Hanada Mei revealed that she spoke with Mukaichi Mion about the situation.
"I also spoke with the person I deeply respect, Mukaichi Mion.
She repeatedly told me, 'Management is being terrible, but you shouldn't sacrifice yourself over this.'"
Hanada Mei shares statement of her termination from AKB48. She appears to have shaved her head.
• Hanada Mei apologised for privately meeting a specific fan and holding hands with him in public, calling it a careless action unbecoming of an idol.
• She said she had become caught up in a “hide-and-seek” style interaction with fans after posting clues about her whereabouts on Weverse.
• According to Mei, a photo of her holding hands with the fan was submitted to management, leading to discussions about how to handle the situation.
• During meetings with management, she claims she was accused of dating the fan, asked sexual questions, and not believed when she denied the allegations.
• Mei alleges that management brought up the case of Minegishi Minami and suggested that if she wanted to continue in AKB48, she should shave her head to demonstrate remorse.
• Unable to decide immediately, she instead requested a three-week hiatus, but says it was later changed to an indefinite suspension.
• Feeling that she could not continue in AKB48 unless she shaved her head, Mei eventually made the decision to do so despite how painful it was for her.
• After informing management that she had shaved her head, she says they responded that they had never instructed or required her to do so.
• Mei claims she was questioned for hours and repeatedly heard the word “shaved head” during discussions, despite management later denying they requested it.
• She states that no senior staff member formally apologised to her or expressed concern after she shaved her head.
• Through a lawyer, Mei repeatedly attempted to communicate her feelings and concerns to management, but says most responses simply urged her to meet in person and maintained that she had never been told to shave her head.
• Mei says the situation severely affected her mental health, leaving her unable to leave home and experiencing thoughts of wanting to die.
• After reaching her limit, she decided to publicly explain what had happened if management’s next response did not address her concerns.
• Mei says she was warned that revealing her shaved head could result in contract termination and possible claims for damages.
• She revealed the situation anyway because she did not want future AKB48 members to feel pressured into shaving their heads as she felt she had been.
• Mei expressed her love for AKB48, saying she never wanted to leave the group and still wished to continue performing alongside the members.
• She said she had hoped to participate in upcoming concerts, theatre performances, handshake events and future AKB48 activities.
• Mei concluded by apologising to fans who had been waiting for her return and thanked them for supporting her throughout her time in AKB48.
Mei Hanada, whose contract was terminated by AKB48 earlier today following various incidents (see https://t.co/QTzoAfHiWQ), has published a vid giving her point of view. She appeared with most of her hair removed, saying she felt pressured to shave her head by management, with reference being made to Minami Minegishi, though management say they never requested it. She said that recent matters had affected her mental health, but despite it all she still loved AKB48, and thanked the fans for supporting her. https://t.co/jkjecBXBh4
While she had some supporters, fan reaction to her vid has been largely negative with some disliking her bringing "Miichan" into the matter, and others claiming she was trying to divert the blame for breaking the rules herself.
There's a rumour about a certain group of fans who've been front row for every stage/concert for a while now. 5ch have been speaking about a possible NGT-esque scandal waiting to hit AKB about fans who are too close to management.
マレーシアにAKBー!!🥹🇲🇾✨
マレーシアもAKBも最高なのでたくさんのみなさんが楽しめますように!!
AKB in malaysia !!🇲🇾
i won’t join it but i hope you all can enjoy the event! because both of AKB and Malaysia are mantap 😻🫶hehe