Megyn Kelly Accuses Hayden Panettiere’s Mother of Treating Her Daughter as a ‘Cash Cow’
Megyn Kelly Accuses Hayden Panettiere’s Mother of Treating Her Daughter as a ‘Cash Cow’
Morning Honey Staff Tue, August 25, 2026 at 11:45 AM UTC
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Megyn Kelly slams Leskey Vogel for failing to take care of Hayden Panettiere | Image source: ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA, Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore
After CBS Mornings’ Gayle King criticized the late actress Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, Megyn Kelly also took a dig at her. Taking to her podcast on Monday, Kelly addressed Vogel’s “strange” behavior of giving a series of interviews following Panettiere’s death.
Like King, the podcaster slammed Vogel over her relationship with Panettiere, and accused her of using the actress as a “cash cow.” Kelly called Panettiere’s mother “bizarre” for “giving interviews,” and claimed that “she seems even more disturbed than we knew.”
After Gayle King, Megyn Kelly Criticizes Lesley Vogel
Following Hayden Panettiere’s death from cardiac arrest on Aug. 16 at the age of 36 at her South Carolina house, her mother, Lesley Vogel, issued a statement via NBC News.
She said, “I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments. And I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry, it’s a struggle, and it’s a very challenging industry, and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path.”
Vogel’s statement was later addressed by CBS Mornings’ Gayle King, who 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.”
Although Vogel clapped back at King, she was later criticized by Megyn Kelly, who expressed sentiments similar to those of the CBS host. During Monday’s episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, the podcaster addressed Gayle King’s criticism and further slammed Vogel.
Kelly began, “By the way, she’s very upset with yours truly and with Gayle King for walking away believing she was not a good mom. Yeah, and I’ve been very blunt about it, and I stand by every word.”
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Further addressing the estranged relationship between Panettiere and her mother, Kelly alleged that the actress “couldn’t stand” Vogel. The podcaster then reflected on the Heroes star’s memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and added, “She asked you to just be her mother, and you told her, ‘You owe me.’”
Kelly Accuses Vogel of Using Hayden Panettiere as a ‘Cash Cow’
Later in the podcast, Megyn Kelly sneered at Lesley Vogel for using her daughter, Hayden Panettiere, as her “cash cow.” Kelly said, “Guess what? I believe your daughter. I believe her. You wanted a cash cow. You didn’t want a daughter.”
She added, “That’s what led you to put your kid in these commercials and work her nonstop to the bone throughout her childhood. Then when she died, you had the nerve to say, ‘Oh, child actors. You know they have it really tough.’”
Kelly blamed Vogel for destroying Panettiere’s childhood by exposing her to the entertainment industry at a tender age. She questioned, “How does she become one? Who put her in this disgusting, toxic industry before she was old enough to handle it?”
“Let me tell you something. It’s not Gayle King’s fault, and it’s not my fault. You’ve got to look in the mirror if you want to find true accountability for the path that your daughter took in her life,” the podcaster concluded.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
