Gayle King has shocking reaction to Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom’s ‘unseemly’ response to tragic death

Gayle King shared her scathing response to the statement made by Lesley Vogel in the wake of her daughter Hayden Panettiere’s death on Sunday, with the CBS Mornings host lamenting the mother-daughter duo’s fractured relationship.

Hayden, a successful child star who hit new heights after starring in Heroes, was found dead in an Airbnb in South Carolina on Sunday, just before her 37^th birthday.

Hayden and her mother were reportedly not on speaking terms at the time of her death, and the actress had been open in the past about how their relationship changed when she cut professional ties with her mom at 19.

Lesley speaks out

“I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments, 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,” Lesley told NBC News two days after Hayden’s death.

“I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes,” she continued. 

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“I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace.” Hayden’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, passed away in 2023 due to an undiagnosed heart condition, leaving the family devastated.

Gayle’s strong reaction revealed

Gayle shared her thoughts on Lesley’s statement on Wednesday’s episode of CBS Mornings, alongside journalists Vladimir Duthiers and Kelly O’Grady.

Hear Hayden’s hopeful message before her death below…

“You know, guys, you read this, and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing,'” Gayle began.

“I mean, Hayden Panettiere spent years publicly acknowledging her own failures, her own struggles. She did it with you in that interview,” said Vladimir. 

“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.”

Gayle added that hearing Hayden’s past comments about her mom made her realize their relationship “was still very much [a work] in progress”.

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“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,” she lamented.

Kelly chimed in that Lesley should have “stopped at ‘she’s amazing, and she’s talented,” and Vladimir agreed, saying: “You would hope a mother’s instinct is just mourn your daughter. Follow the lead of your partner, the father of her child.”

Saying goodbye

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Hayden’s father, Alan ‘Skip’ Panettiere, announced the news of his daughter’s death on Sunday in a statement that read: “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.”

“She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her – and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”

© Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty I

After the release of her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in May, Hayden told Us Weekly that she was still estranged from her mother, but hoped to reconcile in the future.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” Hayden revealed. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day.”