Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom, Lesley Vogel, is questioning the timing of the “Heroes” star coming out as bisexual as she promotes her new memoir, “This is Me: A Reckoning.”
“I do not believe it was being hidden, but there is no historic proof that this is the case,” the former momager told Daily Mail in an interview published Friday.
“I do think the timing of this coming out is very interesting.”
Panettiere opened up about her strained relationship with her mom in her Us Weekly interview — where she also shared her sexuality for the first time — earlier this week.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day. It’s hard for me to say, but I’ve chosen to be brutally honest,” she told the outlet.
A rep for the actress did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
While discussing her sexuality (which she explores in her memoir), the “Bring it On” star admitted she never felt it was “the right time” to share her truth publicly, but she quipped it’s “better late than never.”
“It was either I was too young, and I was being forced to be perfect at all times. I was not encouraged to just be myself,” she explained.
“Then came the period where it felt like people coming out, especially women, saying that they were bisexual or liked girls, was a fad. I was afraid that if I was honest, it was going to be like me jumping on the bandwagon. It was a very difficult topic to articulate properly. It’s sad I had to wait until I was 36 years old to share that part of me.”
As for if she’s ever dated a woman, Panettiere revealed that she has — but, she has yet to fall in love with a woman.
“It was scary, though, because there were paparazzi always waiting for me outside to follow me everywhere,” she recalled, noting that she was “much more into women even as a child than … men.”
The Golden Globe nominee continued, “I have explored it, but because I hadn’t shared this with anybody, I didn’t really have the courage to throw myself fully emotionally into it. Because then if I did fall in love, that wasn’t something that I wanted to ever have to hide.”
“This Is Me: A Reckoning” memoir will be released May 19.
