Actor Ruby Rose, who said she considered Hayden Panettiere "my protector" and "my sister," posted alleged screenshots of text messages on social media that reveal emotional trouble the late actor was experiencing before her death this week.
One message, labeled only as from "Hayden," said she "sobbed" over what the message described as "cruelty" at the hands of the actress's estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, before she died Sunday at 36. The DEA has now joined the investigation into Panettiere's death, as Out reported.
Rose, 40, has been publicly mourning the death of her friend, and on Wednesday posted to Threads a pair of screenshots that she said showed text messages from the star of Heroes and Scream, outlining Vogelās alleged behavior.
In the first text, someone saved as "Hayden" in Roseās phone said, "I'd love to do a podcast/anothony [sic] Bourdain show where we talk about issues and then go to the ends of the earth to find solutions." Rose said the text was a response from "Hayden to one of our friends recently."
A second screenshot of a text to "Hayden" showed Rose writing about their mothers, saying: "they did not act or behave like mothers."
The individual identified as "Hayden" responded: "I was sobbing over her cruelty yesterday thinking, my god Iām 36 and she can still cause this kind of pain. Iām her only child left and this is how she wants to handle the situation?!"
Back in February 2023, Hayden's younger brother, Jansen, died unexpectedly due to an undiagnosed heart condition. He was 28.
Out could not verify the identity of the person in the texts shared by Rose. We sent messages to both Rose and Vogel for further comment but did not hear back as of press time.
In an interview with NBC News, Vogel said her daughter had gone down the "wrong path" with her on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.
"This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson," Vogel said Tuesday. "I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself and I think Hayden sadly lost her way and I wish it were different."
On Thursday, Vogel doubled-down. "Hayden was a beautiful and talented young woman who unfortunately became involved with the wrong person, and although her family tried to extricate him from her life, we were unable to be successful," she told Entertainment Tonight in a statement.
"Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love," Vogel said. "It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death."
Hickerson and his brother Zach were with the actress when she died, according to a police report released earlier this week, as Out reported. Panettiere and Hickerson had been dating intermittently since 2018, according to People. When officers arrived on the scene, Hickerson reportedly showed officials a bag of medications Panettiere had been taking.
In 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/coparent and spent time behind bars.
Hickerson later sought to have those felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors and the case expunged. Prosecutors opposed the motions, and a California judge denied both requests on Aug. 13, three days before Panettiere died. This was Hickerson's second attempt to reduce and dismiss the felony convictions, but his effort in July 2025 was also unsuccessful.
Panettiere publicly discussed alleged abuse by Hickerson in 2020 and later wrote about experiencing physical abuse in the memoir she released earlier this year, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which included her talking about her bisexuality.
A neighbor of Panettiere's in West Hollywood told Inside Edition that she had called 911 at least 6 times to report disturbances at the actress's apartment.
"She was always such a bright light when she was by herself," Mia Terrazzas said. "When she was with Brian, she was so subdued." Terrazzas said she had "absolutely" seen signs of domestic violence.
"I saw her leaving on a gurney. Brian was right next to her, and I asked her if she was OK, and it looked to me that she had suffered some type of trauma that looked to be battering," she alleged. "It was clear she was terrified."
The neighborhood homeowners association had also posted flyers warning residents to call 911 if they saw Hickerson around the neighborhood.
"This predator was in our community. He never stopped living at her place," Terrazzas said. "There were times he ripped apart her bathroom, where he just took a sledgehammer at 5 in the morning."
On Thursday, Hickerson's attorney pointed out that police found no signs of foul play and that an investigation into her death is ongoing.
The Greenville, S.C., coroner, Mike Ellis, said in a statement this week that the starās body had no signs of trauma that wouldāve led to death, which occurred after 2 p.m. local time on Sunday.
"The cause and manner of death remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies. This investigation remains active and ongoing," the statement read. "No further details are available for release at this time."
Griff Furst, a filmmaker who worked with Panettiere on the film A Breed Apart, revealed in an Instagram post on Tuesday that he was scheduled to take part in an intervention with the actress planned by her team, as Out reported.
"I was asked to participate, and I said yes," Furst said. "That intervention did not happen, at least not that I am aware of."
