Earlier this week, Netflix announced it cut that scene from the first season of 13 Reasons Why over two years after it originally aired.
“We've heard from many young people that 13 Reasons Why encouraged them to start conversations about difficult issues like depression and suicide and get help — often for the first time," Netflix tweeted in a statement July 16. "As we prepare to launch season three later this summer, we've been mindful about the ongoing debate around the show. So on the advice of medical experts, including Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, we've decided with creator Brian Yorkey and the producers to edit the scene in which Hannah takes her own life from season one.”
The show, based on a novel of the same name, follows Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) as she lists the reasons why she killed herself via 13 tapes that are delivered to her classmates post-death.
In the first season, which aired March 31, 2017, a scene depicts Hannah’s suicide in graphic detail. The now-edited scene shows Hannah looking at herself in the mirror right before she kills herself and then cuts to Hannah’s mom walking in and finding her. (Season 2 aired May 18, 2018 and Season 3 is slated to air later this summer.)
The show has drawn criticism for glamorizing suicide and putting vulnerable viewers, especially youth, at risk. The month after 13 Reasons Why’s release, the National Institute of Mental Health published a study in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that linked the show to a 28.9 percent increase in suicide rates among U.S. youth ages 10-17 in April 2017, after accounting for ongoing trends in suicide rates.
“The number of deaths by suicide recorded in April 2017 was greater than the number seen in any single month during the five-year period examined by the researchers,” said NIMH. “When researchers analyzed the data by sex, they found the increase in the suicide rate was primarily driven by significant increases in suicide in young males. While suicide rates for females increased after the show’s release, the increase was not statistically significant.”
Before cutting the scene, Netflix previously addressed these concerns by adding warning messages before the show in 2017 and later a warning video in 2018 that included resources for viewers.
Yorkey, the show’s creator, also tweeted a statement regarding the scene cut:
“It was our hope, in making 13 Reasons Why into a television show, to tell a story that would help young viewers feel seen and heard, and encourage empathy in all who viewed it, much as the bestselling book did before us. Our creative intent in portraying the ugly, painful reality of suicide in such graphic detail in Season 1 was to tell the truth about the horror of such an act, and make sure no one would ever wish to emulate it. But as we ready to launch Season 3, we have heard concerns about the scene from Dr. Christine Moutier at the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and others, and have agreed with Netflix to re-edit it. No one scene is more important that the life of the show, and its message that we must take better care of each other. We believe this edit with help the show do the most good for the most people while mitigating any risk for especially vulnerable young viewers.”
In an NPR article, Moutier said that Netflix deciding to change the scene is a rare moment for a big company. “I think it does speak to that this is a high-level, high-priority public health crisis area of mental health struggles and suicide in our nation and particularly among youth,” she said.
Although the scene is no longer available on Netflix, “hannah baker death scene” is the first Google search result when you type in “hannah baker” — though, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is issuing take-down notices for pirated videos of the original scene. When media explicitly describes or shows the method of one’s suicide — which sensationalizes/glamorizes the death — there’s a risk of “copycat suicides.” That’s exactly the case for the ongoing controversy behind Hannah’s suicide scene in 13 Reasons Why.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please seek help by calling the national hotline at 1-800-273-8255. You are not alone.
