One of the most shocking claims came last week during an appearance on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, in which Hayden recalled being pressured into bed beside an “undressed” male celebrity when she was 18 years old.
The frightening incident took place aboard a yacht, and Hayden told Jay that the person who led her into the “very small room” was a friend that she “had grown to trust and see as a protector.” “It was presented as though it was a surprise…She physically put me in the bed next to this undressed man who was very famous,” Hayden recalled, saying that the man was sitting with his hands behind his head like “this was something that happens all the time.”
“That moment shook me,” she said, confessing that she went right into survival mode. “I waited for her to leave, and that lion in me, that fire in me…My hair stood on end, and I became ferocious. I was like, ‘This is not happening,'” she remembered. “I bolted, and I hid wherever I could think of to hide on a boat. There was no jumping off and swimming away. And there was nobody who was going to be empathetic to my situation. I realized that this was nothing new to them.”
The disturbing story made headlines last week, and now that Hayden’s book is out in the world, we have more information about the “very famous” man in question…
The yacht encounter is detailed in a chapter titled “Trust,” and Hayden writes that it took place on a “super yacht” filled with celebrities, parties, and nonstop drinking. She writes that she had been enjoying herself on the boat before her friend — someone she considered to be a trusted confidant — approached her and suggested she come downstairs to meet someone.
Sharing additional information about the man in the bed, Hayden says that he was a “famous thirtysomething British singer-songwriter.” “As soon as the door clicked close, my survival instinct kicked in,” Hayden writes, remembering that she told the man: “Look … I don’t know what she said to you, but this is not going to happen,” before making a swift exit from the room.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published on May 14, Hayden actually explained her decision not to name certain individuals in the book, saying: “They’re people I could run into again. I didn’t want to put myself in that position.”
This Is Me: A Reckoning is available now.
