In this interview segment, PR and crisis‑management specialist Molly McPherson evaluates Neutrogena’s handling of the public outcry following actress Hayden Panettiere’s death. She argues that Neutrogena’s silence for four days ceded narrative control and generated backlash. McPherson introduces an “indestructible” crisis‑communication framework—Own it, Explain it, Promise it—demonstrating how the brand’s draft statement fails the test, particularly on the “promise” component. She stresses the importance of empathy, timely action, and the concept of “standing” (the brand’s long‑term relationship and credibility with its audience) in crisis situations. The discussion concludes with a warning that organizations must act promptly rather than wait out a crisis, as competitors like Lauren and Joe Shetty responded immediately, avoiding reputational damage.
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I want to bring in PR and crisis management expert Molly McPherson, who's joining us now. Molly, at some point, is it your professional assessment that Neutrogena will have to acknowledge sort of what, what is happening in this space?
Well, certainly silence has already cost them the frame in this case. And now what they need to see is action. This is not a time for a press release. I mean, certainly Neutrogena, it's one of these unknown unknowns in crisis management. You could never plan for this. But you can also— you can always plan to be empathetic. Let's give them till Monday, but let's read the statement here. And I want to know what you think. We are deeply saddened by Hayden. Okay. I'm sorry. Before we get in here, we're looking for the indestructible PR framework. Own it, explain it, promise it. Own it, explain it, promise it. All right. Let's see if we get it. We are deeply saddened by Hayden Panettiere's passing. For more than a decade, Hayden was a valued member of Neutrogena community. We are proud to have partnered with her and understand that we made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time. This is not what Neutrogena stands for or who we want to be. Did they own it? Yes, I think they owned it right there. Second, Hayden's courage in sharing her challenges helped inspire important conversations and awareness. We are making a significant investment to a longstanding community health partner to help give more women access to the support they need. Everyone at Neutrogena extends their deepest condolences to Hayden's family and all who loved her. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not the reason. You think the Neutrogena C-suite, which my friend used to work for Neutrogena, do you think Neutrogena is, they're all just sitting there going, oh, we have to wait. Okay. Out of respect, out of respect, out of respect. This is where standing comes in. You don't wait 4 days when you have standing, when you had a 10-year partnership for so many people, like big generations of people who kind of grew up with the actress and seen— when you saw Neutrogena, you just saw her face, right? They needed to respond. So if you ever work for an organization and you are wondering, do we say something? Do we not say something? What about the standing? Neutrogena should have said something. They should have. And that's the reason why they received— that they received the backlash. Lauren, Joe Shetty with the dollar sign, sure didn't wait.
