Updated

Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 21

Gayle King Rebukes Hayden Panettiere's Mother Over Death Tribute 5 Days After Actress Died

Updated

Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 21

Gayle King Rebukes Hayden Panettiere's Mother Over Death Tribute 5 Days After Actress Died

Q: Why did Gayle King publicly condemn a grieving mother's controversial tribute just days after Hayden Panettiere’s tragic death?

Gayle King condemned Lesley Vogel’s tribute because she viewed it as publicly blaming Hayden Panettiere rather than simply mourning her, at a moment when the actress could no longer answer for herself. On “CBS Mornings,” King reacted sharply to Vogel’s remarks that Panettiere was “amazing” and “talented” but had been “on the wrong path” and had “lost her way.” King said those words turned a memorial statement into a critique, calling it a missed opportunity to speak about Panettiere with love and dignity in the days immediately after her death. King’s criticism was also shaped by her own recent reporting. She had interviewed Panettiere months earlier while the actress promoted her memoir and said Panettiere described her relationship with her mother as “very complicated” and still “a work in progress.” That made Vogel’s comments, in King’s view, evidence that the estrangement and pain Panettiere had spoken about were still unresolved. Her co-hosts reinforced that point. Vladimir Duthiers said Panettiere had already been open for years about addiction, trauma and personal struggles, so there was no need for her mother to revisit those failings publicly after her death. Kelly O’Grady argued Vogel’s statement would have been far less controversial if it had stopped at praising her daughter’s talent and character. In short, King spoke out because she believed Vogel’s tribute crossed from grief into judgment, reviving family wounds instead of honoring Panettiere’s life.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 21

Gayle King blasted Lesley Vogel on CBS Mornings after Vogel described Hayden Panettiere as "amazing" and "talented" but also "on the wrong path" following the actress's death.
King said the statement squandered a chance for a warmer tribute, citing Panettiere's previously discussed "complicated relationship" with her mother and saying that fracture remained unresolved even after death.
CBS colleagues Kelly O'Grady and Vladimir Duthiers backed King, arguing Vogel should not have highlighted her daughter's struggles when Panettiere could no longer respond.
Panettiere was found unresponsive in cardiac arrest at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, and was pronounced dead on August 16 at 2:32 p.m.
Vogel had also told NBC News that Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson was with her at her death, widening scrutiny of the family's public comments in the days after her passing.