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In the wake of Hayden Panettiere’s death, her mother, Lindsey Vogel, made some surprising remarks.
Specifically, Lesley blasted Hayden’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, saying that the family had been “trying to get rid of” him.
Now, Gayle King is calling out Vogel for using a family tragedy as an opportunity to toss out insensitive remarks that should have remained private.
During Wednesday’s episode of CBS Mornings, King and her co-hosts discussed Vogel’s public statement about her daughter.
In addition to her comments about Hickerson, Vogel described Hayden as talented but said she had “lost her way” and wished she had “stayed true to herself.”
For King, the comments were difficult to hear.
“You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing,’” King said.
The veteran journalist had interviewed Panettiere earlier this year, when the actress was promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. Panettiere had been candid about her struggles and her complicated relationship with her mother.
King pointed out that Panettiere had already spent years publicly acknowledging her mistakes and personal battles.
“You hear stuff like that,” King said of Vogel’s comments, “and you realize that it was still very much in progress.”
King was referring to Panettiere’s description of her relationship with her mother as “very complicated” and a “work in progress.”
Co-host Vladimir Duthiers was similarly critical of Vogel’s decision to focus on her daughter’s struggles so soon after her death.
“Hayden Panettiere spent years publicly acknowledging her own failures, her own struggles,” Duthiers told King.
“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.”
Kelly O’Grady also weighed in, noting that Vogel’s statement would have been received very differently if she had stopped with praise for her daughter.
“If it stopped at ‘She’s amazing and she’s talented,’” O’Grady said, “we would all agree.”
Instead, Vogel also took aim at Hickerson, who was with the actress when she died.
The complicated family dynamic has received renewed attention following Panettiere’s death. In her memoir and subsequent interviews, the actress spoke openly about her strained relationship with Vogel and the difficulty of separating their roles as mother and manager.
King ultimately expressed sadness over what she viewed as a missed opportunity to simply honor Panettiere.
“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,” King said.
Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere, took a markedly different approach in his tribute to his daughter, calling her “an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her.”
The actress’ official cause of death has not yet been confirmed. An autopsy reportedly found no signs of trauma, with toxicology results still pending.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.