Japanese wrestler Hana Kimura died via suicide at the age of 22 back on May 23, and since then more details surrounding her tragic passing have come to light. Kimura was a star on Netflix’s Japanese reality show Terrace House and was the victim of cyberbullying from viewers after an incident aired where she slapped co-star Kai Kobayashi’s hat off his head for accidentally shrinking her wrestling gear. In a new interview with Bunshun Kimura’s mother Kyoko Kimura (a retired pro wrestler) revealed that producers pushed Hana into playing a villain on the show and told her to slap Kobayashi on camera.
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The episode that featured the incident re-aired five days before Kimura’s death. Kyoko’s interview was translated by @farrahakase via a Twitter, some of which you can see below.
3. 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.
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5. 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.
โ ๐ฅ๐ฟฦarrahโดโถใใกใฉโถโตูุฑุญ๐ฟ๐ฅ (@farrahakase) July 1, 2020
6. She refused to slap her co-star’s face, but she compromised and slapped the hat off his head. pic.twitter.com/lSMvFLLllc
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8. Hana wrote, “my work uniform just got destroyed, and the staff wanted me to act sharp in front of the camera”. This friend was repeatedly told about stuff like this from Hana. pic.twitter.com/7U1vExMin0
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The thread added that Kobayashi confirmed the story about what the producers did, and that interviewer has since reached out to show’s production company, Fuji TV.
10. The writer of this article contacted Fuji TV for comments about the alleged staged episode + pressures on Hana, but they said it’s “under investigation”. They also said that it can’t be confirmed as a fact to be questioned about.
โ ๐ฅ๐ฟฦarrahโดโถใใกใฉโถโตูุฑุญ๐ฟ๐ฅ (@farrahakase) July 1, 2020
Since Kimura’s passing numerous wrestlers have paid tribute to her on social media and on television while also speaking out against cyberbullying.
