{"id":744595,"date":"2026-08-21T00:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/744595\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T00:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:52:23","slug":"neutrogena-apologizes-for-dropping-hayden-panettiere-over-postpartum-depression-remarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/744595\/","title":{"rendered":"Neutrogena apologizes for dropping Hayden Panettiere over postpartum depression remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neutrogena is finally apologizing to Hayden Panettiere \u2014 days after her tragic death<\/a> \u2014 for axing her contract in 2015 while she was in the throes of postpartum depression.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted to its official Instagram page<\/a> Thursday, the beauty brand said they \u201cunderstand that we made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not what Neutrogena stands for or who we want to be,\u201d the company added.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the statement, the company said it\u2019s \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the \u201cHeroes\u201d actress\u2019 death.<\/p>\n

Neutrogena apologized in an Instagram post Thursday for dropping Hayden Panettiere (seen above in an ad for the beauty brand) over her postpartum depression remarks. Youtube<\/p>\n

In the company\u2019s statement (seen here), it said it \u201cunderstand[s] that [it] made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time.\u201d Instagram\/Neutrogena<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community,\u201d the statement continued, with Neutrogena noting that it was \u201cproud to have partnered with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHayden\u2019s courage in sharing her challenges helped inspire important conversations and awareness,\u201d it wrote. \u201cWe are making a significant investment to a long-standing community health partner to help give more women access to the support they need, including care for postpartum depression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neutrogena vowed to \u201cshare more details with this community when plans are in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of respect for Hayden\u2019s family and loved ones, we did not want to speak out so soon following her passing,\u201d the statement concluded. \u201cEveryone at Neutrogena extends their deepest condolences to Hayden\u2019s family and all who loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neutrogena praised the late actress for having \u201ccourage in sharing her challenges,\u201d noting that she \u201chelped inspire important conversations and awareness.\u201d Instagram\/Neutrogena<\/p>\n

The company said it\u2019s making a \u201csignificant investment to a long-standing community health partner to help give more women access to the support they need, including care for postpartum depression,\u201d and that it will share more details \u201cwhen plans are in place.\u201d Instagram\/Neutrogena<\/p>\n

Panettiere claimed in her memoir, \u201cThis Is Me: A Reckoning,\u201d<\/a> that Neutrogena \u201ccanceled [her] long-standing contract\u201d<\/a> over her allegedly breaking a morality clause.<\/p>\n

She revealed that the incident occurred after she admitted to suffering from postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter, Kaya<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI labored with Kaya for 14 hours and was in surgery for three hours after she was born,\u201d she wrote in the book, released May 19, revealing her harrowing journey of giving birth to her only child, whom she shared with ex Wladimir Klitschko<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I woke up in the recovery room, I was exhausted, disoriented, and racked with pain,\u201d Panettiere wrote, explaining that she \u201cneeded a drink to function.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panettiere was a spokesperson and face for the beauty brand from 2005 to 2015 (as shown in the ad above). Neutrogena<\/p>\n

The \u201cHeroes\u201d actress (seen in another campaign for the company here) claimed in her 2026 memoir, \u201cThis Is Me: A Reckoning,\u201d that Neutrogena \u201ccanceled [her] long-standing contract\u201d over her allegedly breaking a morality clause. YouTube<\/p>\n

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After multiple times in \u201ctreatment,\u201d the \u201cScream 4\u201d actress said she wasn\u2019t herself and her struggles at the time cost her her job on \u201cNashville\u201d \u2014 a move that \u201ckilled me because I\u2019d always prided myself on my professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy fans and the press were hugely sympathetic \u2014 and I\u2019ll always be grateful for that \u2014 but a part of my career I\u2019d come to depend on suffered,\u201d she wrote, detailing how Neutrogena then canceled their partnership in \u201cyet another blow in a year that had given almost nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had postpartum depression, and it sucked. I wanted more than anything to get back to that place of happiness, but I didn\u2019t even know where that place was anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Panettiere was first signed with Neutrogena as a spokesperson and face for the brand in 2005, when she was about 16, regularly appearing in major worldwide ad campaigns for the company.<\/p>\n

Panettiere was open about her experience with postpartum depression following the birth of her only child, daughter Kaya, in 2014. YouTube\/Neutrogena<\/p>\n

The \u201cNashville\u201d actress (seen here in May 2026) wrote that the company severing ties with her was \u201cyet another blow in a year that had given almost nothing else.\u201d Janet Mayer \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The \u201cBring It On: All or Nothing\u201d actress\u2019 contract ended in the months following her discussing her battle with postpartum depression on \u201cLive! with Kelly and Michael\u201d in September 2015.<\/p>\n

During that appearance, she shared that PPD was \u201csomething that\u2019s completely uncontrollable\u201d and both \u201creally painful\u201d and \u201creally scary,\u201d emphasizing that \u201cwomen need a lot of support.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen are amazing,\u201d she added at the time. \u201cWe do something that no man can do on this planet. I mean, we grow a human being in our body!\u201d<\/p>\n

In her appearance on the \u201cJay Shetty\u201d podcast<\/a> in May, Panettiere said Neutrogena firing her over her postpartum depression remarks was \u201cthe last thing that I thought they would ever fire me over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got that call that Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that, my representative at the time said, \u2018That\u2019s illegal. You can\u2019t do that,\u2019\u201d she recalled, noting that the company simply didn\u2019t renew its contract with her when the time came up.<\/p>\n

Panettiere (seen here at a Neutrogena event in September 2009) wrote in her memoir, \u201c\u201dI had postpartum depression, and it sucked. I wanted more than anything to get back to that place of happiness, but I didn\u2019t even know where that place was anymore.\u201d FilmMagic<\/p>\n

Panettiere (seen her in November 2022) died Sunday of an apparent \u201coverdose\u201d at the age of 36 and fans began calling for a boycott of Neutrogena over renewed interest in how the company had previously treated her. Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

Panettiere died Sunday of an apparent \u201coverdose\u201d<\/a> at the age of 36.<\/p>\n

Following the news of her untimely death, fans took to social media to demand a national boycott of Neutrogena<\/a> over its treatment of the actress, with one fan writing, \u201cI will never buy one of their products again in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a 2023 post on Neutrogena\u2019s Threads account, it had written<\/a>, \u201cFriends don\u2019t let friends go to bed without removing their makeup \ud83e\udef6.\u201d This bubbled up following her death, with fans slamming the company in the replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriends don\u2019t drop friends when they\u2019re suffering but hey,\u201d a netizen commented, with another chiming in, \u201cWell this did not age well. Y\u2019all really did Hayden dirty. You should be ashamed.\u201d <\/p>\n

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