Hayden Panettiere’s father, Alan, was released from custody on $50,000 bail Monday afternoon after being arrested for allegedly striking the actress’s mother. Panettiere, 49, was arrested at 3:15 a.m. at the family’s West Hollywood home and spent about 10 hours in Los Angeles County sheriff’s custody. He was booked on a charge of felony domestic violence following a fight with wife Lesley Vogel, 52, deputies said … A sheriff’s spokesman says that Alan struck Lesley one or two times on the cheek causing bruising. Another sheriff’s official says that alcohol was involved in the incident. An observer at the party tells PEOPLE: “When they were both about to leave, they had a heated argument outside the restaurant. They were doing a good amount of yelling.”

Extra TV have a statement from the couple which quotes them as saying the incident was a “big misunderstanding”:

Hayden Panettiere parents, Skip and Lesley, talk first to “Extra’s” Mario Lopez about Skip’s arrest on suspicion of felony spousal abuse on Monday, August 11th. The police report indicates Skip struck Lesley three times, but the Panettieres tell Lopez, “It was all a big misunderstanding” and they now claim “nothing actually happened.” They go on to say, “Lesley wasn’t even aware that Skip had been arrested.” Lopez reports that Hayden found out about her dad’s arrest when he called her from jail. The Panettieres tell “Extra” that “They love each other very much and want everyone to know that the matter was completely blown out of proportion.” Skip was released from jail on $50,000 bail.

You know, family matters of this nature can be extremely complicated and because we will never know exactly what happened it can be a moot point to even debate the issue (I mean, we can debate away but it would be conjecture upon conjecture … basically the police say one thing, the couple now says another). I will say, tho, that physical violence against anyone SHOULD NEVER BE TOLERATED. I suppose we are to assume that things got out of hand and all is forgiven, altho I would have a bit of a hard time sweeping a matter like this under the rug if I were somehow involved. In Hollywood, tho, high profile folks (like the parents of one of Young Hollywood’s hottest stars) tend to sweep a lot of things under the rug in order to keep up appearances. For the sake of everyone involved (especially Hayden’s mom), I hope that everything has been resolved to everyone’s true satisfaction and it’s not just for show … tho, again, I cannot understand fully how someone can condone an act of physical violence like this at all. In the end, if the victim chooses not to press charges, there ain’t much that can be done. Ugh … it’s just an ugly matter altogether.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source, Source]