Neutrogena Breaks Its Silence on Hayden Panettiere After Backlash Over Her Final Revelations

Neutrogena has issued its first public statement addressing Hayden Panettiere’s allegations about the brand, days after the actress died at age 36. The statement follows renewed criticism of the skincare company over Panettiere’s claim that it considered ending their longtime partnership after she publicly discussed experiencing postpartum depression.

Panettiere detailed the alleged episode in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and in interviews promoting the book in May. Her comments generated criticism at the time, but the controversy resurfaced following her death on August 16, with social media users flooding Neutrogena’s accounts and some calling for a boycott. A cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.

Neutrogena Says Panettiere Felt Unsupported

Neutrogena addressed the controversy in an Instagram statement posted Thursday, August 20.

The company acknowledged Panettiere’s lengthy association with the brand and, notably, did not dismiss her description of how the experience made her feel.

“For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community,” the company said, before acknowledging that it understood she had felt unsupported during an extremely difficult period of her life.

Neutrogena added that such an experience was inconsistent with what the company says it wants to represent. The statement marked the brand’s first substantive public response since Panettiere’s allegations emerged months earlier.

The Company Announced an Investment in Women’s Health

Neutrogena also announced plans to make what it described as a “significant investment” in a longtime community health partner.

According to the company, the initiative is intended to help more women obtain support, including care related to postpartum depression. Neutrogena said further details would be announced once its plans are finalized.

The company also explained why it had waited several days after Panettiere’s death before publicly addressing the situation, saying it wanted to respect her family and loved ones.

It concluded by extending condolences to Panettiere’s family and everyone who loved her.

Panettiere Said Everything Changed After a 2015 Interview

The dispute traces back to an appearance Panettiere made on Live with Kelly and Michael in September 2015.

During the interview, she discussed the postpartum depression storyline involving her Nashville character, Juliette Barnes, and revealed that she could personally relate to the condition. She pushed back against misconceptions surrounding postpartum depression and emphasized that women experiencing it need support.

Her comments came less than a year after she welcomed her daughter, Kaya, with then-partner Wladimir Klitschko.

Panettiere subsequently entered treatment for postpartum depression. Years later, she would speak much more extensively about the difficulties she experienced during that period.

She Claimed Neutrogena Wanted to End Their Relationship

While promoting her memoir in May 2026, Panettiere alleged that Neutrogena reacted negatively to her decision to discuss postpartum depression publicly.

Speaking on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, she claimed she received word after the television appearance that the company wanted to fire her. Panettiere said her representative intervened and challenged the proposed decision.

Although the immediate situation was apparently resolved, Panettiere said she understood that her relationship with the company was effectively ending.

She was particularly hurt because she had spent approximately a decade working with Neutrogena and remembered receiving no meaningful farewell from people she had known during that partnership.

Panettiere Said She Never Regretted Speaking Honestly

Despite the professional consequences she believed followed, Panettiere consistently maintained that she did not regret discussing postpartum depression.

She told Shetty that she had not planned to reveal her experience during the 2015 interview. The subject arose naturally, she said, and she chose to answer honestly.

In a separate May interview with Us Weekly, Panettiere recalled being stunned by the alleged response because she considered postpartum depression a profoundly human experience rather than something that should make a spokesperson unsuitable for a beauty brand.

She also told The Hollywood Reporter that she hoped speaking publicly about what happened would discourage companies from treating other people similarly in the future.

Her Comments Took on New Significance After Her Death

When Panettiere initially made the allegations in May, several outlets sought responses from Neutrogena. TMZ, Us Weekly and Page Six reported that the company did not provide comments addressing her claims at the time.

After her death, however, old interviews and passages from her memoir began circulating again.

Some consumers announced plans to stop buying Neutrogena products, while the company’s social media accounts received large numbers of critical comments. Reddit discussions about a potential boycott also attracted considerable engagement.

The renewed reaction eventually preceded Neutrogena’s August 20 statement acknowledging that Panettiere had felt unsupported.

Panettiere Had Spoken Openly About Her Difficultest Years

Panettiere’s discussion of postpartum depression was part of a much broader account of her struggles.

The Heroes and Nashville star had spoken publicly about addiction and seeking treatment, explaining how her difficulties affected both her health and her relationship with her daughter.

In interviews connected with her memoir, she described the emotional pain surrounding Kaya eventually living with her father, former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko. Panettiere strongly rejected the suggestion that she simply wanted to give up parenting her daughter, describing the situation as deeply painful.

Those revelations were among the most personal discussions of her life and career before her death.

Neutrogena’s Response Comes After Years of Silence

Neutrogena’s statement does not provide a detailed account of what happened internally in 2015, nor does it explicitly confirm every aspect of Panettiere’s allegation that the company sought to fire her.

What it does do is acknowledge that its longtime spokesperson felt abandoned during a vulnerable period and state that this was not how the brand wanted her to feel.

That distinction matters when separating what Panettiere alleged from what Neutrogena has now publicly confirmed.

For Panettiere, speaking about postpartum depression became part of a larger effort to challenge the stigma surrounding an experience affecting many new mothers. Months before her death, she expressed hope that telling her story might prevent someone else from facing the reaction she said she encountered.

Neutrogena’s promise to invest in expanded support for women experiencing postpartum depression now gives that conversation another chapter, although the company says details of the initiative are still being developed.

Featured Image: instagram.com/haydenpanettiere