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.

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