Mother of Hana Kimura Reveals Terrace House Incident That Led To Cyberbullying Was Staged

Back in May, Hana Kimura passed away at the age of 22 as a result of suicide. That was caused by cyberbullying from people on the Internet, over an incident that took place on the reality show Terrace House. During that show, Kimura knocked the hat off of fellow cast member Kai Kobayashi after he shrunk her wrestling outfit in the wash. In an interview with Shukan Bunshin, her mother Kyoko Kimura revealed that the costume incident was staged. She said that Hana told her this while they were driving, crying as she did so.

Producers wanted Hana to act violently towards Kobayashi, and told her to slap him. She refused and settled on knocking off the hat instead. She told her family and friends she wanted to be a professional on TV, but producers wanted her to be obnoxious and play up a heel character to help the ratings. Kobayshi has since confirmed that the moment was staged.

The series has since shut down production.