Brian Hickerson has reportedly pressured the former 'Heroes' actress to drop the charges against him following his arrest, threatening to release humiliating videos of her.
- Aug 21, 2020
AceShowbiz - Hayden Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson reportedly threatened to release private and humiliating videos of the actress after he was arrested earlier this year (20).
The on-off couple finally called it quits four months ago after he was arrested for allegedly punching Panettiere in the face during an argument on Valentine's Day (14Feb20) in Jackson, Wyoming, and she was recently granted court-ordered protection in both Wyoming and California.
According to insiders, Hickerson "had direct communication with" the former "Nashville" actress in the wake of his legal troubles, a source told Us Weekly, during which he "threatened to release certain information if she didn't drop the charges."
"Specifically, he threatened to release videos of" Panettiere, the source added. The report follows a pretrial conference on Monday (17Aug20).
Hickerson - who was also arrested in May 2019 in connection with domestic violence in an incident with Panettiere - has been accused of witness intimidation in the ongoing case, as a warrant for his felony arrest was issued across the U.S. last week.
Last month, he was charged with eight more counts in the case, with four felony charges of corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, including two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and a misdemeanour charge of battery on a spouse/cohabitant.
Court papers allege Hickerson had tried to contact the "Heroes" star in March and escalated to "much more directed and threatening manner toward the end of June."
"Some of the 'embarrassing' information… appears to be for short video clips that were sent from (Hickerson) to (Panettiere) during this exchange from a previous incident at an unknown date and time," according to the legal documents.
Hickerson "used threatening language throughout the texts and videos referencing having information that would be embarrassing to (Panettiere) if she refused to drop the charges that have been brought against him."
He has entered a not guilty plea in the initial case and denies the allegations. Hickerson faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
