After being a victim of cyberbullying, Stardom’s Hana Kimura committed suicide in May as we reported.
The tragedy was related to an incident which occured on Netflix reality show, Terrace House, where Kimura slapped a hat of Kai Kobayashi’s head after he had ruined her wrestling attire.
Hana’s mother, Kyoko Kimura, has spoken and added some startling detail around the incident, depicting that her daughter was a young woman who was pressured to act violently for TV ratings, despite being uncomfortable with the idea, which ultimately led to the cyberbullying and her suicide:
“Hana was pressured to act more violent & aggressive on Terrace House, and the Costume Incident episode was staged.”
“When her mom, Kyoko Kimura, was driving her home, she broke down into tears. She told her mom that Terrace House was forcing her to behave more obnoxiously on-camera for views.”
“[Hana] told [Kyoko] that she wanted to present herself professionally on-screen, but the producers were pressuring her to behave violently instead. They told her to play up her Heel persona from 1 to 100.”
“The staff instigated the Costume Incident. They would say things like ‘Nice. Now slap his face.’ Hana didn’t want to get violent or hurt anyone. It was wrong and didn’t appear professional as a wrestler, anyway.”
“She refused to slap her co-star’s face, but she compromised and slapped the hat off his head.”
“[Fuji TV] said it’s ‘under investigation’. They also said that it can’t be confirmed as a fact to be questioned about.”
(H/T to @farrahakase from Twitter for the transcript)
A tragic story all round and we can only hope Fuji TV will be held accountable for the role they played in this tragedy. The release of new Terrace House episodes was suspended as a result of Kimura’s death, and Fuji TV later.
If you or anybody close to you needs help or support, we hope you find the below links useful (H/T to Cagesideseats):
State-by-state suicide hotlines in the U.S.
International suicide hotlines
National Alliance on Mental Health resource page
