Gayle King Rips Hayden Panettiere's Estranged Mom Over Response to Daughter's Death

Gayle King is unhappy with a statement from Hayden Panettiere's mother in the aftermath of her daughter's tragic death ... saying it's a huge missed opportunity.

The longtime television host read Lesley Vogel's statement live on "CBS Mornings" ... Lesley's comments focused on how child stardom led her estranged daughter down a dark path -- and she took some veiled shots at Hayden's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

After reading the statement live on-air, Gayle said ... "You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, 'Thanks, mom, for nothing.'"

Gayle added, "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."

She and her co-hosts agreed Lesley should've released a heartfelt statement like Hayden's father, Skip Panettiere, did ... in which he recognized her inner light.

Vladimir Duthiers-- one of the other hosts on the show -- called it "unseemly" for Lesley to use the days after her daughter's death to "remind the world just how much trauma" she caused.

As you know ... Hayden and Lesley had a fractured relationship -- with Hayden reflecting on their difficulties in her recent memoir "This Is Me: A Reckoning."

Lesley bashed the book as a money grab when Hayden was promoting it back in May ... and Hayden responded by saying that her mom's comments essentially slammed the door shut on their reconciliation.

Brian told us around the same time that Lesley was just the worst ... and, given her statement to NBC, it seems she feels the same way about him.