James Blunt is sharing his reaction to rumors that he was the British singer Hayden Panettiere claimed she was forced into bed with on a yacht.
Blunt, 52, took to X on Monday, August 24, to share a Substack blog post by journalist Dean Piper, who argued against the speculation.
“In 2009, in my capacity as a showbiz columnist, I wrote an article about Hayden Panettiere and James Blunt at the amfAR charity event in Cannes,” Piper wrote. “They’d arrived together, had been flirty throughout and had gone to the afterparty together. They were photographed on a boat the next day, smiling and having fun. … Since the sad death of Hayden, I’ve been contacted by a host of ‘internet sleuths’ asking for more details, for their ongoing ‘investigation.’”
Piper then recalled Panettiere’s story in her May autobiography, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she claimed that a trusted friend told her to get in bed with a thirtysomething naked British singer while they were on a boat when she was 18 years old. Panettiere did not name the man, but she recalled telling him, “This is not going to happen” before fleeing the room and going to a hotel.
“Guys, it only takes the smallest of AI searches to find out that in May 2009, when the pictures of Blunt and Panettiere were taken, she was 19, almost 20. So, if the incident happened when she was 18, Blunt’s not your guy to start with,” Piper argued on Monday, pointing out that Panettiere wrote that she hadn’t met the man before the yacht incident.
While Blunt did not directly address the allegations that he was the man on the yacht with Panettiere, he shared the link to Piper’s post and added a side-eye emoji.
Panettiere’s yacht story has resurfaced following the Heroes alum’s death at age 36 on August 16.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” Hayden’s father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement to Us at the time. “We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
The Greenville Police Department and Greenville County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina confirmed that officers responded to reports of an “unresponsive female” at an apartment complex, later identified as Hayden, and a possible “drug overdose.” (Before her death, Hayden spoke candidly about her struggles with drug and alcohol addiction amid a battle with postpartum depression. She shared daughter Kaya, 11, with ex Wladimir Klitschko.)
An autopsy found “no signs of trauma that would have contributed” to Hayden’s death, the coroner’s office told Us. The cause and manner of her death “remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies.”
On Friday, August 21, Klitschko, 50, marked what would have been Hayden’s 37th birthday.
“Today is Hayden’s birthday. Instead of celebrating the way we had planned, today we celebrate her life, her spirit, and the love she brought into this world,” the former boxer wrote via Instagram. “I want to thank all of Hayden’s fans, friends and everyone who has reached out for the incredible outpouring of love and support.”
He added, “Happy Birthday, Hayden. ❤️ You are loved, you are missed and you will never be forgotten.”
