Entertainment

Hayden Panettiere’s ‘Heroes’ Dad Slams ‘Predatory’ Paparazzi Over Treatment

Published

2 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

Jack Coleman, who played Hayden Panettiere’s father throughout all four seasons of “Heroes,” spoke out after her death, slamming the way the paparazzi and media had treated the actress.

On Wednesday, Coleman took to Instagram and shared his grief with his followers, noting just how “heartbroken” he was in the wake of Panettiere’s passing.

“I’m heartbroken. I couldn’t begin to put my thoughts into words until now, and they will be inadequate,” he wrote alongside several photos from “Heroes.” “I’ve loved Hayden since day one of the pilot of ‘Heroes,’ 20 years ago, when she introduced herself by shouting ‘daddy’ and throwing her arms around me. From that day on, she called me, ‘daddio.’ She was Haydini, because she was a magician.”

As Coleman went on, he remembered her as a “prodigious talent,” with the ability to cry on command for take after take.

“I marveled at her technique. ‘It’s not technique,’ she corrected me,” he recalled. “‘I’m not a trained seal. I feel it and the tears just happen to come at that moment.’ She was 16.”

Coleman emphasized Panettiere’s star power, sharing that she was No. 1 on IMDB Pro by the time she was 17. At this point in the tribute, Coleman took aim at the media, writing, “She was routinely asked obnoxious questions, mostly some version of ‘when are you going to go off the rails?’ Today, we’d recognize those questions for the misogynistic provocations they were.”

“She was hunted. Everywhere she went, there were photographers with 300 millimeter lenses—the kind that can make even the most innocent activity look sinister,” he continued. “Once, when she came to our house, paparazzi hid in the bushes behind our yard and drove onto neighbors’ lawns. They were predatory. No one, especially a teenager, should be targeted that way.”

Elsewhere in his tribute, Coleman shared that he felt Panettiere was “an extraordinary young woman who was blessed and cursed,” sharing the “sorrow,” “regret” and “anger” he was feeling following her death.

“She was vulnerable. She felt everything,” he added. “It made her a remarkable actor and susceptible to the heartache and thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.”

Before signing off his note, Coleman expressed his love for Hayden, writing, “I’ll miss you. I’m so sorry you suffered. I’ll remember how happy you were on set and on the European press tour; how you championed Tess when she was being bullied; your commitment to animal welfare and the courage to put yourself in harm’s way to protect them. I only wish you had been given that same protection.”

You can read his full tribute below.

Panettiere, a veteran actress known for her work on “Heroes,” “Nashville,” the “Scream” franchise and “Remember the Titans,” was found unresponsive by emergency services responding to a 911 call in Greenville, S.C. on Sunday, with “no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,” per the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. She died at the age of 36.

Panettiere is survived by her daughter Kaya, whom she shared with ex Wladimir Klitschko.

movies

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Box Office Set to Beat ‘Insidious’ Sequel

Published

4 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day looks to continue its indefatigable run at the box office against such new challengers as horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further and the Jason Statham-led Mutiny.

Sony Pictures releases Insidious: Out of the Further in roughly 3,000 North American theaters on Friday, with the studio projecting an opening weekend around $23 million. Hailing from Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, Out of the Further is the sixth title in the franchise that kicked off with 2011’s Insidious and carries an $18 million production budget.

Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea and Lin Shaye star in writer-director Jacob Chase’s film that centers on a young mother who can bring spirits back with her to the real world. Out of the Further follows 2023’s Insidious: The Red Door, which saw the return of original series stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne and opened to $33 million domestically before hitting a global total of $189 million for its run.

Insidious: Out of the Further holds a 65 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Frank Scheck wrote that the film “proves routine in its elaborate plot machinations that remind you how tiresome a place the Further can be.”

