“Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere has been a whale and dolphin activist since she was 15.

She even appears in the amazing Oscar-nominated doc, “The Cove,” about a Japanese dolphin mass slaughter where thousands of dolphins are trapped and brutally killed. She was filmed paddling out in the water and being chased away by angry, violent Japanese fisherman.

The Dish Rag caught up with her at the “Cove” premiere at HAVEN 360  Wednesday (Mar. 3) in Hollywood. The “Heroes” star talked with us about the recent death of a SeaWorld trainer caused by Tilikum, a male Orca who has been in captivity for almost three decades .

“Honestly, it¹s horrible what happened,” she says. “Three deaths by the same whale, by an animal that should be not be in captivity in the first place.

“Have you ever seen a parrot pullout it¹s feathers?  It¹s from depression.
How do you put an interactive, social animal, one of the smartest
animals in the world… and you’re going to stick them in a tub and make
them do tricks?  How do you do that? Because they make money?  It’s
disgusting and Sea World is absolutely wrong.  This is a big wake up call.
How many more people are going to have to be killed?  When are we going to
realize that these animals are not supposed to be there?”

Producer/manager Keith Addis, chairman of the board of Oceana, an
international conservation agency, added,  “There is something wildly
inappropriate about having these majestic, powerful, gorgeous
creatures being made prisoners and taught to be doing stupid pet tricks.
This practice needs to be stopped completely and immediately.”

Hayden is also working hard to make changes in US whale and dolphin policy.

“I’ve lobbied in Washington, ” she tells us. “I’ve talked to President Obama about it and have met with Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator John Kerry. I¹ve held protests, we¹ve done aerial whales on the lawn of the capital. I’ve even had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Japan and the Minister of Fisheries at the Japanese Embassy in Japan when there was a warrant for my arrest. I could have easily been  arrested or detained.”

Keep up the good work, Hayden. You’re a real hero. If you want to be a hero and help Hayden save the whales, go to whaleman.org. [source]

HEROES star HAYDEN PANETTIERE has dismissed rumours she’s reunited with her socialite ex-boyfriend HARRY MORTON, insisting their relationship is purely platonic.

The actress, 20, has been romantically linked to Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko since December (09), when they were snapped holidaying together in Miami, Florida.

But Panettiere sparked speculation she had split from Klitschko and rekindled her love with Hard Rock Cafe heir Morton after they were spotted enjoying a night out in Los Angeles last week (ends26Feb10).

However, the petite star has shot down talk of a reunion with Morton, telling the New York Post’s gossip column PageSix, “We’re just friends.”

Panettiere and Morton dated briefly last summer (Aug09) following her split from Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia. [source]

Hayden Panettiere has defended the fourth season of Heroes.

Some fans have been unimpressed with the show since its first season back in 2006, but Panettiere - Claire Bennet on the NBC drama - has claimed that the show is still fresh.

“It’s been very new and different,” she said. “On the show you never know what to expect, but this season has been this trip with new people. It’s very much about people with abilities hiding and them coming out.

She added that the current season has seen her character head in a new direction which has not been seen before.

“Claire’s been chasing this normal life, but maybe that’s not what she wanted. She always find a reason to jump back into it - to save people and fix things.”

Heroes concludes its fourth season tonight at 9pm on NBC in the US and continues Saturdays on BBC Two in the UK. [SOURCE]

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere said she’d like to focus on a music career and has been working on an album for three years.

The 20-year-old actress, who is best known for playing cheerleader Claire Bennett in the TV series, released her first single, Wake Up Cll, in 2008 and her vocals have also been featured on several Disney albums.

She said to UK magazine Now: ‘I’d like to focus on music. I’ve been singing for almost as long as I’ve been acting and I love it. It’s just a different way of expressing myself and getting to be me, not having to play anyone else.’

She added: ‘I’ve been working on my album for about three years.’ [SOURCE]

The CW has picked up three dramatic pilots — including shows produced by Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere and Smallville’s Tom Welling, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Panettiere’s HMS follows the lives of a sexy freshman class at Harvard Medical School through the eyes of one of the female students. Amy Holden Jones (Mystic Pizza) wrote the script and will co-exec-produce with Panettiere. [SOURCE]