The beauty brand Neutrogena has acknowledged making the late actor Hayden Panettiere “feel unsupported during a very difficult time” by severing ties with her when she spoke publicly about postpartum depression.

The 36-year-old star of Heroes and Nashville died on Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina, after being found unresponsive in cardiac arrest. Medics responded to a 911 call placed by her boyfriend and his brother.

In May Panettiere gave an interview Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast describing how she had been dumped from the brand after she spoke about her postpartum depression on the morning talk show Live with Kelly and Michael in 2015.

Hayden Panettiere died on Sunday in an apartment in South Carolina. Photo: AP

Panettiere also wrote about the incident in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, saying Neutrogena terminated her decade-long endorsement deal, citing a “morals clause” violation in response to her candor about her health struggles.

“When they tell you about postpartum depression, you think about – ‘OK, I feel negative feelings towards my child. I want to injure my child. I want to hurt my child,’” Panettiere told Shetty.

“I’ve never, ever had those feelings. But you … don’t realise [how] broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on, and it’s something I think that needs to be talked about. And women need to know that they’re not alone.”

She later learned that “Neutrogena wanted to fire me over that”, she said.

Fans have criticised Neutrogena following Panettiere’s death and some called for a boycott.

In a statement, Neutrogena said it is “deeply saddened by Hayden Panettiere’s passing” and referred to its former ambassador as a “valued member of our … community”.

But it acknowledged it had “made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time.” The company said it is “making a significant investment to a long-standing community health partner” to expand access to postpartum depression care.

“This is not what Neutrogena stands for or who we want to be.”

The brand said it had delayed responding out of respect for Panettiere’s family.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has joined the investigation into her death.