Neutrogena is facing a boycott and swarms of social media backlash over a story from Hayden Panettiere that has resurfaced after her sudden death at 36.
The Heroes star, who was the face of the popular skincare brand for about 10 years, said in her 2026 memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning that Neutrogena severed ties with her after she spoke publicly about receiving mental health treatment for postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014.
Panettiere alleged that her contract with the company was canceled because she revealed her PPD diagnosis on Live! with Kelly and Michael in 2015, explaining in her memoir: “Neutrogena canceled my long-standing contract, and it was yet another blow in a year that had given almost nothing else.”
Upon the release of the memoir in May, the comments sparked online criticism of Neutrogena, but the brand is now facing renewed backlash after Panettiere died Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina.
One Reddit post, which has more than 5,000 upvotes, proposed a boycott against the company in honor of Panettiere. The comments echoed that attitude, with users vowing to never buy products from the company again.
Reminder that Neutrogena fired Hayden Panettiere as a brand ambassador because she candidly spoke about her experience with postpartum depression on a talk show! Neutrogena hates women! https://t.co/izdqYKpU5g pic.twitter.com/STbomRSFBx
— Labrys (@ladielabrys2) August 17, 2026
Another post on X — which has garnered more than 34,000 likes — declared, “Reminder that Neutrogena fired Hayden Panettiere as a brand ambassador because she candidly spoke about her experience with postpartum depression on a talk show! Neutrogena hates women!”
The company’s official social media accounts have taken the hit as well, with hundreds of comments flooding recent posts condemning the brand on behalf of Panettiere. Real Housewives of New York City cast member Carole Radziwill commented on Neutrogena’s latest post, “You deserve the hate. #hayden.”
Neutrogena has not returned The Independent’s request for comment and has not spoken out about Panettiere’s death.
At the time of her memoir’s release, the Nashville star spoke further about parting ways with Neutrogena, saying on Jay Shetty’s podcast in May that she was surprised when her representative told her that her remarks about PPD had broken her contract’s morality clause.
“Neutrogena was a huge part of my life,” Panettiere recalled. “I had the morals clauses, they caught absolutely everything. And of all the things that they would fire me over, this is the last thing that I thought they would ever fire me for.”
She said that she spoke about mental health on live TV because she was “just being honest. Never for a second did I think or care that anyone would have a bad reaction to it. It was my truth.”
“So 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,’” Panettiere said. “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.”
Panettiere added, “And I had worked with these people for 10 years and I remember not hearing a word from anybody...I remember that really breaking my heart.”
