Neutrogena slammed for 'dropping Hayden Panettiere' after depression interview
Hayden Panettiere claimed that publicly discussing how she suffered from postpartum depression cost her a decade-long partnership with Neutrogena.
The late actress, 36, has been remembered as an 'incredible light and a force of nature' by her loved ones in wake of the tragic news of her death on Sunday (16 August).
As tributes pour in for the beloved screen star - famed for her roles in Scream, Heroes and Nashville - focus has fallen on her past comments about the skincare brand suddenly cutting ties with her in 2016.
Hollywood has been left devastated by the news of Panettiere's passing, as a host of her former co-stars have been sharing their condolences for the 'supremely talented and lovely' star.
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Police in Greenville, South Carolina, shared some further details about the circumstances surrounding her death, however, the nature of her passing currently remains unclear.
TMZ reported that emergency crews responded to a person in suspected 'cardiac arrest', and despite life-saving efforts being administered, Panettiere was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
A host of remarks that she made in the weeks, months and years prior to her passing have resurfaced online in wake of the news, including a podcast interview with Jay Shetty she took part in May this year.
Heartbreakingly, she told the host: "I feel like I have a lot more life to live."
During the sit down with Shetty, Panettiere also bravely opened up about her battle with postpartum depression after giving welcoming her daughter Kaya into the world in 2014, who she shares with former boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
She experienced a traumatic birth which required her to subsequently receive seven blood transfusions and three hours of surgery - and during her recovery, she realised that 'something was terribly, terribly wrong'.
According to the NHS, this mental health condition has symptoms including a low mood, feelings of hopelessness and guilt, anxiety, restlessness, sleeping issues and difficulty bonding with your baby, among others.
Panettiere ended up turning to substances and alcohol, which are things she had used as a coping mechanism throughout her teen years during her rise to fame. She later turned her life around after stints in rehab and therapy.
Her former partner Klitschko has had custody of their daughter Kaya since 2018, which Panettiere previously described as an 'incredibly difficult' decision, but one that she thought was best for her child.
Speaking to Shetty about her postpartum struggles with her mental health, the late mum said: "I never felt any hostility or negativity towards my child, thankfully. But I wasn't connecting with her the way I should be.
"I was full of stress and anxiety the whole time, and what I was doing to suppress those emotions was not normal and it was not healthy.
"I was miserable, I was in tears all the time - even though the alcohol helped my nervous system calm down, it is a depressant, so over time it made things worse," she said.
During the podcast, Panettiere also addressed how discussing this personal topic during an appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael in 2015 allegedly resulted in Neutrogena 'firing' her the following year.
In the 2015 interview, she told how she found postpartum depression was 'completely uncontrollable and really painful', adding: "It's really scary, and women need a lot of support."
'Never for a second did I think that anyone would have a bad reaction to it'
Explaining her version of events to Shetty, the Bring It On: All or Nothing star said: "Neutrogena and I were together for 10 years. They had morality clauses that had a huge impact on my life, because I was a teenager and I had all the paparazzi around me capturing these gory moments. Every moment - every cigarette I smoked, every bad outfit, or [comments like], 'She’s looking chunky in a bathing suit', or, 'She has a fat vagina'.
"They caught absolutely everything and out of all the things they would fire me over, this is the last thing I thought they would ever fire me over."
Panettiere starred in a number of campaigns and was a brand ambassador for the popular skincare firm - but says this came to an abrupt end amid in 2016, which she alleged was a result of the fallout of her 2015 interview.
She explained: "When I went on Live with Kelly and Michael, I had no intention or plan to talk about postpartum depression. It just came up and I was just being honest.
"Never for a second did I think that anyone would have a bad reaction to it - it was my truth.
"So when I got that call that Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that, my representative at the time said, ‘That’s illegal, you can’t do that.’ And even though she saved the day that year, I knew that that was going to be it.
"I knew that I was not going to be invited back the next year," Panettiere said, before adding that it 'really broke her heart' that she did 'not hear a word' from any of the people she had spent a decade working alongside after parting ways.
But she defiantly added: "I wouldn't change it for the world, I wouldn't take it back."
Panettiere also wrote about being dropped by Neutrogena in her memoir This is Me: A Reckoning, where she alleged: "Neutrogena canceled my long-standing contract, and it was yet another blow in a year that had given almost nothing else."
Social media users were in uproar on Panettiere's behalf, as one person said: "Everyone turned their back on this woman. It's maddening."
Another added: "We support women - until women actually say something uncomfortable."
A third wrote: "This raises serious questions about how brands handle public conversations around mental health. Postpartum depression is real and deserves understanding, not silence or punishment."
While a fourth chimed in: "@Neutrogena damn. How cruel."
LADbible has contacted Neutrogena for comment.
Topics: Parenting, Mental Health, Celebrity News, US News
Olivia Burke