This story originally appeared on Them.
A representative for actress Hayden Panettiere is contradicting claims put out by TMZ that the actress died after taking an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, per Page Six.
On September 14, TMZ reported that several law enforcement agencies believe actress Hayden Panettiere took an oxycodone pill potentially laced with fentanyl before she died of a fatal overdose on August 16.
The outlet reported that several sources “all connected to the case and with direct knowledge” say that Panettiere purchased the pill from her “long time drug dealer,” along with several other drugs, several of which she took during a flight from Los Angeles to South Carolina. TMZ reported that authorities believe Panettiere took a single oxycodone pill they believed to have been laced with fentanyl in the morning on the day she died.
However, following TMZ’s reporting, a rep for Panettiere contradicted the widely cited claim, saying that toxicology reports are still forthcoming and called any reports otherwise “unverified hearsay.”
“As reported yesterday by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, Hayden’s death remains under investigation pending the completion of toxicology results, despite reports from some outlets stating otherwise,” the Heroes alum’s rep said in a statement to Page Six.
On August 16, the Ice Princess and Scream star was found unresponsive in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment, where she was temporarily staying, per previous reporting. The audio of the 911 call from first responders included mentions of cardiac arrest, and The New York Times reported that EMTs performed “advanced cardiac life support” before she was declared deceased. TMZ previously reported that Narcan, a medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, was also found at the apartment on the morning of her death.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) joined the investigation into Panettiere’s death on August 20, though the Greenville Police Department previously said they suspected no foul play in Panettiere's death. The celebrity news outlet wrote that the case seemed similar to the death of rapper Mac Miller, in which his drug dealer was convicted and sentenced to 17.5 years in prison after Miller overdosed on the drugs he bought, per NPR.
In the weeks following Panettiere’s death, her on-again, off-again relationship with boyfriend Brian Hickerson has been subject to heightened public scrutiny. Hickerson was with the actress when she died, and made a 911 call with his brotherZach, according to a police report released in August, which also said he showed officials a bag of medications Panetitiere had been taking when they arrived. He also administered Narcan prior to paramedics attempting to revive her.
In 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to physically injuring Panettiere, for which he was sentenced to 45 days in prison.
Panettiere wrote about Hickerson’s behavior in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, released earlier this year, which was also the first time she publicly addressed her bisexuality.
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