Neutrogena Admits It 'Made Panettiere Feel Unsupported'
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- Neutrogena posted on Instagram saying the company is "deeply saddened" by Panettiere's passing and acknowledged it "made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time," adding "this is not what Neutrogena stands for"
- Neutrogena pledged a "significant investment" to a long-standing community health partner to expand women's access to support, including postpartum depression care, with details to come
- Panettiere alleged in her 2026 memoir "This Is Me: A Reckoning" and on the "On Purpose" podcast that Neutrogena tried to end their nearly decade-long ambassadorship after she spoke about postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Kaya
- Neutrogena invoked a "morals clause" to justify the firing, according to Panettiere, whose representative at the time told the company "That's illegal. You can't do that"
- Panettiere's death triggered widespread social media calls for a boycott of Neutrogena, amplifying scrutiny of how the brand treated a spokesperson navigating a documented mental health condition
- Police said there were "not any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances" in Panettiere's death, though the DEA has since joined the investigation
Why it matters: Neutrogena's public admission that it failed Panettiere — alongside a financial commitment to postpartum mental health — represents a reputational concession for a brand facing boycott calls, while the underlying allegation that a 'morals clause' was used to punish an ambassador for sharing her own diagnosis raises questions about how endorsement contracts handle spokesperson health disclosures.
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