Melissa Gilbert Calls for Industry Reforms to Shield Child Actors After Panettiere Tragedy
After Hayden Panettiere’s death at 36, Melissa Gilbert urged the entertainment industry to enact substantive reforms to protect child actors, saying three former young stars died in quick succession and calling for better mental health support and safeguards. She expressed a personal, shared experience as a former child actor, and noted the deaths of Michelle Trachtenberg and Daveigh Chase. The plea comes as Gilbert’s husband, Timothy Busfield, faces multiple counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor, with pretrial proceedings ongoing.
