Neutrogena Says It Made Hayden Panettiere 'Feel Unsupported During a Very Difficult Time' After Actress’ Death, Statement Says

Neutrogena has released a statement, admitting that it failed to give Hayden Panettiere the support she needed before her tragic death at 36.

The statement, shared on social media, 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," it added.

The brand then praised Panettiere's "courage in sharing her challenges," saying it "helped inspire important conversations and awareness."

The statement continued, "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."

"Out of respect for Hayden’s family and loved ones, we did not want to speak out so soon following her passing. Everyone at Neutrogena extends their deepest condolences to Hayden’s family and all who loved her," it concluded.

Panettiere, who passed away on Sunday, August 16, in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, previously got candid about the end of her decade-long relationship with Neutrogena, owned by parent company Kenvue.

The Heroes actress had been a spokesperson for the brand for a decade until they dropped her in the wake of her public comments about her experiences with postpartum depression.

According to Panettiere's claims, publicly discussing her postpartum depression violated the “morals clause” in her contract, per USA Today.

While promoting her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning, on the "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" podcast, she said, “Of all the things, too, that they would fire me over, this was the last thing I thought they would fire me over.”

In another interview on Live with Kelly and Michael, the late actress expressed her shock and hurt at how the company had dropped her, per Mediaite.

“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,” she said back then.

“I’d worked with these people for 10 years,” Panettiere continued, “and I remember not hearing a word from anybody, not a ‘great working with you for 10 years,’ ‘hope you’re good; we wish you well.’ And I remember that really breaking my heart.”

“I wouldn’t change it for the world; I wouldn’t take it back,” she insisted.