Hayden Panettiere's addictions during recent months come to light, involving 'whippets' and alcohol in hotels

Only three months before Hayden Panettiere ’s death, the actress was publicly talking about recovery and trying to rebuild her life. Behind the scenes, however, sources now claim she was still dealing with the addiction issues that had followed her for years.

During a May visit to Nashville to promote her memoir, This Is Me, Panettiere allegedly tried to have alcohol and nitrous oxide canisters delivered to her downtown hotel.

One source told Page Six that hotel security “stopped a [delivery service] order to her hotel room, which was several industrial grade nitrous oxide cans that she was planning on huffing.”

Another source made a similar allegation, saying, “She had alcohol and whippets delivered. They wouldn’t allow it up to her room.”

The account has been firmly disputed by Panettiere’s representative and friend Kasey Kitchen, who called the allegations “false.”

“She was in Nashville for a short amount of time and slept for most of it,” Kitchen said. “She also had private security with her.”

Panettiere was speaking openly about addiction

The reported Nashville incident came during a particularly vulnerable period in Panettiere’s life.

Days earlier, she appeared with Kitchen on The Tamron Hall Show and spoke candidly about how early her problems with substances began.

She recalled being given what she described as “happy pills” as a teenager before red carpet appearances and later discussed the frightening warning that eventually pushed her toward treatment.

“When I got to the point of looking in the mirror and seeing my eyes had turned yellow, and that I didn’t recognize my body anymore and I went into that doctor’s office and got a blood test, and he told me ‘If you don’t stop, you’re going to be looking at a liver transplant,’” Panettiere said.

“If I can’t do it for myself, I’m going to do it for my child,” she added.

Sources familiar with that period said Panettiere was focused on “resetting her life” and had grown especially close to Kitchen , whom she trusted beyond their professional relationship.

Death remains under investigation

Panettiere was found unresponsive in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16 and was pronounced dead at 36.

Authorities haven't announced an official cause or manner of death. Dispatch audio reportedly referenced a possible overdose and CPR in progress, but that has not been confirmed as the cause.

An autopsy found no signs of trauma, while toxicology testing remains pending. The Drug Enforcement Administration has also reportedly joined the investigation.

The allegations surrounding the May hotel incident don't establish what caused Panettiere ’s death. They do, however, add another troubling layer to a story she had already told with unusual openness.

She spent years describing addiction not as something neatly left in the past, but as a battle that required constant work. Only months before her death, she was still trying to win it.