The skincare brand has acknowledged that Panettiere felt unsupported during a difficult period, while announcing plans to fund postpartum-depression support. Its statement arrives after online calls for a boycott revived questions about how brands respond when celebrity partners discuss mental health.
Neutrogena responded publicly after renewed backlash related to Hayden Panettiere’s death at age 36 in 2026. The criticism centers on Panettiere’s allegation that Neutrogena tried to end their partnership after she discussed postpartum depression publicly in 2015.
In an Aug. 20 Instagram statement, Neutrogena said it understood that it had made Panettiere feel unsupported during a difficult time. The brand also said it would make a significant investment in a community-health partner to expand access to postpartum-depression support, though it did not provide details about the plan.
Neutrogena’s statement acknowledges hurt
The statement marked Neutrogena’s first public response since Panettiere’s allegations resurfaced earlier this year and then drew heightened attention after her death on Aug. 16.
“For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community,” the company said. “We are proud to have partnered with her and understand that we made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time.”
The brand said that experience was not consistent with what Neutrogena stands for or wants to be. It also praised Panettiere’s openness about her challenges, saying her decision to speak had helped foster awareness and important conversations.
Neutrogena said it had delayed speaking publicly out of respect for Panettiere’s family and loved ones. Its statement offered condolences but did not directly address her account that the company had sought to fire her.
The allegation behind the backlash
Panettiere said in interviews promoting her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, that she believed Neutrogena wanted to terminate her after she spoke about postpartum depression during a 2015 appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael.
She had been a Neutrogena spokesperson for about a decade. On Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast in May, Panettiere said the call from the brand came after an unscripted and candid discussion of her experience.
According to Panettiere, a representative told her the situation was illegal and helped preserve the partnership for another year. But she said she felt the relationship had effectively ended and was deeply hurt that she did not hear from people at the company after the partnership concluded.
“Of all the things” that could have led to her being fired, Panettiere said, speaking about postpartum depression was the last thing she expected. She said she would not take back what she had shared.
Why postpartum disclosure mattered
Panettiere’s 2015 comments came less than a year after she gave birth to her daughter, Kaya. During that television appearance, she said she could relate to the postpartum depression experienced by her character on Nashville.
She described the condition as real, painful and frightening, and said women needed support. Her public comments arrived at a time when postpartum mental-health discussions still often faced stigma, particularly in celebrity marketing and entertainment settings.
In later interviews, Panettiere described a traumatic birth, severe emotional distress after becoming a mother and her eventual treatment for addiction. Those disclosures made the alleged reaction to her television appearance especially resonant for supporters, who saw her as speaking plainly about an experience many women are discouraged from discussing.
Postpartum depression is a medical condition that can affect people after childbirth. Panettiere’s personal experience should not be treated as universal, but her account underscored why public discussion and access to professional care matter.
Online anger turns into boycott calls
Panettiere’s comments first prompted criticism of Neutrogena in May. After her death, social-media users revisited interviews and excerpts from her memoir, and calls to boycott the skincare brand intensified.
According to USA TODAY, a Reddit post proposing a boycott received more than 2,500 upvotes. Comments on Neutrogena’s social accounts also criticized the company’s alleged treatment of Panettiere, with some users encouraging others to seek out alternatives to the brand.
For many people joining the conversation, the anger is not limited to one past partnership. It reflects a broader concern about whether companies that use celebrity ambassadors are prepared to support them when they disclose health struggles that may complicate a polished brand image.
Others may view Neutrogena’s statement and promised investment as a meaningful acknowledgment, particularly because it directly says Panettiere was made to feel unsupported. But the statement leaves key factual questions unresolved, including what internal decisions were made at the time and whether the company disputes any part of Panettiere’s account.
A promise without details yet
Neutrogena said it would make a significant investment in a long-standing community-health partner to help more women obtain support, including care for postpartum depression. It said more information would be shared once plans are in place.
That language has created an immediate test for the company. A financial commitment could provide practical help if it is substantial, directed to credible providers and paired with clear information about who will benefit. Until details are released, it is not possible to assess the scope, timeline or accountability behind the pledge.
The company is owned by Kenvue, the consumer-health business that was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023. Neutrogena did not respond to requests for comment when Panettiere’s allegations first became public in May, according to USA TODAY.
The contrast between that earlier silence and the new statement is central to the current debate. Critics are asking whether recognition after a public backlash is enough; supporters of the statement may see it as a necessary first step toward addressing the harm Panettiere said she experienced.
Panettiere hoped the industry changed
Before her death, Panettiere said she hoped telling her story would prevent similar treatment of others. In a May interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said she did not think anyone in the industry would do that to another person after she had spoken publicly about the Neutrogena episode.
That hope now gives the backlash a wider meaning. The issue is not only whether Neutrogena’s relationship with Panettiere was handled fairly, but whether brands can make room for honest conversations about postpartum mental health without treating those conversations as a liability.
Neutrogena has expressed regret that Panettiere felt unsupported and promised a future investment in care. What remains unclear is how it will translate that pledge into measurable support—and whether its response will satisfy those who believe Panettiere’s account demands a fuller reckoning.
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