Hayden Panettiere says Oscar winner ‘exposed testicles’ to her aged 19

Hayden Panettiere has accused a 'well-respected' Hollywood actor of exposing his testicles to her while at an industry party.

The actor has opened up on what it's like to grow up in the entertainment industry in her new memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which details her experience with mental illness and substance abuse, as well as claims that she was expected to get into bed with a 'very famous' actor while onboard a boat.

In a new claim published in the book, the Heroes actor accuses an Oscar-winning star of exposing himself to her when she was just 19 years old.

Panettiere writes that she was invited to an industry party at a Los Angeles apartment by a friend, which included her, her friend and a 'small group of men, who were gathered together, talking, drinking, and smoking weed'.

The actor has written candidly about her life growing up in Hollywood (Instagram/haydenpanettiere)

Recalling the immediate unease she felt, Panettiere said: "These men seemed to be a little too comfortable together, like they knew something I didn’t."

When the 36-year-old made her way to leave half an hour later, she alleged that the 'well-respected' actor. She writes that the man told her to 'be careful' when leaving as someone had 'spit their gum out somewhere' and it had gotten on his trousers.

Panettiere then alleges that the man directed her to look downwards, to which she saw his exposed testicles hanging out of his trousers.

"I looked down and recoiled," she said. "This well-respected, award-winning actor’s testicles were hanging out from his unzipped fly.

"Men in Hollywood had always been kind and respectful around me. There may have been a peck on the lips here and an inappropriate comment there, but nothing had crossed a line."

Elsewhere in the book, Panettiere addressed her relationship with her estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, claiming that she had once superglued a tooth back into her mouth to avoid her missing out on acting opportunities as a child.

Panettiere also addressed her relationship with mother Lesley Vogel (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

After being fitted with a 'flipper' to hide lost teeth by her dentist, Panettiere recalled an incident in which a tooth fell out while on a shoot for Chicago, leading to Vogel coming up with a rather creative solution.

"I dutifully handed Mom the tooth and watched her squeeze a dab of superglue onto it. Then she affixed the tooth to the flipper," she recalled, adding that Vogel had told her to 'cross' her fingers that the solution would work.

"A few seconds later, Mom handed me the flipper, now containing two teeth, and I slipped it tentatively into my mouth, [then] I closed my mouth and licked my top teeth. Then I opened my mouth and smiled."

Panettiere added that while her mother's DIY measure gave her a 'lisp' the plan ultimately worked out as she got the job.

While Vogel has not publicly responded to the specific anecdote, she has hit back at Panettiere's memoir, telling Page Six 'the present drama is partially to sell books'.