Hayden Panettiere‘s mother, Lesley Vogel, is speaking out about her estrangement from the actress and what she believes contributed to their strained relationship. Vogel recently addressed the distance between her and her daughter, adding that a “toxic individual” contributed to the rift.
Vogel’s recent remarks come after her first statement following Panettiere’s death, in which she criticized her daughter’s ex, Brian Hickerson.
Hayden Panettiere had been estranged from her mother, Lesley Vogel, for a while before her death, as she revealed in interviews early this year. As reported by The Blast in May, Vogel acted as her daughter’s manager, but Panettiere severed professional ties with her when she was 19 years old. The actress also revealed that they were not on good terms.
Following Panettiere’s death on August 16, Vogel released a statement, saying that her daughter found “the wrong path.” In a new statement shared with Entertainment Tonight, Vogel said, “Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love. It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”
Vogel said Panettiere was a talented and beautiful woman who “unfortunately became involved with the wrong person.” She added that they attempted to remove the person from the actress’ life, but they were unsuccessful.
Vogel concluded her statement by saying, “My heart is with you, Hayden,” and signed off with “Mama.”
Hayden Panettiere’s Mom Called Out Brian Hickerson
Vogel did not mention the “toxic individual” by name, but in her first statement, she called out Panettiere’s ex-partner, Brian Hickerson, per The Blast. “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson,” Vogel said.
Hickerson and Panettiere began dating in 2018 and reportedly split up after the former was arrested for assaulting the actress.
According to reports, Hickerson and his brother Zach alerted emergency services after discovering Panettiere unresponsive in a South Carolina apartment. Hickerson was also confirmed to have flown with the actress from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death.
The Actress Was Open To Reconciling With Her Mother
3Before Panettiere released her memoir in May, Vogel claimed her daughter wrote the book to generate publicity and accused her of giving her “20 years of trauma.” She added the actress lacked empathy and wanted to control the narrative, adding, “The craving of drama and punitive action is traditional and to be expected.”
Despite their tumultuous relationship, Panettiere said she was open to reconciliation. After Vogel’s scathing comments about her memoir, however, the actress felt her mother “slammed that door pretty hard” in her face.
Ruby Rose Reveals Alleged Messages From The Actress About Mom’s ‘Cruelty’
On August 19, actress Ruby Rose posted a screenshot of messages she allegedly exchanged with Panettiere on Threads in response to Vogel’s statement.
“I was sobbing over her cruelty yesterday thinking, my god I’m 36 and she can still cause this kind of pain. I’m her only child left and this is how she wants to handle the situation?!” the message, seemingly from Panettiere, read. The reference to being an “only child” comes after the death of her only sibling, Jansen Panettiere, in 2023.
In an Instagram post, Ruby Rose told her followers to “wait for all of the information” regarding Panettiere’s passing. “Don’t take it from her estranged mother. Or any of her abusers. She worked too hard and came too far for this b-llsh-t. I promise you,” she wrote.
Brian Hickerson Said Lesley Vogel Was ‘The Worst’
3The animosity between Vogel and Hickerson appears to be mutual. While discussing Panettiere’s memoir with TMZ in May, Hickerson didn’t hold back when talking about the actress’ mother.
“Hayden’s mother is by far one of the worst people I’ve ever met in my life… I just can’t with her. She’s terrible,” Hickerson told the outlet in response to Vogel’s accusations against her daughter regarding the memoir.