Two Bay Area families have said the controversial show 13 Reasons Why in part caused their daughters to commit suicide in April.
As the Daily Mail reports, the two 15-year-old girls, Bella Herndon and Priscilla Chiu, did not know one another, but each attempted suicide just four daysapart.
The one similarity they did have: Both girls had just finished watching the Netflix drama, which was filmed in the Bay Area, and tells the story of a high school girl who decides to take her own life.
Now, both families of the girls have said publicly that the show was a trigger for the two girls in interviews with KTVU.
Bella Herndon was just three days from her 16th birthday when she passed away. She was a sophomore at Livermore Valley Charter Prep School and had straight A's.
Her parents told KTVU English was her favourite class, and she planned to be a writer when she grew up. Her dad described her as a "hero".
Herndon was on life support for about a week and a half before doctors told her parents there was no hope.
Though they knew she was battling depression, and had been bullied since middle school, Herndon's parents said before her death she seemed happy and had new friends who were coming over regularly.
In a final video of Herndon, the teen hijacked her mother's phone to record herself saying: "I love you mommy."
On April 22, a second girl, Priscilla Chiu also took her life.
Chiu lived with her uncle Peter, who described his niece as precocious and determined. Like Herndon, Chiu also battled with depression, and looking back, her uncle said he missed the signs.
He shared a final photo of his niece, posing in San Francisco's Chinatown just days before she took her life.
"I feel like the absolute worst adult because I kept forcing her to go to school," Peter told KTVU, explaining his niece's new-found hatred of it.
13 Reasons Why depicts the lead character's suicide in graphic detail. Photo / supplied
According to the Daily Mail, the two girls took their lives just days after watching 13 Reasons Why, which is based on a book about a high school-aged girl who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 cassettes for each of the people she says are the reasons she took her life.
Peter Chiu explained that the show is "very graphic," specifically citing the scene where the main character's suicide is depicted in explicit detail.
John Herndon also expressed his hatred of the show, saying: "There are no words that describe my contempt for the people who did this. You can't convince me that they were trying to attract attention to the issue of teen suicide by showing a little girl killing herself. There's nothing positive about that."
Netflix, aware of the controversy, said in a statement to KTVU: "Our hearts go out to these families during this difficult time. We have heard from many viewers that 13 Reasons Why has opened up a dialogue among parents, teens, schools and mental health advocates around the difficult topics depicted in the show.
"We took extra precautions to alert viewers to the nature of the content and created a global website to help people find local mental health resources."
The writer of the show, Brian Yorkey adamantly defends the show.
"Many people are accusing the show of glamorizing suicide and I feel very strongly that we did the exact opposite. What we did was portray suicide and we portrayed it as very ugly and very damaging," he is quoted as saying.
Netflix has insisted 13 Reasons Why has "opened up a dialogue" surrounding the issues of suicide and depression. Photo / supplied
The show's executive producer, Selena Gomez, has also said the idea was to get people talking about suicide.
But Peter Chiu and Donna and John Herndon aren't the only parents who have a problem with the show, which has been renewed for a second season.
A Floridian mother, who does not want to be identified, blamed her son's mental health issues on the TV show after his teacher told his class to check out the new show.
Additionally, the Australian mental health organization Headspace took aim at the show, saying it has received a "growing number of calls" directly related to the program.
Kristen Douglas, National Manager of Australian mental health organisation Headspace, said the show exposes viewers to "risky suicide content" and young people could have a "distressing reaction".
IF YOU NEED HELP:
If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.
