Representatives for the beauty brand Neutrogena have broken their silence about their treatment of their former ambassador Hayden Panettiere following her death.
While promoting her memoir earlier this year, the Heroes actress claimed that Neutrogena dropped her as their brand ambassador after 10 years in 2015 because she spoke about her postpartum depression battle on a U.S. talk show.
The allegations resurfaced this week after Panettiere died on Sunday, prompting backlash against the company, which saw its stock spiral amid a fan boycott.
Addressing the uproar on social media on Thursday, reps for Neutrogena acknowledged that they made her feel "unsupported" while she was struggling.
"For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community," they wrote. "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."
They praised Panettiere's "courage" in speaking out about a taboo subject and vowed to make a "significant investment to a long-standing community health partner" to support women's health causes, including postpartum depression.
"Out of respect for Hayden's family and loved ones, we did not want to speak out so soon following her passing," they added. "Everyone at Neutrogena extends their deepest condolences to Hayden's family and all who loved her."
The Nashville actress, who gave birth to her daughter Kaya in December 2014, first made the allegation against Neutrogena in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and opened up further during an appearance on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast in May.
"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,'" she shared. "And even though, you know, she saved the day that year, I know that that was going to be it; I was not going to be invited back the next year."
When they didn't renew her contract the following year, Panettiere was surprised when nobody reached out to wish her well or see if she was doing OK.
"I had worked with these people for 10 years and I remember not hearing a word from anybody," she alleged. "And I remember that really breaking my heart."
Panettiere's cause of death is still under investigation. She would have celebrated her 37th birthday on Friday.
