Hayden Panettiere is “okay” after she and her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson were involved in a physical fight outside of a Los Angeles bar.
On Thursday evening, the actress, 32, and Hickerson got into a brawl with other individuals while they were outside the Sunset Marquis, as seen in video footage obtained by TMZ.
In an exclusive statement, a rep for Panettiere detailed what occurred during the incident. “While in the restaurant of the Sunset Marquis, Brian Hickerson, who happened to be with Hayden, made a comment to an individual about leaving the waitress a poor tip.”
“That same individual, along with the group he was with, began badgering and shoving Brian, at which point security pushed everyone outside,” the statement continued. “Brian was attacked by the group, as was Hayden, who in her best effort tried to diffuse the situation.”
“Hayden was refused the opportunity to provide a statement to the police as she was escorted back inside,” the statement concluded. “She is okay.”
In the clip of the incident, both Panettiere and Hickerson are seen involved in the physical altercation, which escalated from an argument outside of the bar.
At one point during the fight, Panettiere gets kicked and appears to yell, “Brian, jail!”, possibly a warning to prevent Hickerson from fighting given that he is on probation.
The brawl appeared to last several minutes, and both Panettiere and Hickerson had to be pulled out of the altercation as the scene broke up.
In July 2021, it was confirmed that Panettiere was spending time with Hickerson after he served time in jail for a domestic violence case involving the star. (The pair were first linked in 2018 after reports circulated that she and then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko had split. The actress and Klitschko, 46, share 7-year-old daughter Kaya.)
Hickerson was sentenced in April to 45 days in jail after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child’s parent, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office confirmed at the time. He served his sentence from May 7 through May 20, jail records show.
In addition to jail time, Hickerson was sentenced to four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution and a five-year protective order for injuring Panettiere.
A source said at the time that Hickerson is “in intensive therapy treatment.” The insider added: “Hayden won’t forget what he did, but she wants to forgive and move on. Hayden is sober and doing very well.”
The charges that landed Hickerson in jail previously stemmed from alleged abusive incidents between May 2019 and January 2020. In May 2019, Hickerson was arrested on a domestic violence charge and released on bail. According to the felony complaint at the time, prosecutors had alleged Hickerson “willfully inflicted corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition” upon the actress.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of felony domestic violence later that month; the case was dismissed in September 2019. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said at the time, “Our office was unable to proceed because we could not secure a material witness.”
In February 2020, Hickerson was again arrested on Valentine’s Day in Jackson, Wyoming. He was charged with domestic battery and interference with a cop, both misdemeanor charges in Wyoming, a spokesperson for the Teton County Sheriff’s Office told PEOPLE at the time. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Hickerson allegedly punched Panettiere “with a closed fist on the right side of her face.” Hickerson reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charge in April of that year.
In June 2020, according to a criminal complaint, Hickerson attempted to “prevent and dissuade Hayden P., a victim and witness of a crime from causing a complaint, indictment, information, probation and parole violation to be sought and prosecuted and assisting in the prosecution thereof.”
“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said. “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”
