Hayden Panettiere’s Mother Slams Gayle King and Megyn Kelly Over Criticism: ‘It’s Shameful’

Lesley Vogel, the mother of late actress Hayden Panettiere, has slammed Gayle King and Megyn Kelly for their recent criticism of her.

Full Story Below…

Vigel spoke to the Daily Mail after King and Kelly commented on her interview with NBC News. In that interview, she discussed her daughter’s struggles and her relationship with boyfriend Brian Hickerson.

During a CBS Mornings broadcast, King criticized Vogel for focusing too much on her daughter’s struggles. She said:

“You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, mom, for nothing.’ It makes me so sad of the opportunity that you have after your daughter’s death that that’s what you choose to leave us with.”

Kelly went further on her podcast. She said:

“You failed at your job. You got an F as a parent. You made a bunch of money off your daughter. You failed. You’re loser.”

Vogel expressed her hurt. She said:

“I was very, very hurt and deeply disappointed in the lack of professionalism, the lack of compassion in slamming someone who’s lost two children.”

She added: “No one reached out to me before. It’s shameful. It’s unconscionable to me.”

Vogel lost her son, Panettiere’s younger brother, in February 2023. Panettiere had been open about her estranged relationship with her mother.

Watch a clip of her expressing her pain:

In an exclusive interview with @ABC News, Hayden Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, is breaking her silence on her daughter's death, describing the moment she learned the news.

"I was numb. I was just numb."

Read more: https://t.co/Fdz42m586B pic.twitter.com/A4LT1iZTqb

— ABC News (@ABC) August 24, 2026