A mother from Florida, US has held Netflix show 13 Reasons Why responsible for her daughter's suicide attempt. Her 15-year-old daughter, in an attempt to kill herself on May 15, allegedly slit her arms mimicking the lead character of the show Hannah Baker.
13 Reasons Why has been in hot water for its graphic depiction of suicide, bullying, and rape. Last year the show drew a lot of flak over the rising rate of suicide as some researchers revealed that the Google searches for specific methods of suicide have increased post the release of its first season.
According to Okeechobee News, the woman, who remained anonymous at first but later took to Facebook to share a video regarding the issue, revealed her daughter tried to cut her wrists in the bathtub while the rest of the family was busy celebrating Mother's Day.
"Other than the type of blade used, my daughter did everything the girl in '13 Reasons' did," the mother said.
She pointed how her daughter referred the Netflix show in a message to her friend after cutting her arms. The girl texted, "It's taking too long ... it's not like on 13 Reasons."
However, the girl was not all alone in it as her mother found out more harrowing details. According to text messages, two boys and two girls were also involved in it as all of them planned to run away from home in search for a care-free lifestyle, which "didn't involve adults telling them what to do." And, if the plan fails, they wanted to commit suicide.
One of the boys called the police after receiving a Snapchat video from the girl doing the act. One of the boys called 911 who alerted the parents.
She was immediately taken to the emergency room and then shifted to a mental health facility.
The mother was furious as she told the Okeechobee News, "I'm angry that show is out there, and even more angry there is now a season 2. Why even put these shows out there and put it in her mind to try to kill herself the way it is done in this show?"
Speaking to New York Daily News, a spokesperson of the streaming giant stated that they said they were "very saddened to hear about this and grateful to those who intervened to help."
After a lot of ups and downs, this year 13 Reasons Why released a warning video that contains messages from all the lead actors. And, this video has been placed at the beginning of each episode of the Netflix series.
Last year in May, the lead actress of the series Katherine Langford (who plays Hannah Baker) defended the show's graphic depiction on The Tonight Show.
She said, "I think things like these instigate discussion, which is the important part. And I think we cover so many important issues in the show that are going to affect people differently depending on their own personal context."
