My Hayden Panettiere Story…
My wife and I listen to the Walton and Johnson show (Eagle 98.1) every morning on our way into work. Yesterday they were talking about Hayden Panettiere and about how much of a diva she is. For those of your that are unfamilar with Ms. Panettiere, she is the woman that plays the cheerleader on NBC’s Heroes.
Well, hearing them go on and on about her, it reminded me of an event that happened to me which involved this same Ms Panettiere. My wife suggested that I call into the W&J show and tell them my story, but instead, I sent an email from their website www.waltonandjohnson.com instead. Since the email was sent using the form on the website, I don’t have the original email in my sent items. Instead, I will retell the tale…
Dragoncon is a Science Fiction/Fantasy convention that is held annually in downtown Atlanta during Labor Day weekend. It’s a good time for me to get together with some friends (inluding my best friend from High School - David) to take in the convention, eat well, and catch up with one another. One of the guests that was appearing at Dragoncon 2008 was no other than Hayden Panettiere.
All of the mainstream guests can be found in a huge ballroom, with tables set up so they can sell autographed pictures of themselves for fans. I don’t typically buy these pictures, but my friends will occasionallly indulge because they’re into that sort of thing. My friends David and Brian decided to get in Robert Englund’s (Freddy Krueger) line because they had never met him before and wanted his autograph. I stood in line with them because I thought it would be cool to shake Freddy Krueger’s hand (sans bladed glove). At this point I noticed Ms Panettiere had no one in her line. I told my friends that I would be right back and that I wanted to meet Hayden and let her know that I enjoy her work.
I approached Ms Panettiere and said simply, “I just wanted to come by and say hello, and that I love your work on Heroes.” Now, these guests that appear at these conventions normally have an assistant working with them or “handler” that help peddle their pictures and stuff. Hayden Panettiere had two. The first one (the woman) told me that I had to get in line if I wanted to talk to Hayden. I looked at the woman and said, “there is no one in line.” The woman pointed to a piece of tape on the ground and told me that the line began there. I saw the piece of tape on the ground, but there was no one standing behind it. I decided to humor the handler and walked over to the piece of tape, stood firm for a few seconds and then approached Ms Panettiere once again. At this point, the handler asked me if I was going to purchase one of the photographs, to which I replied, “No. I just want to say hello.” The woman then raised her hand waved at me and simply said, “Goodbye.”
I turned and began walking back to my friend that were still standing in Robert Englund’s line when an Atlanta police officer came up to me and asked me to talk with him for a moment. I obliged and politely asked, “Is there a problem officer?”. The police officer responded by saying, “I’m escorting you out of the convention.” A friend of mine ran in front of us and asked the police officer to stop because he wanted to take a picture of the cop holding my arm and walking me out. The police officer told my friend that this was not a joke and that I was leaving. At this point, I started to become a bit agitated and started asking the officer if this was some sort of a joke. He said that I was leaving the convention because I was making inappropriate remarks to one of the guests.
I was stunned. I asked the police officer, “Who?” After escorting me out of the ballroom, he started to question me by asking me specifically what I had said to Ms Panettiere. I responded by saying, “I said Hi.” He repeatedly asked me is there was anything else, to which I responded, “No. All I said was hi.” The officer starts referring to me by name at this point because everyone attending the convention is required to wear a badge with a name on it. He tells me that Ms Panettiere has left the area and is enroute to her hotel room because I had approached her in a threatening manner. I adamantly plead my case and inform the officer that this has to be some sort of a joke and that all I said was hi. He then asked me why I keep harassing Ms Panettiere. I ask him what he meant because that was the very first time I had even seen the woman. He then informed me that he’s not accusing me of anything, but that he has to take any allegations like this seriously.
At this point, I decided to use some logic and asked him if he would escort Ms Panettiere out of the convention if I told him that I felt threatened by her. He snickered. I then demanded to speak to convention personnel. He instructed me to stay put where I was standing (which I was happy to do so because I wasn’t guilty of anything) and returned with two members of Dragoncon personnel. They took down my name and asked me what happened and I told them that I simply said hello to the girl and the next thing I know, I”m being escorted out. They then informed me of an incident that occurred earlier in the day where someone dressed in football attire (I was wearing an LSU shirt) was harassing her, but acknowledged to the police officer that I was not the guy from earlier.
The officer agreed to release me, but asked if I would stay away from Ms Panettiere (which I was absolutely happy to oblige). I called my friend via my cell phone to let them know where I was so they could find me (going beyond my willingness to oblige the officer’s wishes).
Our trip was cut short last year due to the impending hurricane that was bearing down on Louisiana. My friends and I had to rebook our flights and pack up a day early. As we were heading toward the Marta, I happened to run into the same police officer. As I approached, he smiled and shook his head. I told the officer that I harbored no ill feelings towards him and that I understood that he was only doing his job.
He looked at me and said, “Bob, you need to try and let it go. You can’t help it if….” My friend Randy interjects at this point and says, “She’s a bitch!” The police officer smiles and said, “Have a nice trip.”