Journalist Sarene Leeds criticized Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, after Vogel shared her first comments since her daughter’s death.Vogel’s remarks drew criticism from the late Heroes star’s fans, including Leeds, who slammed Vogel on Instagram, saying:“What the h*ll kind of a statement is this, “Mom”? You deserved so much better, Hayden. I’m so sorry.”In an interview with NBC News, Vogel described Hayden Panettiere as an “amazingly talented person in so many departments.” She went on to say that young people in the entertainment industry often face a “struggle” in what she called a “challenging” environment, noting:“…it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path. I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.”Continue reading for more.More on Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with her mother Hayden Panettiere shared a strained relationship with her mom, Lesley Vogel. She discussed it in interviews and her memoir, This Is Me, where she noted how Vogel managed her early career and was controlling in her behaviour towards Panettiere.The Ice Princess star was only four months old when her mother signed her up with acting and modelling agents. On a recent episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, Panettiere recalled viewing her mother more as a “boss” than a parent:“Everything was business. I became the confidant and the assistant and the therapist and the shoulder to cry on and everything but her child.”Panettiere shared that while working on Heroes, she asked her mother to have a normal relationship with her and stop managing her career. In contrast, Vogel responded differently by telling her daughter that she owes her before walking out of her trailer, eventually leading to an estrangement.Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson are seen at the celebration of life event for Panettiere's younger brother Jansen Panettiere on March 8, 2023 - March 8, 2023 - Source: GettyHayden Panettiere died on August 16 in her apartment in Greenville, South Carolina. According to a USA Today report, her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, called 911. Very little is known about Panettiere’s death except for the fact that an apparent drug overdose led to cardiac arrest.Following her daughter’s tragic demise, Vogel broke her silence for the first time and criticized her daughter’s boyfriend. In an interview with NBC News, Vogel said that they “ have been trying to get rid of [Hickerson] for quite some time…”She added:“There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times, and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him.”It is not surprising to note that Hickerson had the same amount of hatred for Vogel as well. He told TMZ in May:“Hayden's mother is by far one of the worst people I've ever met in my life ... I just can't with her. She's terrible.”In her memoir, Hayden Panettiere wrote about her battles with alcohol and opioid addiction, postpartum depression and domestic abuse she faced during her relationship with Hickerson.Hayden and Brian met in 2018 at a popular West Hollywood bar. They were first photographed at the screening of Breaking & Exiting in Los Angeles. During their initial phase in the relationship, they were like “two best friends living together under one roof,” as Panettiere wrote in her memoir.Their relationship deteriorated as Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence arrests. In May 2019, Hickerson was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence following an alleged altercation with Panettiere. Hickerson was arrested again in Wyoming after an incident in which he allegedly punched Panettiere in the face.