Gayle King calls out Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom for ‘unseemly’ comments after her death: ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing’

Daysia TolentinoWed, August 19, 2026 at 6:26 PM UTC

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Gayle King; Lesley Vogel and Hayden PanettiereCredit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty; Katy Winn/GettyKey Points -

Gayle King was critical of Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom Lesley Vogel’s statement following the 36-year-old’s death on Aug. 16.

“All I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing,’” the CBS Mornings anchor said during the Aug. 19 episode of the morning show.

Vogel and Panettiere had a strained relationship before the actress’ death.

Gayle King has some harsh words for Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mother Lesley Vogel.

During Wednesday’s episode of CBS Mornings,King shared Vogel’s statement about Panettiere following the actress’ death at 36 on Aug. 16. After reading the remarks, the longtime anchor called Vogel’s words “sad.”

“You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing,’” King said.

In her interview with NBC News, Vogel slammed Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and said that her daughter had gone down “the wrong path.”

“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,” she told NBC News. “I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.”

CBS Mornings co-anchor Vladimir Duthiers criticized Vogel’s assertion as unfair toward Panettiere, who had been candid about her struggles with mental health and addiction. Duthiers pointed out that the Heroes star had shared her tumultuous experiences with King as recently as May.

“Hayden Panettiere spent years publicly acknowledging her own failures, her own struggles,” he told King. “She did it with you in that interview. 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.”

Reflecting on her final interview with Panettiere, King noted that her relationship with Vogel appeared to be “complicated” and “a work in progress.”

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“You hear stuff like that and you realize it was still very much in progress,” King said of Vogel’s statement. “It makes me so sad that of the opportunity that you have after your daughter’s death that that’s what you choose to leave us with.”

Hayden Panettiere and Gayle King on ‘CBS Mornings’ on May 18, 2026Credit: CBS

While Vogel had been her daughter’s manager when she was a child, Panettiere decided to end their professional relationship when she was 19. Since then, they have had a strained personal relationship, which was detailed in the actress’ memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.

In May, Vogel had slammed her daughter’s memoir and addressed their estrangement, calling Panettiere “entitled.”

“After 20 years of trauma, I took the advice of professionals and chose the no-contact route,” Vogel told Page Six at the time. “As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose. No parent hopes for this scenario; we want our children to be the best of themselves and live a peaceful, joyful life!”

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As for Panettiere, she had expressed hope for reconciliation in the months before her death.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” Hayden told Us Weekly in May. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day. It’s hard for me to say, but I’ve chosen to be brutally honest.”

Watch King discuss Vogel’s comments on CBS Mornings below.

on Entertainment Weekly

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