READ THE ROOM

Neutrogena Breaks Silence on Hayden Panettiere Backlash Following Her Death

The late actress claimed that the cosmetic brand ended her contract after she spoke publicly about battling postpartum depression.

Neutrogena has responded to widespread backlash and calls for a boycott sparked by Hayden Panettiere’s claims about the brand, which resurfaced following her sudden death at 36.

The late Nashville actress, who died on August 16, partnered with the beauty company from 2005 to 2015.

Panettiere claimed in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, that the brand ended their partnership after she discussed her experience with postpartum depression on Live With Kelly and Michael in 2015.

During the 2015 interview with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan, Panettiere described postpartum depression as “completely uncontrollable, it’s really painful, and it’s really scary, and women need a lot of support.”

Panettiere’s claims resurfaced after her shocking death, and thousands of fans started calling for a boycott of Neutrogena, which is owned by Kenvue.

Neutrogena did not immediately respond to The Looker’s request for comment.

“I’ll never ever use a Neutrogena product ever again and I’ll make sure that my daughter doesn’t as well,” one person wrote in the brand’s comment section.

Another added, “Boycott Neutrogena. Normal women suffer from postpartum depression. It happens.”

On Thursday, Neutrogena released a statement on Instagram that started, “We are deeply saddened by Hayden Panettiere’s passing.”

The statement continued, “For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community. 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.”

It continued, “Hayden’s courage in sharing her challenges helped inspire important conversations and awareness.”

The company also vowed to make “a significant investment to a long-standing community health partner to help give more women access to the support they need, including care for postpartum depression. We will share more details with this community when plans are in place.”

The post’s third and final page appeared to acknowledge what Panettiere’s fans saw as a lack of communication from the brand: “Out of respect for Hayden’s family and loved ones, we did not want to speak out so soon following her passing. Everyone at Neutrogena extends their deepest condolences to Hayden’s family and all who loved her.”

The statement didn’t land well with some of Panettiere’s fans on social media.

Neutrogena turned off comments on the post with its statement, but people still shared their opinions in the comment sections of earlier posts by the brand, which still had commenting enabled.

---

‘INCREDIBLE LIGHT’

Troubled ‘Nashville’ Star Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36

Cameron Adams

---

“Apology with comments turned off how original. 🙄 I will never buy Neutrogena ever again. I hope this runs the company to the ground,” one comment with over 5,800 likes read.

“Turning off comments on your ‘statement’ is a choice. She didn’t ‘feel unsupported.’ Hayden WAS unsupported. By you,” another person said.

In her memoir, which she published in May, the Heroes star wrote about her experience with severe postpartum depression after the 2014 birth of her daughter, Kaya.

Kaya’s father, and Panettiere’s ex-fiancé, is Ukrainian former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 50. The actress wrote that she “needed a drink to function” during her postpartum depression and eventually went into rehab.

---

'I WAS FOOLING MYSELF'

'Nashville' Star Details Addiction Battle After Childbirth

Roosa Rahkonen

---

When the couple split in 2018, Kaya went to live in Ukraine with her father.

In May, Panettiere told motivational life coach Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast that she was not planning to talk about her experience with postpartum depression on television in 2015 and was “just being honest.”

She recalled getting a call from her agent the day after her interview that Neutrogena wanted to fire her.

“I remember that really breaking my heart,” she told Shetty. “It made me realize and understand exactly what people thought of women who experience postpartum depression and how misunderstood it is, how much stigma there is around it.”

Panettiere said her representative told her Neutrogena could not legally fire her over the interview, though she believed that was why the brand did not renew her contract the following year.

“One of the worst possible things in the world to happen to a woman is already happening to her,” Panettiere said, adding that the last thing she needed was “feeling so judged and in such a negative way.”

Panettiere was found dead in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday, August 16. She would have turned 37 on Friday, August 21.

Her cause of death remains pending, though an apparent overdose was mentioned in an emergency call. Authorities have said they do not suspect foul play.

Panettiere’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zack, were present at the time of her death.

Panettiere and Hickerson started their tumultuous relationship in 2018.

In her memoir, Panettiere detailed multiple occasions during which she claimed Hickerson had been violent towards her. He was arrested in 2019 and in 2020 for domestic violence cases involving Panettiere.

---

PUSHING BACK

Troubled Star’s Abusive Ex Breaks Silence After Shock Death

Eboni Boykin-Patterson

---

Play Video

---

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

---

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.