fans of Hayden Panettiere are once again vowing to boycott beauty brand Neutrogena following the star’s sudden death.
“I will never buy from them again! They should have supported her and other women and not taken away their help,” one said Reddit user wrote on Monday, August 17, one day after Heroes And Nashville Alum died at the age of 36. The new backlash stems from Panettiere’s May memoir, in which she claimed that Neutrogena had “terminated” her “long-standing contract” because of her battle with postpartum depression.
The brand initially faced backlash from Panettiere fans upon publishing the memoir titled This is me: a reckoningbut did not respond publicly to the criticism at the time.
Us has reached out to a Neutrogena representative for comment.
Hayden Panettiere has canceled her appearance at California’s Creep IE Aftermath Convention due to a mysterious last-minute issue. “Roster Update: Hayden Panettiere is experiencing an emergency and will not be able to attend this weekend,” read a social media statement shared via the event’s Instagram on Friday, July 10. “We are looking forward to your appearance at a (…)
New consumer reactions have also hit the brand Threads accountwith social media users now responding to a post shared by Neutrogena in 2023 that read: “Friends don’t let friends go to bed without removing their makeup.”
One person responded on Sunday, August 16, “Friends don’t try to fire employees for speaking openly about postpartum depression either, but this brand apparently does.” Another social media user responded: “Hayden deserves better. Women deserve better. I’m tired of supporting Neutrogena.”
Panettiere’s Neutrogena claim was made in her book while the actress detailed mental health issues she experienced after giving birth to her daughter Kaya in 2011, whom she shared with her ex Vladimir Klitschko. She wrote about it Nashville Producers decided to temporarily remove her character from production before questioning the beauty brand’s decision to cut ties completely.
“The producers had no choice but to temporarily exclude me from the script – something that killed me because I had always prided myself on my professionalism – and I made a statement about where I was going and why,” Panettiere wrote. “My fans and the press showed great compassion – and I will always be grateful for that – but a part of my career that I had relied on suffered. Neutrogena terminated my long-standing contract, and it was another blow in a year that had seen almost nothing else.”
Panettiere died suddenly on Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina. Her father, Skipconfirmed the news Us at that time through a representative of his daughter. “It is with deep sadness that we share the tragic death of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her – and to the millions who saw her on screen,” Skip said in a statement. “We ask for privacy as our family needs time to process this unimaginable loss.”
Following her death, which remains under investigation at the time of publication with no confirmed cause or cause, a filmmaker worked with Panettiere on her 2025 horror comedy A breed apart claimed that she was “not feeling well” while working on set.
“I had met Hayden about 10 years earlier and knew she was incredibly talented. When she signed on to do the film we were making, I was thrilled,” said the director Grip Prince began in an Instagram video shared on Monday. “I really wanted to work with her, so I’m on set and I’m told by the film’s security team that picked her up from the airport that something’s wrong.
In the years following their breakup, Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with Brian Hickerson was still complicated, even at the time of her tragic death. “Hayden and Brian were in touch on and off for years, but pretty much always stayed in touch,” a source tells us exclusively about the couple’s history before her (…)
Furst, 44, continued: “I didn’t think much of it, so I left the set and went over to greet her and her boyfriend Brian (Hickerson). He opened the door. Hayden was incredibly kind and gracious and excited to go to work, but she wasn’t feeling well.”
A Greenville City Police Department police report dated Tuesday, August 18, received from Usstated that officers had spoken to Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend, Hickerson, 37, and his brother, Zach Hickersonthe day she died at an apartment complex in Greenville.
“After EMS officially pronounced Hayden dead, I escorted Zach and Brian from the apartment,” the police report said Sunday. “I observed that Zach was very emotional while EMS was working on Hayden. Brian only became emotional when EMS officially declared her deceased.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call 988, text or chat at 988lifeline.org.
