22-year-old Hana Kimura tragically committed suicide on May 23rd, 2020, following online abuse following her conduct on Fuji Television and Netflix reality series Terrace House. Kimura had become the victim of harassment after an incident where her wrestling outfit was washed by another cast member and shrunk, and she lashed out at him. This made her the show’s villain and subjected her to social media’s vitriol. And now, two years on, her mother, who is retired wrestler Kyoko Kimura has filed a lawsuit for over $1 million against Fuji Television for failing to protect her daughter.
In an interview following her daughter’s death, Kyoko Kimura shockingly revealed how producers played a part in the tragedy by exposing that the costume incident was staged, and the producers pressured her to act violently, explicitly instructing her to slap her fellow cast member Kai Kobayashi. Hana refused to do this but compromised by knocking off his hat instead. She would tell family and friends she wanted to act professionally on-screen, but the producers wanted her to play up her heel persona and appear obnoxious for the show’s ratings. And since then, Kobayashi has confirmed the validity of these claims.
