The skincare brand said Panettiere was a valued partner and acknowledged that she felt unsupported during a difficult period. Its statement stops short of directly addressing her specific allegation that it sought to fire her.
Neutrogena has responded after Hayden Panettiere’s death, as Panettiere’s death sparked renewed backlash against the skincare brand over her allegation that it tried to end their longtime partnership after she discussed postpartum depression. In an Aug. 20 Instagram statement, Neutrogena said it understood that Panettiere felt unsupported during a difficult time and offered condolences to her family.
The statement addresses the pain at the center of the reaction without directly confirming or denying Panettiere’s account that the brand wanted to “fire” her after a 2015 television appearance. That distinction is likely to shape whether the response eases criticism or prompts more questions.
What Neutrogena said publicly
Neutrogena described Panettiere as a “valued member” of its community for more than a decade. The brand said it was proud of the partnership, while also recognizing that she felt unsupported.
“This is not what Neutrogena stands for or who we want to be,” the company said in its statement. It also praised Panettiere for sharing her challenges and said her openness helped encourage awareness and conversation.
The brand said it plans to make a significant investment in an existing community health partner to expand access to support for women, including care for postpartum depression. It did not name the partner or give a dollar amount, saying additional details would be shared once plans were in place.
Neutrogena said it had waited to speak publicly out of respect for Panettiere’s family and loved ones following her death.
The allegation behind the criticism
According to USA TODAY’s reporting, Panettiere discussed the dispute in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and in interviews while promoting the book. She said Neutrogena sought to end their relationship after she spoke candidly about postpartum depression on Live with Kelly and Michael in 2015.
Panettiere, who had worked with the company for about a decade, said the subject came up unexpectedly during the appearance. She had given birth to her daughter, Kaya, less than a year earlier.
On Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast in May, Panettiere said she was told her discussion of postpartum depression violated a “morals clause.” She said a representative challenged the move, but she believed the partnership was effectively over.
She recalled being hurt that she did not hear a goodbye or a message of support from people she had worked with for years. Panettiere’s account was her own allegation; Neutrogena’s new statement does not specifically address whether it attempted to terminate her contract or what its policies were at the time.
Why the reaction intensified
Panettiere’s death at 36 on Aug. 16 brought renewed attention to her final public reflections on postpartum depression, addiction and recovery. For many people responding online, the alleged treatment by a major beauty brand became inseparable from a broader concern about how women are treated when they speak honestly about maternal mental health.
USA TODAY reported that social media posts from Neutrogena drew waves of critical comments, including calls for a boycott and suggestions for skincare routines that avoid the brand. A Reddit post proposing a boycott received more than 2,500 upvotes, according to the outlet.
Some commenters focused on Panettiere’s long history as a Neutrogena spokesperson. Her commercials were familiar to a generation of viewers, which gave the dispute an added sense of disappointment for people who saw the relationship as a long-running success story.
Online backlash can move quickly and does not establish the facts of a private business dispute. Still, the volume of reaction shows why a general expression of regret may not fully settle concerns when the underlying claim remains unaddressed.
Panettiere made postpartum visible
Panettiere had spoken plainly about the severity of her postpartum depression. In her 2015 interview, she said the condition was real, painful and frightening, and that women needed support rather than misunderstanding.
She later described struggling to feel connected after childbirth and said she turned to alcohol and, at times, opiates to numb an overwhelming emptiness. She eventually sought treatment for addiction and made the painful decision to relinquish custody of Kaya to her former fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko.
Her experience was highly personal, but her decision to discuss it publicly carried wider significance. Postpartum depression is often obscured by expectations that new mothers should feel only joy, making public accounts from recognizable figures especially consequential.
In a May interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Panettiere said she hoped speaking about the Neutrogena episode would prevent similar treatment of others in the industry. That hope is now a central part of the scrutiny facing the brand.
A statement with unanswered details
Neutrogena’s statement contains a meaningful acknowledgment: it says the company understands Panettiere felt unsupported. That is more direct than silence, particularly after outlets reported that the brand did not respond when her allegations first surfaced in May.
But it does not answer the questions most closely tied to the backlash. Did Neutrogena attempt to remove Panettiere from the partnership because she spoke about postpartum depression? Was a morals clause invoked? And what changed internally, if anything, after the alleged incident?
The promised investment in postpartum-depression support could become an important part of the company’s response, depending on its scale, its partner and how the initiative is structured. Until those details are released, it remains a commitment rather than a measurable program.
For now, the episode is a reminder that public statements after a crisis are judged not only by their tone, but by whether they confront the specific harm people believe occurred. Neutrogena has expressed regret over Panettiere feeling unsupported; its next steps will determine whether that acknowledgment is seen as sufficient.
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