Hayden Panettiere revealed that Neutrogena canceled her contract after she admitted to suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014.
The “Nashville” actress said a major beauty brand “terminated[her]long-term contract” for allegedly violating its ethics clause.
“I worked with Kaya for 14 hours and had a three-hour surgery after giving birth,” she writes in an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, obtained by The Cut.
“During the C-section, my blood wouldn’t clot, so the doctors had to close the blood vessels in my uterus to prevent bleeding. I had seven blood transfusions, all the while running a fever,” Panettiere, 36, wrote.
“My uterus had an infection, and the antibiotics given during birth weren’t strong enough to lower my body temperature. When I woke up in the recovery room, I was exhausted, disoriented, and in pain.”
The “Heroes” alum said she “needed booze to work” after having her daughter with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.
Hayden Panettiere/Instagram
After undergoing multiple “treatments,” Panettiere said she wasn’t herself and lost her job at “Nashville.”
“The producers had to temporarily remove me from the script. I’ve always prided myself on my professionalism, so this killed me, and I made a statement about where I was going and why,” she wrote in her memoir.
“My fans and the press were very sympathetic, and I’ll always be grateful for that. But a part of my career that I relied on was hurt,” she added.
“Neutrogena terminated my long-term contract, another blow in a year that brought me little else.”
A mother says she had everything she wanted – a baby, a fiancé and a “great job” – but was still unhappy while battling PPD.
“I had postpartum depression and it was really bad. I wanted to go back to that happy place, but I didn’t even know where that place was anymore,” she wrote.
Page Six reached out to Neutrogena for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
The cosmetics company signed Mr. Panettiere to be the brand’s spokesperson and face in 2006.
The “Bring It On: All or Nothing” actress regularly appeared in major global advertising campaigns for Neutrogena, promoting the company’s acne cleanser and other products.
Her 10-year contract was signed around 2016, months after she detailed her postpartum experience on “Live! with Kelly and Michael.”
During that appearance, Panettiere said that PPD is “something that’s completely out of your control” and “something that’s really painful.”
She also said that “women need a lot of support” to battle depression, which is “really scary.”
On Monday’s “Jay Shetty” podcast, Ms. Panettile said that Neutrogena fired her for her comments about depression and that she “never expected them to fire me.”
“When I got the call that Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that, my agent at the time said, ‘That’s illegal. You can’t do that,'” she recalled.
“And even though she saved the day that year, I knew it was going to be the end. The next year I wouldn’t be invited anymore,” Panettiere said.
The actress said she was heartbroken that the people she had worked with for 10 years did not contact her to ask how she was doing after her contract was not renewed.
“This Is Me: A Reckoning” will be released on May 19th.
