U.S. cosmetics brand Neutrogena has addressed mounting backlash over allegations that it ended its long-term partnership with the late actor Hayden Panettiere after she spoke publicly about her mental health struggles.
Panettiere worked with Neutrogena from 2005 to 2015 as a spokesperson and was a prominent face of the brand.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, the company said she was a “valued member of the Neutrogena community” for more than a decade, and that it understands it “made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time.”
Its comments drew responses from people expressing discontent with its apology, saying they would boycott the brand and its consortium of sister companies.
The brand’s statement came in response to resurfaced snippets from an interview Panettiere gave on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast earlier this year, where she said the company, which uses “morals clauses,” “fired” her after she spoke candidly about her experiences with postpartum depression in a television interview.
Get daily National news
A morals clause is a contractual stipulation that requires a person signing a contract to adhere to generally accepted morals and standards of good behaviour, and not to engage in any conduct that could be seen as immoral, or that could risk bringing disrepute or reputational risk onto the other contracting party.
Having the clause in a contract allows one party to end the contract if the other party violates it.
“I was just being honest,” the late actor told Shetty. “Never for a second did I think that anyone would have a bad reaction to it; it was my truth.
“When I got that call that Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that, 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 was going to be it,” Panettiere added, claiming that after her decade-long relationship with the company ended, she never heard from it again.
In its statement Thursday, the company said, “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.”
Panettiere shared a daughter, Kaya, with her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko. He was granted full custody of the child in 2018 as Panettiere was navigating mental health issues alongside struggles with alcoholism and addiction.
“I grieve that I’m not the mother I thought I’d be, and definitely not the mother I want to be. Trust me, no one should ever have to raise a child on FaceTime.”
Panettiere remained involved in her daughter’s life.
“Despite it all, the bond I have with Kaya is incredibly strong,” she added.
Panettiere was found unresponsive shortly before 2 p.m. at a residence in Greenville, S.C., on Sunday after police received a call for a reported cardiac arrest.
She was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:32 p.m., the coroner’s office said Monday, adding that an autopsy determined that there were no signs of foul play or trauma.
The cause and manner of her death remain under investigation.
be quite shitocracy foids. again something here to do with men again not enough again your perpetual winning after you destroyed your society
For all the other comments, almost every actor has a drug and alcohol problem. If it’s a man, they are not shunned from work (Robert Downey Jr, Colin Farrell, brad pitt) but if its a woman, then we’ll, she shouod be fired for her mental problems. Society and Hollywood is F*cked
So Neutrogena expects you to not to be a human being when you’re under contract with them? I would think having someone who is real and authentic is exactly what a skin care company should want. Thats disgusting behavior from an employer of 10 years to fire you for discussing your mental struggles publicly like that is somehow bad. E all struggle and shouldnt be shaned for it. They probably contributed to her stress. Evil company. Shame on Neutrogena. Will not buy from them anymore.
OMG, the internet is insane. So, a company can’t fire an employee who is a druggy and mentally unwell?
Don’t ever apologize to the mob. It will never enough.
Such a pointless necessity. This brand has nothing to do with what happened to Hayden, but because they are not squeaky clean in every single aspect, they are required to post some bogus statement about accountability.
People these days are so pathetic and so hungry for blood, is anyone safe?
Looks like Neutrogena didn’t want to be represented by a mentally unstable actor with alcohol and drug addiction.
This conduct is definitely NOT in line with the clause in the contract. Neutrogena had the right to terminate her.
If this was your company, your brand, would you do any different?