For nearly a decade, Hayden Panettiere was closely associated with Neutrogena. Now, following her death, the brand’s treatment of the actor is back in the spotlight. The Heroes star died on August 16, 2026, at age 36 after being found unresponsive in cardiac arrest, with her cause of death still under investigation.
Panettiere worked with Neutrogena from 2005 to 2015 before the longtime partnership ended. Years later, she shed light on what happened behind the scenes. During a May 2026 appearance on On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Panettiere revealed that Neutrogena dropped her after she spoke publicly about postpartum depression.
Panettiere recalled speaking candidly without expecting any backlash:
"I had no intention or plan to talk about postpartum depression. It just came up, and I was just being honest, and never for a second did I think that anyone cared or that anyone would have a bad reaction to it."
Panettiere said her contract included a morals clause, but she never imagined speaking openly about postpartum depression would put it into play. Such clauses are meant to protect brands from misconduct and scandal—not candor about mental health.
She detailed Neutrogena’s response:
"When I got that call that Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that, and my representative at the time said, 'That's illegal, you can't do that,' I knew that that was gonna be it. That I was not gonna be invited back the next year, and I had worked with those people for 10 years."
And that was it. Panettiere said she never heard from Neutrogena again, and the brand simply let her contract expire. In her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, she revealed just how deeply the rejection affected her, writing that she turned to alcohol and opioids to self-medicate during that period.
Watch Panettiere open up about the experience:
The clip of Panettiere’s comments quickly spread across social media, reigniting a larger conversation about the stigma surrounding postpartum depression, which affects an estimated 10 to 15 percent of women who give birth in the United States. As outrage grew, some social media users called for a boycott of Neutrogena, increasing pressure on the brand to respond.
Neutrogena posted a statement on social media last Thursday:
“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. Hayden's courage in sharing her challenges helped inspire important conversations and awareness…”
In its response, Neutrogena said it intentionally waited several days to address the controversy while mourning Panettiere’s death, adding that the company was "deeply saddened" by her passing.
You can view the full statement below:
While expressing their condolences, Panettiere’s supporters made it clear that Neutrogena’s acknowledgment didn’t erase the past. Many called the response too little, too late and questioned why it took her death for the brand to speak up, while others remembered the actress’ legacy as the “It” girl of the brand’s television commercials.
Here’s how the conversation unfolded online:
The conversation struck a nerve because Panettiere’s experience reflected a struggle many mothers face after giving birth. Michelle Battersby, president of the social media app Peanut, pointed to Panettiere’s repeated attempts to seek help—and what her experience could mean for other women struggling in silence.
For Battersby, the concern went deeper:
“Can we be surprised when women then don’t speak about their postpartum suffering or their mental health?”
Panettiere did seek help. In 2015, when Kaya was four months old, she entered treatment for depression. She later wrote in This Is Me: A Reckoning that while she left clean and sober, she continued struggling with postpartum depression.
At the time, Panettiere was filming Nashville, where her character, Juliette Barnes, was also struggling with postpartum depression and substance abuse—an experience Panettiere later described as traumatizing and disorienting. She returned to treatment in 2016 and lost custody of her daughter in 2018.
Knowing what Panettiere was navigating at the time helps explain why the backlash against Neutrogena became so fierce. Her experience became a painful example of why some women may think twice before speaking openly about postpartum depression.
