Hayden Panettiere’s Mom Breaks Silence, Bashes Brian Hickerson

Hayden Panettiere's estranged mom just broke her silence over her daughter's shocking death ... and she used the opportunity to dump on Hayden's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

Lesley Vogel told NBC News ... "This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson."

It's worth noting ... Brian loathed Lesley as much as she hated him ... telling TMZ back 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."

As TMZ reported ... Brian and his brother Zach were at the scene when Hayden died on Sunday in a South Carolina apartment.

Lesley says ... "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 is a struggle and it's a very challenging industry and it's not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path." She doesn't out-and-out blame Brian for her death ... but she sure insinuates he was a bad influence.

Brian and Hayden started dating in 2018, and they were on and off for years ... though we found out they had been keeping their rekindled romance under wraps during the release of her memoir because people in her camp felt he was bad for business.

As TMZ reported ... Zach was reportedly "very emotional" while emergency medical services professionals were "working on Hayden."