Neutrogena’s stock plummets after Hayden Panettiere’s death

Beloved American actor Hayden Panettiere achieved a lot in her short life; and she's still drawing attention to an issue that impacts women all around the world.

Almost immediately after her death was announced on August 16, her fans recalled a significant incident with global skincare brand, Neutrogena, whom Panettiere worked with for a decade until 2015.

They are now calling on everyone to boycott the company, vowing to never purchase their products again.

In 2015, Panettiere shared her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, on Live With Kelly and Michael.

In the 2015 interview she revealed that postpartum depression was “completely uncontrollable and really painful."

She added, "It's really scary, and women need a lot of support."

Soon after, her contract was cancelled by Neutrogena - and the real reason why is something the actor had just spoken about.

Panettiere wrote in her 2026 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.”

 

 

 

 

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 Speaking with podcaster Jay Shetty about her book, Panettiere gave further details:

"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'.”

The actor added, "This is the last thing I thought they would ever fire me over.

"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.”

Neutrogena fans now call for boycott

On Google Trends, the term “Neutrogena boycott” has spiked over 5,000% in three days, The New York Post reports.

Further, a TikTok search reveals that 70,000 users have discussed a brand boycott.

The NYP says: "Stock prices for Kenvue Inc., the Neutrogena parent company that also owns Tylenol, Band-Aid and Aveeno, slipped over 2% on Monday due to overall sales numbers. 

“The stock recovered some, but not all, of its value on Tuesday morning.”

The social media impact on the Neutrogena brand

Founder of Commswork, Liam Fitzpatrick has provided Mediaweek with expert brand crisis advice for more than 15 years.

He said about the Neutrogena brand damage: 

“Through ambassadors, companies seek to personify their values and connect with their audience by humanising the brand. The decade of silence, following Hayden Panettiere's interview, conveys a brand that acts callously towards one of its own.

“Post-natal depression is devastating, I’ve experienced first-hand the numbness and all-consuming nature of the condition. It’s not something anyone has control over, and emotional distress impacts more than one in four mothers in Australia, and one in 10 dads. Societally we need to improve how we educate families on this topic."

Liam Fitzpatrick - Commswork Founder and Head of Communications - Executive profiling and crisis communications. Image: Supplied

“Punishing a mother who shares her struggles is abhorrent, and the backlash following recent events is completely understandable. By choosing to stay silent and not engaging with Hayden while alive, its response was made. Any clarification now will rightly come across as tokenistic and trying to save its reputation. The damage is done.

“Countries with the lowest rates of post-natal depression (e.g. Denmark, Singapore) have programs that check in with mothers, in the weeks following their new arrival. Feeling community support is vital for mothers (and fathers), to have somewhere to voice their feelings. Genuine long-term commitment and investment in this area is what I would recommend to Neutrogena if I were sitting in front of the board right now. 

"But it requires taking accountability for the mistake it made by dropping a mother in crisis. Which is hard, but ultimately demonstrates a change in the values it's displayed to date - will it be enough to convince current and future customers to align with where the brand is heading? I don't know.”

If you or someone you know needs help, Lifeline is there.

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