Hayden Panettiere on ‘Nashville’ Helped Reveal Country Music Dark Side

When Hayden Panettiere’s character Juliette Barnes stood up against the unwanted advances of a DJ during the second season of Nashville, the disturbing reality of how many women experience sexual harassment in the world of country radio was an open, but still mostly buried, secret. Barnes’ experience with the sleazy Bobby Delmont was a core plot point of the season that illustrated how women are often expected to get cozy, endure advances, or worse in hopes of getting their song played — and yet still end up battling with other female artists for the one coveted spot.  

Panettiere, who died on Aug. 16, handled the character’s arc with artful care. In an episode titled “She’s Got You” that first aired on Nov. 13, 2013, Juliette has an encounter with Bobby — known as “Santa Claus” in the industry, due to how he expects young female artists to sit on his lap — and stands up to his advances. When Bobby reaches for her waist, she speaks up. “Please take your hands off of me,” she says, after which the DJ approaches an up-and-coming female artist, Layla Grant, and pulls her into his arms while he makes a joke about the size of his microphone.

Juliette is ultimately able to have the DJ fired, but not without repercussions: He smears her name on social media. Worse still, when she tries to look out for Layla (“Anybody treats you like a whore, you make sure to come tell me,” she tells her), Juliette realizes the advice is unwelcome — and just how deeply embedded the misogyny and competition among other women truly is.

It was an impactful depiction for both aspiring and established female country artists in Nashville. “The show was known for its dramatic storylines, but anyone who has been that close to the country music industry knows that it deeply resembled actual events that occur every day,” says the artist Kalie Shorr, who helped lead a #TimesUp movement in Nashville. “Her bravery in taking on a character that was going to confront so many ugly truths about the industry deserves to be remembered. She held up a mirror to the city of Nashville, and I truly believe it forced the industry’s hand to become a safer place for women. Scripted shows and movies have a rare opportunity to do that because they can tell a story without naming names, but every girl in Nashville — and I’m sure, Hayden herself — knew what the names were.”

The series creator, Callie Khouri, was intentional about her decision to make Nashville a platform for such important discussions, well beyond the entertainment value. “We wanted to show what it’s really like for young artists going out into the world where something is expected of them. If you want your record played, this is what you do,” Khouri told Rolling Stone. “People don’t talk about it, and they don’t want to name names.”

Before Taylor Swift came forward with her experiences and #metoo sparked a movement, Panettiere’s depiction of the realities that face women at country radio was a gateway to discussions that were long overdue. Juliette was a nuanced character, one who had deeply internalized and, at first, tolerated the fierce competition and seedy expectations that can go along with making it in Nashville. Juliette’s relationship with Rayna James, played by Connie Britton, illustrated the impact of ageism and the way female artists are forced to compete by an industry that has long viewed them as “tomatoes” in the salad of men. “It was difficult to play that sometimes, that competitiveness, where we were in opposition and against each other,” Panettiere told People last year.

It left an impression on the artist Meghan Linsey, who had experienced death threats after she came forward with her story of sexual assault while on radio tour with her band, Steel Magnolia, in 2010.

“Hayden was never afraid to talk about the hard stuff, and I think that same fearlessness came through in the characters she played,” Linsey says. “I remember the episode of Nashville, and how raw and real it felt. It hit especially close to home because it’s something I, and so many other women in this business, have experienced in one form or another. At a time when a lot of those conversations were still happening behind closed doors, seeing it portrayed so honestly on a show centered around our industry felt incredibly significant. Hayden had a way of bringing truth and vulnerability to difficult subjects, both in her work and in her own life, and I think that made people feel less alone.”

Panettiere was also forthcoming in her personal life about the rampant sexual harassment and abuse in the entertainment industry, detailing a horrifying instance in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, where she claims an Oscar-winning actor exposed himself to her. She also details an incident where she claimed another well-known star tried to coerce her into sex with the aid of another woman. As Juliette Barnes, she brought these issues plaguing the women of country music and beyond to the forefront in meaningful, lasting ways.  

“Her work on Nashville influenced an entire generation of female artists,” Shorr says, ”and showed us what bravery, vulnerability, and advocating for ourselves looks like.”