When and why did Neutrogena allegedly fire Hayden Panettiere? Boycott calls emerge after her death

Neutrogena is under fire after Hayden Panettiere’s claims that publicly discussing how she suffered from postpartum depression cost her a decade-long partnership with the skincare brand resurfaced after her death. After the Heroes star’s death, there is renewed focus on how the brand allegedly suddenly cut ties with her back in 2016.When and why did Neutrogena allegedly fire Hayden Panettiere? Boycott calls emerge after her death (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File) (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)Panettiere, 36, died on Sunday, August 16, in Greenville, South Carolina. Police said that there were not “any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,” per the BBC. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office revealed that crews treated a woman in “cardiac arrest” and her autopsy showed “no signs of trauma.”The Neutrogena rowPanettiere left behind her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, who was born in December 2014 in Hawaii. She shared her daughter with Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukrainian former heavyweight boxing champion.Panettiere had publicly spoken out about battling postpartum depression after Kaya was born, and how she had to relinquish full custody of her daughter to Klitschko amid her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression. She described the decision as a “living nightmare” and “heartbreaking.”In a podcast interview with Jay Shetty in May this year, Panettiere addressed how discussing this personal topic during an appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael in 2015 allegedly resulted in Neutrogena “firing” her in 2016. She said in her 2015 interview that “postpartum depression was “completely uncontrollable and really painful,” adding, “It’s really scary, and women need a lot of support.”Also Read | Hayden Panettiere net worth and family: All on parents, ex-partner, daughter and struggles with postpartum depressionPanettiere shared her version with Shetty, saying, “Neutrogena and I were together for 10 years. They had morality clauses that had a huge impact on my life, because I was a teenager and I had all the paparazzi around me capturing these gory moments. Every moment – every cigarette I smoked, every bad outfit, or [comments like], ‘She’s looking chunky in a bathing suit’, or, ‘She has a fat vagina’.”She added, “They caught absolutely everything and out of all the things they would fire me over, this is the last thing I thought they would ever fire me over.”Panettiere starred in several campaigns and was a brand ambassador for the firm, but all of this came to an abrupt end in 2016, she said.”When I went on Live with Kelly and Michael, I had no intention or plan to talk about postpartum depression. It just came up and I was just being honest,” she said. “Never for a second did I think 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.’ And even though she saved the day that year, I knew that that was going to be it,” she continued.Also Read | Hayden Panettiere custody row: Why did Heroes star relinquish full custody of daughter Kaya to ex-partner?”I knew that I was not going to be invited back the next year,” Panettiere further said, adding that it “really broke her heart” that after parting ways, she did “not hear a word” from any of the people she had spent years working alongside.But she stressed, “I wouldn’t change it for the world, I wouldn’t take it back.”Panettiere discussed the alleged firing in her memoir – This is Me: A Reckoning. “Neutrogena canceled my long-standing contract, and it was yet another blow in a year that had given almost nothing else,” she wrote.Neutrogena faces boycall callsNeutrogena is facing boycott calls on social media after Panettiere’s death.“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!” a user wrote.“My product cancel l is pages long at this point, and I love it. Screw consumerism. #Neutrogena why did you cancel Hayden’s contract? Support for women, no??” wrote another.One said, “Hearing that @Neutrogena severed ties with #Hayden Panettierre after she publicly shared her experience with postpartum depression just triggered a lifetime boycott for me. And we wonder why women don’t seek help.”“@Neutrogena I will NEVER use your brand again and I’m hoping that everyone else will stop as well! Not only did you FIRE a spokesperson (Hayden) because she spoke her truth about postpartum depression, but your brand contains TOXIC chemicals!!! You need to be given the cold shoulder and go directly under!! Praying it happens,” a user wrote.“Time to boycott Neutrogena, right? What they did to Hayden Panettiere, so unfair. #boycottneutrogena,” said another.