As calls to boycott Neutrogena in the days after Hayden Panettiere’s death, the skincare brand pledged Thursday to make a “significant” donation to aid women with postpartum depression.
The backlash stemmed from renewed attention to the brand’s decision not to renew Panettiere’s contract after working with her for a decade as a beauty ambassador. The dismissal came after she opened up about her experience with PPD, which the actress detailed in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” Fans of Panettiere called for a boycott of Neutrogena in solidarity.
“We are deeply saddened by Hayden Panettiere’s passing,” the company said in a statement shared Thursday on Instagram. “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,” the statement read.
Read it in full via Instagram below:
“Hayden’s courage in sharing her challenges helped inspire important conversations and awareness,” the statement concluded. “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. We will share more details with this community when plans are in place.”
The actress shared her experience as a beauty ambassador in her 2026 memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” She also openly talked about it with the press while promoting the book. She said that during her time as a Neutrogena ambassador from 2005 to 2015, she tried to maintain the “squeaky clean product identity” of the brand.
During a May appearance on the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast, she explained that after a 2015 appearance on “Live With Kelly and Michael,” where she talked about suffering from postpartum depression, her relationship with the brand shifted. The following year, the brand informed her that it would not renew her contract after she allegedly violated a morality clause.
“Of all the things, too, that they would fire me over, this was the last thing I thought they would fire me over,” Panettiere said at the time. “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.’ And even though she saved the day, that year, I knew that that was going to be it. I was not going to be invited back the next year.”
“I had worked with these people for 10 years and I remember not hearing a word from anybody,” Panettiere added. “I remember that really breaking my heart.”
Panettiere was found unresponsive by emergency services responding to a 911 call in Greenville, S.C. on Sunday, with “no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,” per the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. She died at the age of 36.
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