Hayden Panettiere’s Mom Responds to Criticism, Blames Their Estrangement on ‘a Toxic Individual’ Who ‘Led to Her Death’

Hayden Panettiere’s mother Lesley Vogel shared a statement addressing their estrangement with ‘Entertainment Tonight’ on Aug. 20. Vogel’s most recent statement comes after she received criticism over her initial remarks regarding Panettiere’s death.

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Lesley Vogel addressed her estrangement from daughter Hayden Panettiere with Entertainment Tonight on Aug. 20

“Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love,” Vogel told ET. “It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death”

Vogel’s most recent statement comes after she received criticism over her initial remarks regarding Panettiere’s death

Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, is addressing their estrangement following the actress’ death.

In a statement to Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, Aug. 20, Vogel, 70, opened up about the distance between herself and her daughter in the years before Panettiere’s death, insisting their estrangement did not mean she stopped caring for her.

“Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love,” Vogel told ET. “It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”

Vogel did not identify the “toxic individual” by name in her statement to ET. Just days earlier, she publicly criticized Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson while discussing her daughter’s death.

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“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death,” Vogel told NBC News on Aug. 18. “And that was Brian Hickerson.”

“I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments,” Vogel continued, “and 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.”

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In her subsequent statement to ET, Vogel again referred to her daughter becoming involved with the “wrong person,” though she did not explicitly identify that person as Hickerson.

“Hayden was a beautiful and talented young woman who unfortunately became involved with the wrong person, and although her family tried to extricate him from her life, we were unable to be successful,” she said.

Vogel concluded the statement by asking that her daughter be remembered for more than the circumstances surrounding her death.

“I hope all remember Hayden for the beautiful human being inside her and her gift to the world from her time on this earth,” she said. “My heart is with you, Hayden. Mama.”

Vogel also told ET that a narcotics investigator had joined the investigation into her daughter’s death, a development she said left her with lingering questions about what happened.

“It leads me to believe there are still questions surrounding what happened, and I think we are all looking for answers,” she said.

Sloan Ellis, an attorney for Hickerson, told TMZ in a statement on Thursday, Aug. 20: “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”

Panettiere was found unresponsive in a Greenville, S.C., residence on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, and was pronounced dead. She was 36. Hickerson and his brother Zach were with her at the time of her death, authorities have said.

Vogel received criticism after she first spoke about Panettiere’s death, and Gayle King shared her candid reaction to her statement on the Wednesday, Aug. 19, broadcast of CBS Mornings.

“You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing,’” King said of Vogel’s statement. “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.”

Vladimir Duthiers added, “I mean, Hayden Panettiere spent years publicly acknowledging her own failures, her own struggles. She did it with you in that interview. She cannot respond now, and for her mother to use these days after Hayden’s death to just remind the world just how much trauma she caused, it’s unseemly.”

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The Nashville star previously opened up about her estranged relationship with her mother in both her May 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and her appearance on On Purpose with Jay Shetty. The actress explained that being a child star blurred the lines of Vogel’s roles as her mother and manager.

In May, Panettiere said she hoped her relationship with Vogel could eventually be repaired. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” she told Us Weekly at the time. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day.”

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