Jason Statham as Cole Reed in *Mutiny.*

Dan Smith/Lionsgate

Opening in roughly 2,700 North American locations is Mutiny, starring Jason Statham as a former Marine who sets out to prove his innocence after he is framed for murder. Lionsgate releases the movie that is tracking to open in the high single-digit range and carries a $40 million production budget. MadRiver Pictures and Punch Palace Productions produced the project.

Jean-François Richet helmed the feature that holds a 49 percent approval score from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes. Statham’s recent films include Shelter, which opened to $5.5 million domestically earlier this year, while 2025’s A Working Man launched with an initial weekend of $15.5 million in North America. Next year sees the star leading The Beekeeper 2.

Tom Holland in *Spider-Man: Brand New Day.*

Jay Maidment/Sony Pictures

Other new theatrical offerings this weekend include the Andrew Garfield-led The Magic Faraway Tree and Spa Weekend, starring Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann and Anna Faris.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its historic run into the waning days of summer, as the Sony Pictures juggernaut that stars Tom Holland and Zendaya is set to lead the box office for its fourth consecutive weekend. Having recently set the record as the fastest movie to hit $800 million domestically, director Destin Daniel Cretton‘s feature is expected to surpass 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as the No. 3 highest-grossing title ever in North America.

The success of Brand New Day — along with other titles like The Odyssey and Toy Story 5 — has helped bring the 2026 summer box office to a total of $4.24 billion domestically as of Sunday, according to Rentrak, putting the season 23.7 percent above last year’s tally to that point. The all-time summer mark remains 2013’s $4.75 billion.

movies

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Box Office Set to Beat ‘Insidious’ Sequel

Published

4 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

qasimgillani

Spider-Man: Brand New Day looks to continue its indefatigable run at the box office against such new challengers as horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further and the Jason Statham-led Mutiny.

Other new theatrical offerings this weekend include the Andrew Garfield-led The Magic Faraway Tree and Spa Weekend, starring Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann and Anna Faris.

Entertainment

Seth Meyers Questions Future of WHCD After ‘Decoy Plane’ Drama

Published

1 hour ago

August 20, 2026

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Seth Meyers may be off the air, but he’s still ready to roast Donald Trump for the president’s “decoy plane” fiasco.

“Do you think now, the press should stop doing the White House Correspondents Dinner after we know that the president put them all on a plane that was a decoy plane,” Meyers laughed on Wednesday. “So the president was in a different plane because it was too dangerous to be in a plane that the press was on. I mean, this story, I thought we’d heard everything that was great about — not great, let me stress. None of it’s great. That we’d heard all of the craziest details about President Trump leaving Turkey on the old Air Force One.”

Lawrence O'Donnell hosts the August 10, 2026 edition of "The Last Word" (MS NOW)

Meyers got together with “Late Night With Seth Meyers” writer Sal Gentile on “A Closer Look Out of Office,” a YouTube show where they could casually break down some of the biggest stories that have occurred during their hiatus. They opened the episode by breaking down the story of Trump sneaking off of a plane in Turkey due to a perceived assassination threat from Iran, with members of the press and Trump’s own staff left behind on the plane that was supposedly at risk.

“He wasn’t on that plane because it wasn’t safe to be on that plane,” Meyers quipped.

“In fact, he hid in a catering cart to go from the decoy plane to where he would actually fly from,” Gentile added. “So my answer to your question would be I think they should only do it, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, if everybody can fit into the catering cart and do it there.”

“I will say, if it was fun, if it was a good-natured thing, it would be very fun if he said he wasn’t coming and then a big catering truck drove down the aisle and they played rock and roll music and he came out the back,” Meyers added. You can watch the full video below.

Trump drew criticism for the stunt, which endangered those who remained on the “decoy plane,” after it was first confirmed by the Washington Post on August 10. The White House Correspondents’ Association directly commented on the matter, releasing a statement sharing that they met with Trump’s senior administration officials amid concerns over press safety.

“I will say this: Do you know how real the risk has to be to also risk letting him … run wild in a catering truck?” Meyers offered.