Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Actor Hayden Panettiere died on August 16, 2026. She was 36. A police report reveals Brian Hickerson (on-again, off-again boyfriend) and his brother were present at Hayden Panettiere’s South Carolina apartment when emergency services arrived. With an official cause of death yet to be established, authorities confirm the investigation into the actor’s sudden death remains ongoing.
Amid the ongoing investigation, cosmetic brand Neutrogena has been getting a lot of flak. The reason dates back to almost a decade. Her death has brought an old allegation back into the spotlight — one involving postpartum depression, a celebrity endorsement deal and a morality clause.
Hayden Panettiere and Neutrogena had been together for a decade
advertisement
Panettiere had a long-standing relationship with Neutrogena, serving as one of the brand’s prominent ambassadors for roughly a decade, from 2005 to 2015.
That makes what happened next particularly significant.
After the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014, Panettiere struggled with postpartum depression. She later spoke openly about the experience, including publicly discussing receiving treatment for it. In 2015, she appeared on Live! with Kelly and Michael and spoke about postpartum depression, describing it as something that was frightening and needed to be talked about. At the time, she was not just an actor speaking about her mental health. She was also the face of a major beauty brand.
And, according to Panettiere, that became a problem.
She said Neutrogena wanted to drop her
Panettiere revisited the episode in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and in a May 2026 appearance on Jay Shetty’s podcast.
According to her account, after she spoke about postpartum depression on television, she was told that Neutrogena wanted to end their partnership. The reason, she said, was that she had allegedly violated a morality clause in her contract.
Panettiere said she was stunned.
She had been working with the company for around 10 years, and, as she recalled it, she never imagined that discussing her own health would be considered grounds for ending the relationship.
Her representative, she said, pushed back, telling her that the company could not fire her simply for speaking about her medical condition. According to Panettiere, Neutrogena ultimately allowed the existing contract to run its course, but did not renew it afterwards.
It is important to note that this remains Panettiere’s account of the events. Neutrogena’s latest statement (read on for the statement) does not specifically confirm that it ended or declined to renew her contract because she discussed postpartum depression.
Why did the story resurface now?
Panettiere had already spoken about it earlier this year while promoting her memoir. But her death on August 16 changed the way people encountered the story. Clips and reports about her claims began circulating again, with fans revisiting what she had said about the beauty brand. What had been a story about a celebrity endorsement deal suddenly became part of the larger conversation around Panettiere’s life, her struggles with postpartum depression and addiction, and the way she felt she had been treated while going through them.
Social media users began criticising Neutrogena and calling for a boycott.
The anger brewed from the fact: why should someone be punished professionally for speaking honestly about postpartum depression, particularly when the condition itself remains heavily stigmatised?
And then, Neutrogena responded
After the criticism, Neutrogena addressed the controversy on Thursday. The company expressed sadness over Panettiere’s death and acknowledged its past relationship with her.
The statement issued by the brand read: “We are deeply saddened by Hayden Panettiere’s passing.”
“For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community. 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. We 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,” continued the statement from the company.
The response, however, has done little to end the online criticism, with some users questioning why the brand took until after Panettiere’s death to address the issue.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
