Hayden Panettiere is “okay” after she and her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson were involved in a physical fight outside 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 to PEOPLE, 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 July 2021, PEOPLE 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 to PEOPLE 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.
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.
