James Blunt has addressed speculation that he was the ‘famous singer’ who was put into bed with Hayden Panettiere when she was 18.
The You’re Beautiful singer, who is set to appear on the upcoming series of The Celebrity Traitors, took to social media to share a blog post denying that he was the unnamed musician featured in the late actress’ memoir.
Panettiere, who died from a suspected overdose at the age of 36 last week, wrote in This Is Me: A Reckoning, which was released last year, that she was 18 when a friend brought her onto a yacht to meet a British singer-songwriter who was in his 30s at the time.
Writing in a chapter titled Trust, Panettiere said how she was traveling on a super yacht with other celebrities cruising around the South of France.
Panettiere said that she was with a ‘trusted’ female friend, who ultimately encouraged her to get into bed with the anonymous singer.
She alleges that the man in question was laying naked on a bed inside a cabin on the yacht.
The actress repeated the claims while appearing on Jay Shetty’s podcast in May.
Former entertainment journalist Dean Piper wrote a Substack article claiming that the timeline of events does not fit and that Blunt is not the singer in question.
Piper had pointed out that a photo of Blunt and Panettiere from Cannes in 2009 was actually taken when the Heroes actress was nearly 20, and not 18 as she claimed she was at the time of the alleged incident.
He goes on to write that other factors ruling the British singer out include the size of his penis.
The article reads: ‘And one other thing… forgive me… but the close friend of Hayden’s described the man as having a “huge d**k”, and herein lies another problem.
‘Joan Collins wrote an article in The Spectator last year entitled, “The day James Blunt stripped off in front of me”. In it, she describes a speech he gave, standing on a table wearing only a pair of speedos.
‘And so, if Blunt’s not the man in question, the only other question is – who should the internet sleuths lynch next? Hopefully they’ll put the kettle on and take a breath before starting on their next victim.’
Blunt shared the piece alongside a shifty eyes emoji.
The American actress, who starred in Heroes and Nashville, died aged 36 at her home in Greenville, South Carolina, last Sunday with her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, reportedly at the apartment.
Police said Panettiere was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest with a post-mortem examination by the Greenville County coroner’s office finding there were ‘no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances’.
A statement from Panettiere’s representatives said the star will be remembered by her family as an ‘incredible light’ who brought ‘immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her’.
Metro has previously contacted representatives for James Blunt who denied any insinuation that the singer is the one referenced in Panettiere’s memoir.
