'Thanks for Nothing': Gayle King Slams Hayden Panettiere's Estranged Mother Lesley Vogel Over Comments Following Daughter's Death

Gayle King was stunned by Hayden Panettiere's estranged mother, Lesley Vogel's first comments since her daughter's sudden death at 36.

"You read this and all I can think of is, 'Thanks, Mom, for nothing,'" King, 71, said during the Wednesday, August 19, broadcast of CBS Mornings.

The CBS Mornings anchor hosted the Nashville actress in May, ahead of the release of her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which was published just three months before her death. At the time, Panettiere shared insight into her relationship with her mom, 70, calling it "complicated" and "still a work in progress."

"And you hear stuff like that, and you realize it was still very much in progress," King said of Vogel's statement. "It makes me so sad that, of the opportunity that you have after your daughter’s death, that’s what you choose to leave us with."

As OK! previously reported, Panettiere died at 36 on Sunday, August 16, after being found unresponsive at a South Carolina apartment complex.

Emergency services responded to a call at about 1:52 p.m. about an "unidentified female" in "cardiac arrest" following a suspected overdose. Though first responders attempted life-saving measures, the Heroes star was pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour later.

Sources later told TMZ that it was Hayden's boyfriend Brian Hickerson's brother, Zach Hickerson, who discovered her in a living room chair while entering the apartment, as his sibling slept in another room.

Lesley spoke out about her daughter's death on Tuesday, August 18, and started the harsh statement by bashing her daughter's partner.

"This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson," she told NBC News. "I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle and it's a very challenging industry and it's not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path."

She continued, "I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes."

The Heroes star was known to have had a tumultuous relationship with Brian, whom she dated on and off from 2018 to 2022.

Their romance was marred by allegations of abuse, with him being sentenced to 45 days in prison in 2021 for domestic violence.

Brian was reportedly emotionless until the actress was pronounced dead, later guiding police toward a "bag of medication" that she was taking shortly before the incident, according to heavily redacted records reviewed by NBC.