Hayden Panettiere’s Death at 36 | The Cost of Fame and Postpartum Depression

"Fame doesn't just mean millions of people know your name. It means millions of people believe they own you."
- Chalene Johnson
episode
Description

Hayden Panettiere, who appeared in more than 50 commercials by age five before starring in Heroes and Nashville, was found unresponsive at 36 in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment on Sunday, August 16th, where her on again off again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were both present when a 911 call reported cardiac arrest and a possible overdose.

Hayden had been on a press tour for her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, detailing a decade long, documented abusive relationship with Brian Hickerson, who pled no contest to two felony domestic violence charges, and the moment Neutrogena allegedly invoked a morality clause after she opened up about postpartum depression on the Kelly and Michael Show.

The story also reaches back to her engagement to Wladimir Klitschko and their daughter Kaya, and a surprising parallel Chalene draws to the Lindsay Clancy postpartum psychosis trial.

Topics discussed: Hayden Panettiere, Brian Hickerson, Zach Hickerson, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Jennette McCurdy, I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jay Shetty, On Purpose, Gayle King, Neutrogena, Michael Strahan, Wladimir Klitschko, Kaya, Lindsay Clancy, Andrea Yates, Lori Vallow, Susan Smith, Casey Anthony, TMZ, Matthew Perry.

with
episode
Questions

Why do you think postpartum depression is still this stigmatized?


What are your thoughts on children becoming famous?


Do you think Hayden did the right thing by giving up custody of Kaya?


episode
Timestamps
00:02:47

Hayden Panettiere dead at 36: intro to the story


00:03:47

Her early career and the cost of child fame


00:07:07

Her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and the Jennette McCurdy parallel


00:11:33

The Gayle King interview and the boat story at 18


00:15:43

Online Epstein speculation, and who Chalene says is really the villain


00:18:23

Brian Hickerson: the relationship, the arrests, and his TMZ interview


00:24:57

Going public: courage, backlash, and Hayden's own journal entry


00:35:22

Timeline: LAX to Greenville, the 911 call, and the NBC News report


00:38:13

Addiction, abuse cycles, and her health scare


00:42:39

The Neutrogena story, Wladimir Klitschko, and postpartum depression


00:46:22

The interview clip that triggered Neutrogena's morality clause


00:50:31

The Lindsay Clancy trial and the "motherhood paradox"


00:55:45

Patreon deep dive question, and mental health resources


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