A Decade of Work, Gone for Speaking Up About Postpartum Depression

When Hayden Panettiere opened up about postpartum depression on Live! with Kelly and Michael back in 2015, she thought she was doing something important—sharing her lived experience to help other women feel less alone. What she didn’t expect was that speaking candidly about her mental health would cost her a decade-long partnership with a major skincare brand.

According to an interview she recently gave on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Panettiere was told almost immediately after that morning show appearance that Neutrogena wasn’t happy. The company wanted to terminate her contract on the spot. Her agent managed to buy her some time in that moment, but the writing was on the wall. When her contract eventually expired, Neutrogena cut ties—quietly, without explanation.

What makes this story hit harder is the specifics. Panettiere had been working with Neutrogena for a decade. She wasn’t reckless or irresponsible during that interview. She simply described postpartum depression for what it is:“something completely uncontrollable, and it’s really painful, and it’s really scary, and women need a lot of support.”Somehow, speaking about her health—about something that affects millions of women—was deemed a violation of her morals clause. The company’s silence when they finally dropped her only underscored how little they valued the relationship or her voice.

Now, with her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning hitting shelves on May 19, Panettiere is reclaiming that narrative. She’s calling out what happened, and rightfully so. It’s a reminder that even in 2015, brands were more comfortable with silence around mental health than with honest conversation about it. And it raises an uncomfortable question: how many other endorsement deals hinge on keeping quiet about things that matter?