“In that moment, she chose the language of an industry professional instead of a mother,” Peete wrote on Substack.

Holly Robinson Peete explains her ‘emotional’ reaction after slamming Hayden Panettiere’s mom

“In that moment, she chose the language of an industry professional instead of a mother,” Peete wrote on Substack.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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August 21, 2026 6:36 p.m. ET

Holly Robinson Peete at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles in March 2026; Hayden Panettiere at the ‘Scream VI’ premiere at AMC Lincoln Square in New York in March 2023. Credit:

Savion Washington/Getty; Jason Mendez/Getty

- Holly Robinson Peete clarified her earlier reaction to the statement made by Hayden Panettiere’s mom Lesley Vogel, regarding the star’s death.

- “I kept thinking: ma’am, at eleven months old, Hayden did not drive herself to auditions. That choice was made for her,” wrote Peete.

- Panettiere died Aug. 16, days before her 37th birthday.

Holly Robinson Peete is clarifying earlier “emotional” comments made about Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom Lesley Vogel.

The *21 Jump Street** *actress gave context to her viral social media post Friday, on what would have been Panettiere’s 37th birthday.

The day prior, Peete publicly agreed with Gayle King having called Vogel’s initial statement “sad.”

Peete noted at the time that Vogel didn’t even use the word “daughter” in her tribute.

“We know this young lady clearly had so many issues, but if you’re not gonna take accountability for the fact that you put her in the business that eventually messed her up then nothing you say has any integrity,” Peete wrote Thursday.

“She didn’t even say ‘ I will miss my daughter’ or ‘I loved my daughter the best way I could.’ Has she even mentioned the word daughter?” continued Peete. “There were so many things she could have said to show us that she was a caring, mother.”

Holly Robinson Peete posing at ‘Michael’ premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles in April 2026.

Savion Washington/Getty

Peete’s essay on her Substack page broke down her fiery reaction, which she said was shaped by her own experience.

“I was speaking from the gut, in shock, watching a statement that felt so inappropriately cold I couldn’t stay quiet,” Peete wrote in Friday’s essay. “I feel like I owe people the fuller story - not just what I said, but why it hit me the way it did.”

She reiterated her earlier comments responding to Vogel’s statement. “No warmth, no softness, nothing that sounded like a mother grieving a child… just the language of someone assessing a career. More IMDB than bereaved mother.”

The actress then pointed out Vogel’s guiding hand in Panettiere’s career, which started at an early age, as the late actress had been vocal about. “I kept thinking: ma’am, at eleven months old, Hayden did not drive herself to auditions. That choice was made for her.”

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Peete then recounted being managed by her own mother, Dolores Robinson. The latter was an industry veteran by the time she took on Peete, then a college graduate in her 20s.

“When a parent starts managing you as a baby and that’s the only relationship you’ve ever known with them, the whole thing can curdle into something purely transactional and every conversation shadowed by business, every piece of advice hard to separate from a client note,” Peete said.

“I believe that’s what happened with Hayden.”

Peete and Robinson’s relationship had become complex, intertwining their personal connection with finances, loyalty, and resentment.

Still, she added, “My mother had a strong identity and a career before she started managing me, which I believe gave us more to stand on when it came time to pull the two apart.”

Hayden Panettiere and Lesley Vogel at the Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in January 2009.

Lester Cohen/WireImage

Peete said that when she parted ways professionally with her mother, it caused a rift, but they were able to heal over time.

“Understanding the difficulty of that relationship is different from excusing how she chose to speak about it in the days right after losing her child. This was her second child she’s lost in 3 years!” Peete wrote, referring to the 2023 death of Panettiere’s brother, Jansen, at age 28.

“And in that moment, she chose the language of an industry professional instead of a mother.”

“Instead it felt like she used the platform to shift blame elsewhere, and Hayden, an adult who publicly bore responsibility for her own struggles, got talked about like a project that hadn’t panned out,” Peete continued.

“That’s what triggered me. Not just sympathy for Hayden, but seeing the specific ache of watching a mom/manager relationship fail to become, even at the end, just a mom.”

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Vogel’s first statement following Panettiere’s death, shared with NBC News, read in part: “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.”

Following the backlash to those remarks, Vogel released a second statement Thursday. “Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love,” Vogel told *Entertainment Tonight*. “It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”

“Hayden was a beautiful and talented young woman who unfortunately became involved with the wrong person, and although her family tried to extricate him from her life, we were unable to be successful,” continued Vogel.

She did not name but had previously pointed the finger at Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, who was at the scene at the time of her death.

In 2020, Panettiere requested a restraining order against him. The following year, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a significant other, for which PEOPLE reports he served 13 days behind bars.

Earlier this year, while promoting her memoir, *This Is Me: A Reckoning*, Panettiere told Us Weekly it had been “brutal” and “traumatic” to reflect on her experience with domestic violence.

Hayden Panettiere in New York in May 2026.

Raymond Hall/GC Images

“I hope all remember Hayden for the beautiful human being inside her and her gift to the world from her time on this earth,” Vogel continued in her subsequent statement, signing off, “My heart is with you, Hayden. Mama.”

In an excerpt of a statement to TMZ Thursday, Hickerson’s attorney, Sloan Ellis, said, “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.”

An investigation into Panettiere’s death remains active and ongoing.

*If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at **988lifeline.org** 24/7.*

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