Why Neutrogena, A Billion-Dollar Skincare Brand, Is Facing Boycott Calls After Hayden Panettiere's Death

On August 16, 2026, actor Hayden Panettiere died at the age of 36. She was found unresponsive. While the official cause of death is yet to be revealed, with toxicology reports still pending and the investigation ongoing, authorities have confirmed that there were no signs of foul play or trauma.

Amid this, Neutrogena is facing a fresh wave of boycott calls. The actor's fans are revisiting her decade-long partnership with the billion-dollar beauty brand, which ended on a controversial note in 2016. Here is a rundown of why the brand is facing massive backlash online over a controversy that erupted a decade ago.

Neutrogena Is Facing Boycott Calls After Hayden Panettiere's Death

A Reddit post with more than 6,500 upvotes has a comments section filled with people calling for a boycott of Neutrogena. Some claimed that the brand's products smell foul, others questioned their quality, and one user even reported that its sunscreen gave them contact dermatitis.

What Neutrogena did to Hayden deserves a boycott
by u/MaleficKaijus in Anticonsumption

Another post on the platform shared a video of Hayden Panettiere talking about the controversy. The comments section was filled with people calling out the brand for allegedly trying to drop the actor for being open and vocal about her postpartum experience.

Hayden Panettiere recounts Neutrogena severing ties with her after she spoke publicly about her postpartum depression.
by u/yougotyolks in popculturechat

Hayden Panettiere Vs Neutrogena

In September 2015, a few months after the birth of her daughter Kaya with ex-fiance; Wladimir Klitschko, the actor sat down with Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa. She said that she could "very much relate to" Juliette Barnes, the character she played in Nashville.

The character was shown suffering from postpartum depression, and after the birth of her daughter, Hayden Panettiere also experienced the condition. She said, "There is a lot of misunderstanding, and I feel like there are a lot of people out there who think that it's not real."

She said she was experiencing mood disorders, which she noted many new mothers battle within the first year after childbirth. She called it "completely uncontrollable, and it's really painful, and it's really scary, and women need a lot of support."

In May 2026, Hayden Panettiere appeared on Jay Shetty's podcast and addressed her estranged ties with Neutrogena. While promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, she said that the brand wanted to "fire" her after she spoke about postpartum depression.

The actor further noted that the beauty brand stood by her for a decade, even when she was the subject of intense media scrutiny as a teenager. However, after she spoke publicly about her experience following childbirth, the brand reportedly viewed it as a violation of a "morals clause."

"Of all the things, too, that they would fire me over, this was the last thing I thought they would fire me over," she told the host.

She admitted that she had no intention of discussing the subject on Live with Kelly and Michael, but it simply came up during the conversation.

"It just came up, and I was just being honest," she said, recalling, "So when I got that call that Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that, and 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. I was not going to be invited back next year."

The actor remembered that no one from the brand reached out to say that it had been a great 10-year partnership. "I'd worked with these people for 10 years, and I remember not hearing a word from anybody, not a 'great working with you for 10 years,' 'hope you're good; we wish you well.' And I remember that really breaking my heart," Hayden Panettiere said.

She further admitted, "I wouldn't change it for the world; I wouldn't take it back."

Speaking to Us Weekly, the actor said that after the 2015 interview, she had no idea that the beauty brand would call her to fire her. "Wait a second, of all the things, how can they judge me about something that is so human and so real?" she recalled thinking.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said she hoped her experience had helped spark change. "After I was public about it and talked about the Neutrogena aspect of it, I don't think anybody in that industry will be doing that to anyone else," Hayden Panettiere said.

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