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Lesley Vogel, the mother of actress Hayden Panettiere, is raising eyebrows over the timing of her daughter’s revelation about her bisexuality, coinciding with the release of her memoir, “This is Me: A Reckoning.”
In a conversation with the Daily Mail, published on Friday, Vogel expressed skepticism about the timing, saying, “I never thought this was a secret, but there hasn’t been any historical evidence to suggest it was true.”
She added, “The timing of her coming out is certainly intriguing.”
Earlier this week, Panettiere discussed her challenging relationship with her mother in an interview with Us Weekly, where she also publicly addressed her sexuality for the first time.
“Unfortunately, we’re not in contact at the moment. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve closed the door on the possibility of reconciliation. It’s difficult to admit, but I’ve decided to be completely truthful,” she revealed to the publication.
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.