Actress Hayden Panettiere was seen struggling to stay sober on the set of one of her final films, leading to a discussion of an intervention being staged for her, the film’s director said.
Griff Furst, in a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, shed light on his time working with the 36-year-old in the 2025 movie “A Breed Apart” and concerns he had about her and her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, on set.
His comments came a day after he said in another video that “she was not OK” and that there was “dark” energy around her while she was with Hickerson, who was reportedly with Panettiere at the time of her death on Sunday.
“A producer or director, no matter how certain you are that an actor or crew member is in a bad situation, you don’t have the proof, or the benefit of the time to verify it,” Furst said of his concerns in his video posted Wednesday.
“When we wrapped, however, I stayed in touch with her team, and what eventually got determined was that she might need an intervention, and I was asked to participate. I said yes,” he said.
But as far as he’s aware, Furst said the intervention never happened.
“Hollywood has an extremely sad history of stars not getting the help that they deserve,” Furst said, while citing his decades in the film industry and noting that Panettiere started her acting career as a young child, before she was “old enough to consent.”
Panettiere had spoken openly about her long struggle with drugs and alcohol, as well as about her volatile relationship with Hickerson, which led to his 2021 conviction of felony domestic violence charges.
Furst also commented on Hickerson, who he said joined her on set and left a bad impression on him.
“I wasn’t in South Carolina; I don’t know what happened,” he said of her final moments with him in Greenville. “What I will say is my opinion, and it’s only about what I saw on my own set: somebody fighting to stay sober and who deserved better company around them than what I observed.”
It remains unclear what happened to Panettiere, though the New York Times and ABC News reported Thursday that the Drug Enforcement Administration has joined the investigation.
She was found in a state of cardiac arrest and could not be revived following a 911 call that mentioned a possible “overdose,” according to TMZ, Page Six and People.
Local authorities have said that there were no signs of foul play.
Hickerson asked that authorities be allowed to investigate the incident in a statement issued to TMZ through his attorney on Thursday.
“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” the statement read. “Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”