Who is Brian Hickerson? Hayden Panettiere's on-off boyfriend arrested
Hickerson heard shouting about Panettiere as he was handcuffed by police in South Carolina
Brian Hickerson, a former boyfriend of the late actress Hayden Panettiere, was heard shouting about her death while being arrested in the US.
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He had been drinking in South Carolina with his brother Zack when they got into a bar fight and were then kicked out after a chair was thrown, according to US gossip site TMZ.
Hickerson reportedly responded to heckling about Panettiere, who died aged 38 in August, and was seen being handcuffed outside, where he was heard shouting at police.
A video shows Hickerson yelling that the Greenville Police Department had leaked news of Panettiere's death.
“GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died,” he cried.
🚨BREAKING / UPDATE: Newly surfaced footage shows Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, apparently being detained last night.
— Amy Leigh (@IAmyLeigh) September 13, 2026
In the video, Hickerson can be heard shouting: "GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died!" referencing the Greenville Police Department, which is… pic.twitter.com/1wbrnwHrsz
Police have said that there was no evidence of foul play around the death of Panettiere, although her official cause of death is still unknown.
The former Nashville and Heroes TV actress died on August 16 in Greenville, South Carolina, the same town where Hickerson was later arrested.
Panettiere had a daughter named Kaya with her ex-partner, the former boxer. Wladimir Klitschko.
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The Greenville Police Department has not commented on the bar arrest beyond confirming the incident.
Who is Brian Hickerson?
Brian Hickerson was the on-and-off boyfriend of late actress Hayden Panettiere, with the pair having started dating in 2018 after she ended her relationship with Wladimir Klitschko.
According to the Hindu Times, he had pursued a career in acting, although he has only one credit to his name on IMDB, and otherwise worked as an estate agent.
Hickerson was arrested in 2019 after an alleged confrontation with her, but the charge was dismissed; but in 2020 was arrested twice more on domestic violence charges and convicted of two felony counts of injuring a wife or girlfriend. He served 45 days behind bars in 2021 and reconnected with Panettiere afterwards.
The pair were photographed together as recently as 2023, but it is not known if they were together at the time of her death, although Hickerson did tell police upon his arrest in 2026 that she was his girlfriend when she died.