the wider circumstances behind Panettiere's death and because unverified online speculation has drawn a well-known public figure into the story despite his denial.