Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesly Vogel, slammed the actress’s on-and-off boyfriend in her first comments addressing her untimely demise at age 36.
In an interview on August 18, shortly after authorities confirmed that Brian Hickerson was by the Ice Princess star's side when she breathed her last, Vogel described him as someone the family disapproved of.
Highlights
- Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesly Vogel, said their family had long disapproved of Brian Hickerson.
- He called Vogel “terrible” just months before Panettiere’s passing.
- The investigation report described the actress’s on-and-off boyfriend as showing no emotion until she was pronounced deceased.
Her remarks aligned with the concerns of several Panettiere fans, who have resurfaced his violent history with her and questioned whether he could have played a role in her passing.
The preliminary investigation, however, has ruled out any kind of foul play.
Hayden Panettiere’s mother opened up about Brian Hickerson after new police details emerged
Panettiere and Hickerson began dating in 2018 and, despite breaking up several times since then on grounds of him subjecting her to physical harm, they traveled to South Carolina together a day before her demise.
Speaking about Hickerson’s presence by her daughter in an interview with NBC News, Vogel described him as someone the family had been “trying to get rid of for quite some time.”
Hickerson was inside the apartment when medics were administering emergency care, including CPR, to Panettiere, per newly released investigation reports.
His brother Zach had also been present.
While Zach was described as being “very emotional” during the fiasco, Brian was said to have shown no emotion up until his partner was declared deceased.
He was also described as composed enough to show police a “bag of medication” that Panettiere had been taking at the time of her passing.
The heavily redacted report said officers arrived at the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, SC, at 1:50 p.m. and tried to figure out why Panettiere was unresponsive in the absence of any trauma injuries on her body.
Previously, in a 911 call obtained by Page Six, officers could be heard saying Panettiere had suffered a cardiac arrest after excessive consumption of an illicit substance.
Brian Hickerson called Lesly Vogel “terrible” just months before Panettiere’s passing
Vogel was not only Panettiere’s mother but also the person who introduced her to the entertainment industry at just eight months old.
In her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May, Panettiere said their professional relationship eventually contributed to their estrangement.
Hickerson weighed in on the revelation at the time, calling Vogel “one of the worst people” he had ever met in his life.
“I just can’t with her — She’s terrible,” he said.
According to Vogel, however, she initiated the “no contact” arrangement with Panettiere after “20 years of trauma.”
She explained that it was difficult for her to watch her child make “self-destructive” choices, including using substances.
While she said she did her best to save her, realizing that “you cannot save someone who does not want to be saved” made her step back.
Vogel remembered Panettiere as an “amazingly talented person” in her latest remarks
“I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments,” the grieving mother said.
She acknowledged the struggles that Panettiere had faced in the industry, saying it is “not unusual” for young people who grow up in the limelight to “find the wrong path.”
“It becomes difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way.
“I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes,” she added.
Vogel broke down in tears as she addressed the demise of her son Jansen in 2023, aged 28, saying she hoped her daughter was now with her brother and “they were at peace.”
Vogel said she last spoke to Panettiere in October and said they had been “texting a bit since then.”
Hayden Panettiere said she felt like she had “a lot more life to live” in a recent interview
The actress sat down with podcaster Jay Shetty to promote her memoir in May.
She got candid about her struggles with liquor, postpartum depression, and more before stating that she was optimistic about where her life was going because she had finally shaken all of the “darkness and negativity” she had been carrying via this book.
“I’ve closed one door and another door is opened,” she said, adding, “I feel like I have a lot more life to live.”
Shetty addressed Panettiere’s passing in a tribute posted on Instagram on Tuesday.
He said he had been “devastated and heartbroken” since learning the news and promised to always honor her legacy.
"She didn't protect her child in an industry that eats its own," a netizen said about Vogel
