Naruto: Sakura Haruno Actress Breaks Silence After Being Stalked

Yui Ito, the latest actress to tackle Sakura Haruno's role, is recovering after being stalked by a fan at Jump Festa.

By Megan Peters

It may look glamorous being a celebrity, but there are downsides to the fame. Time and again, we have seen people in the public eye face horrors like stalking and harassment. While privacy edicts in Japan keep some celebrity identities private, many actors are unable to avoid the limelight. This goes for one of the actress behind Sakura Haruno, and the Naruto star is speaking up after being chased down by a fan at Jump Festa.

The confession comes from Yui Ito herself as the actress recounted a rather scary experience from Jump Festa 2024. The star, who plays Sakura in the most recent live-action Naruto play, attended the event to celebrate Naruto. It was there, however, a man chased her around the event and harassed her. She managed to escape his trail, but despite finding authorities soon after, no evidence could be found of the man's pursuit on CCTV cameras.

Ultimately, Ito left the convention without anything being done. "I fell asleep crying. I was so frustrated and depressed," she shared on Instagram.

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As you can imagine, this situation was downright terrifying for Ito, and it is not the first time a create tied to Naruto has been harassed. In the past, the Japanese voice actor behind Sakura has admitted to receiving online harassment for their role. More recently, light novel writer Jun Esaka was targeted. The writer, who penned Sasuke Retsuden, earned online harassment as the light novel explored Sasuke's marriage to Sakura. Now, it seems Ito is the latest Naruto star to be impacted, and the fandom is rallying behind the actress as she recovers from the shocking experience.

What do you make of this Naruto ordeal? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take! 

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