Key takeaways:
- Neutrogena said Panettiere was a valued member of its community and that it understood it made her feel unsupported during a difficult time.
- Panettiere said in a May podcast interview that Neutrogena wanted to fire her after she spoke about postpartum depression in 2015.
- Panettiere died Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina; NBC News reported her cause of death is pending further investigation, while CBS News reported the DEA is assisting in the investigation.
Neutrogena said it made Hayden Panettiere feel “unsupported during a very difficult time” after the actor’s death prompted renewed scrutiny of her claims that the skincare company cut ties with her for speaking publicly about postpartum depression.
Panettiere, 36, died Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina. NBC News reported she was found unresponsive at an apartment complex and pronounced dead at the scene, and that the coroner’s office said her cause of death is pending further investigation after an autopsy was completed Monday. CBS News reported that authorities said emergency responders found her in cardiac arrest, and that two sources familiar with the investigation said the Drug Enforcement Administration is assisting in the investigation.
The company’s statement Thursday followed days of backlash from fans who resurfaced Panettiere’s comments from a May appearance on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast and from press for her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” Some social media users called for a boycott, and Neutrogena’s posts drew negative comments over what many described as the brand’s treatment of its former ambassador.
“For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community,” the company wrote on social media. “We are proud to have partnered with her and understand that we made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time. This is not what Neutrogena stands for or who we want to be.”
Neutrogena said Panettiere’s “courage in sharing her challenges helped inspire important conversations and awareness” and pledged “a significant investment to a long-standing community health partner” to expand access to support for women, including postpartum depression care. The company said it would share more details when plans are in place.
“Out of respect for Hayden’s family and loved ones, we did not want to speak out so soon following her passing,” Neutrogena said. “Everyone at Neutrogena extends their deepest condolences to Hayden’s family and all who loved her.”
Panettiere worked with Neutrogena from 2005 to 2015, according to NBC News. In the podcast interview, she described the company as “a huge part” of her life and said paparazzi were capturing “every moment” as she struggled after giving birth to her daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, in 2014 with her then-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko.
She said she had not planned to discuss postpartum depression during a 2015 appearance on “Live with Kelly and Michael,” but “it just came up” and she was “just being honest.”
“Of all the things to, that they would fire me over, this was the last thing that I thought they would ever fire me over,” Panettiere told Shetty.
She said that when she got a call saying Neutrogena wanted to fire her, her representative responded, “That’s illegal, you can’t do that.” Panettiere said she believed the relationship was effectively over anyway. “I knew that that was gonna be it,” she said. “I was not gonna be invited back the next year.”
After a decade with the brand, she said she remembered “not hearing a word from anybody” — not even “great working with you for 10 years” or “we wish you well.”
“And I remember that really breaking my heart,” she said.
Panettiere began acting as a child and built a career that included roles in “Remember the Titans,” “Heroes,” “Bring It On,” the “Scream” film franchise and “Nashville,” where her portrayal of country singer Juliette Barnes earned two Golden Globe nominations and placed her on the Billboard charts.
She also spoke publicly about addiction to opioids and alcohol, telling People in 2022 that her substance use began in her teens. In October 2015, she entered a treatment facility for postpartum depression.
In her memoir, published in May, Panettiere wrote that after Kaya’s birth, “all my natural optimism and pep had vanished,” and said she struggled to soothe her daughter, feeling “desperate, inadequate, and out of control.” NBC News reported that she wrote she began self-medicating with wine.
Postpartum depression affects 1 in 7 women, according to the Cleveland Clinic, NBC News reported. Symptoms can include extreme sadness, anger, trouble bonding with a baby, insomnia or violent ideations.
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