Gayle King, co-host of "CBS Mornings," sharply criticized Lesley Vogel, the estranged mother of the late actress Hayden Panettiere, for her public statement following her daughter's death.
During a segment on Wednesday's broadcast, King read Vogel's statement, which described Panettiere as a "talented" woman who was "sadly ... on the wrong path." King responded with disappointment, stating, "You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing.’"
King expressed that she was saddened by the opportunity Vogel had to offer words of comfort and instead chose to make a statement that, in King's view, highlighted the actress's struggles. King recalled a conversation with Panettiere in May, where the actress discussed her "complicated relationship with her mom" as a "work in progress." King noted that despite Panettiere's passing, this dynamic remained unresolved.
The "CBS Mornings" anchor contrasted Vogel's statement with that of Panettiere's father, Skip Panettiere, who had released a heartfelt statement calling his daughter an "incredible light and a force of nature." King suggested Vogel should have followed her ex-husband's lead with a solely supportive message.
King's colleagues on "CBS Mornings" echoed her sentiments. Vladimir Duthiers commented that it was "unseemly" for Vogel to use the days following her daughter's death to "remind the world just how much trauma she caused." He added, "You would hope a mother’s instinct is just mourn your daughter."
Vogel's statement also addressed Hayden Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, who was present when the actress died. Vogel referred to Hickerson as someone her family had been trying to remove from her daughter's life for a considerable time. Panettiere and Hickerson had a tumultuous relationship, marked by Hickerson's 2021 jail sentence for felony domestic violence.
Hayden Panettiere, who died Sunday at age 36, had written about her relationship with Hickerson and her strained dynamic with her mother in her May memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning." At the time of the memoir's release, Vogel had criticized her daughter's tell-all, stating that she had chosen a "no-contact route" after "20 years of trauma" and was familiar with the "self-destructive paths" entertainment children sometimes choose.
Panettiere had confirmed in a May interview that she and her mother did not have a relationship but that she kept the door open for future reconciliation. Her death comes three years after the passing of her brother, Jansen Panettiere, who died at 28 due to an undiagnosed heart condition. While Hayden Panettiere's cause of death is not yet publicly known, reports suggest it may have been an apparent overdose.