TOKYO (TR) – Television personality and former gravure queen Mitsu Dan has sparked concern and outrage after revealing the shockingly low payout she received for her debut full-nude shoot, alongside growing fan alarm over her increasingly emaciated appearance.
Appearing in a September 28 video on the YouTube channel “ReHacQ,” the talent spoke candidly about her career turning points. While viewers immediately noticed her hollowed cheeks—renewing ongoing online discussions about her severe weight loss—it was her revelations regarding the dark financial realities of the entertainment industry that stole the spotlight.
Recalling her first time posing fully nude for a film and photobook, Dan explained she was initially curious about her market value. “I wondered how much I would get paid if I went fully nude, did a movie, and released a photobook,” she confessed.
“Expenses”
However, after various “expenses” were deducted by management, her actual take-home pay was a mere 330,000 yen.
In a display of self-deprecation, the star admitted she was simply relieved at the time. “I thought, ‘Great, I can pay my rent,'” she recalled. “I was actually surprised I was worth 330,000 yen. I never felt like, ‘I did all this work and only got 330,000 yen.'”
Netizens, however, were less forgiving of the grueling industry standard. Fans expressed dismay over the massive gap between her overwhelming popularity and her meager compensation, leaving comments such as, “Even after selling that much?” and “It’s heartbreaking that her senses were skewed into thinking 330,000 yen was a lot.”
Financially exploited
The revelation has fueled growing suspicions that the star was financially exploited during the peak of her popularity, an entertainment journalist noted.
These concerns are amplified by the March 2024 bankruptcy of her former talent agency, “Fit.” Following the agency’s collapse, Dan Mitsu admitted to the weekly magazine FLASH that she was owed between 1 and 2 million yen in unpaid wages.
“My agency blew up. It’s tough,” she previously lamented during a radio broadcast.
While the gravure icon appears to have moved on from her past hardships, the latest episode paints a grim picture of how she was treated at the height of her fame.
