Hayden Panettiere’s mom’s reaction to actress’ death eviscerated by Holly Robinson Peete
Holly Robinson Peete co-signed Gayle King’s scathing take on Hayden Panettiere’s mom Lesley Vogel’s reaction to the actress’ death.
The former “Talk” co-host shared King’s rant via X on Wednesday, tweeting that the journalist was “not wrong” for trashing Vogel’s statement, which dubbed Panettiere a “talented” artist who was “on the wrong path.”
Peete wrote, “We know this young lady clearly had so many issues, but if you’re not gonna take accountability for the fact that you put her in the business that eventually messed her up then nothing you say has any integrity.”
The 61-year-old pointed out, “She didn’t even say, ‘I will miss my daughter’ or ‘I loved my daughter the best way I could.’ Has she even mentioned the word daughter?”
Going on to reference Hayden’s brother, Jansen Panettiere, who died in 2023, Peete continued, “There were so many things she could have said to show us that she was a caring mother … and now both of her children are gone.
“It is all so tragic 💔,” she concluded. “rip Hayden.”
King, 71, similarly expressed frustration on “CBS Mornings” over Vogel, 70, not “follow[ing] the lead” of Hayden’s dad, Skip Panettiere.
Skip, notably, gushed over his “incredible light and a force of nature” daughter, who suffered an apparent overdose in South Carolina.
As for Vogel, who was estranged from Hayden at the time of the actress’ passing, she wrote, “I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments.
“I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle, and it’s a very challenging industry, and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path.”
She also blasted Hayden’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, who was at the scene — alongside brother Zach Hickerson — when the Golden Globe nominee died.
King, after reading the words to viewers on Wednesday, quipped, “Thanks, Mom, for nothing.”
She added, “It makes me so sad of the opportunity that you have after your daughter’s death. That that’s what you choose to leave us with.”
Her co-hosts agreed, with Vladimir Duthiers blasting the statement as “unseemly” as “you would hope a mother’s instinct is just mourn your daughter.”
Three months before her passing, Hayden promoted her “This Is Me: A Reckoning” memoir, which described her strained relationship with her mom — as well as her alcohol and opioid addiction struggles, her abusive romance with Hickerson and more.
Vogel blasted her “entitled” child’s tell-all in May and explained why she “chose the no-contact route” with the “Nashville” alum.
“As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose,” she told Page Six.
Hayden, for her part, told Us Weekly at the time, “We don’t have a relationship right now. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
