Neutrogena on Thursday issued a statement pledging to invest more to support women, after days of social media criticism over the death of actor and activist Hayden Panettiere.
The skincare company faced a backlash because Panettiere said she felt Neutrogena did not renew her advertising contract because she had started to discuss her postpartum depression.
“For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of our Neutrogena community. We are proud to have partnered with her and understand that we made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time,” the beauty brand said in a statement.
“This is not what Neutrogena stands for or who we want to be."
The company said it was making a "significant investment" in a community health group to help support more women, including those seeking care for postpartum depression.
Panettiere was found in cardiac arrest shortly before her death on Sunday, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
A postmortem examination found no signs of trauma that could have contributed to her death, while her official cause and manner of death “remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies”, including a toxicology report.
Born in New York on August 21, 1989, Panettiere began appearing in commercials when she was only 11 months old and landed her first acting role at the age of six in the soap opera One Life to Live. She later appeared in Guiding Light, Ally McBeal, Malcolm in the Middle and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Her breakout role came in the superhero drama Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010. She played Claire Bennet, a high-school cheerleader with the ability to spontaneously regenerate. The phrase “Save the cheerleader, save the world” became one of the show's defining catchphrases.
Panettiere was also an environmental activist, often taking part in demonstrations to increase awareness about dolphin conservation.
