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Things are heating up in the world of Morning Musume '25, and it’s not looking great for Rio Kitagawa. The 20-year-old idol has found herself in hot water again after a leaked Snapchat story surfaced, where she allegedly threw some serious shade at her fellow group members. According to a post leaked media, Kitagara Rio (@riio.38 on Snapchat) made disrespectful comments, specifically targeting the group’s leader, Ikuta Erina—better known as "Eripon"—wishing she’d "quit soon."
Ouch! (All leaked snap uploaded below)
Considering Erina Ikuta’s a big name in Hello! Project as a 9th-generation member, plus her side gigs as a golfer and fashion designer, that’s a bold move from Rio.
This isn’t Rio’s first brush with drama this year. Back in January, leaked photo of Rio hanging out with a young man, which caused a stir among fans. She initially brushed it off, saying she was just out with uni mates and apologised for the fuss.
But then another snap popped up on social media, showing her with the same guy, and it got people talking again. Her Morning Musume '25 teammate Sakura Oda even chimed in on her blog, saying Rio needs to "do her best without complaining" and put the group first. Sakura added she’d support Rio as much as she could, but you can feel the tension there.
And if that wasn’t enough, another leaked revealed that Morning Musume fans aren’t too chuffed with how the group’s management, Up-Front, is handling the situation. Apparently, Up-Front has stayed silent on Rio’s latest Snapchat drama, leaving fans frustrated.
Some are even calling for Kitagawa Rio to be sacked, saying her actions are dragging the group’s reputation through the mud. They’re pointing fingers at Up-Front for not stepping in sooner, especially since this isn’t the first time an idol’s social media antics have caused a stir—ex-Tsubaki Factory member Risa Ogata (aka "Risamaru") had a similar scandal back in 2023.
It’s a proper mess, isn’t it? Rio’s comments about Ikuta, who’s been a key part of Morning Musume since joining in 2011, have really struck a nerve. With fans already on edge about the group’s strict "love ban" rules—something that’s been a hot topic in idol culture for ages—this latest drama might just be the tipping point. Will Up-Front finally step in, or is Rio’s time with Morning Musume '25 about to come to an abrupt end? We’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out!
Here's whats inside Kitario's Snapchat
"I revealed that Ikuta's greeting on the morning of shooting for Buzzrhythm had a bad attitude and Bakari-san was totally put off and laughing like "wow, isn't [Ikuta's] attitude awful?" so I thought, well now she'll fix it, but if I had to say, today her attitude was even worse than usual—dead sounding "I said good morning didn't I, say it back" gross, who do you think you are, an emperor? Even though you can’t do sh*t—" [Attached: Lemon Filter]
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"Totally got talked about behind my back by a senpai, lol—
if you're gonna say something, at least do it when I'm completely not around, old woman." [Attached: Jerry Filter's meme]
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Ikuta senpai who doesn’t greet me today either :D
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| "Ikuta-senpai who doesn't greet again today." |
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| "Seriously, I wish Ikuta would just quit already" |
The mic hit me so hard from Makino's st*pid large dancing I got injured. [attached: injured hand]
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| "I was injured after being hit hard by the mic due to Makino's ridiculously big dance moves." |
Makino, who got on the train with these pigtails lol, like a scary Xiaoxiao. [Attached: Makino's hair]
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| "Makino got on the train with these pigtails, scary Xiaoxiao lol." |
Even though I was supposed to have my interview at 17:00, for some reason Homare went before me lol. I'm the busiest one here, let’s hurry it up.
Isn't even over yet, and I have to get up in 5.5 hours, I can't. I'm dying, you guys are always all like Homamei Homamei, so why don't you just go, the two of you?
This costume's cute~ [attached unfiltered face reveal selfie].
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I think it looks like I’m gonna be forced to go to Disney at 7am tomorrow. I'm dying.
Even though I always wear shirts at home, ever since the reported relationship with Tsuji-san's daughter, it's too awkward to wear this to rehearsal, so I'm wearing a t-shirt at home [attached "be: first sweater"].
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"This is just a thing in the morning, but even if you're wearing a cute dress, just your shoes are some lame local crap. I do not understand what you're thinking. Like, normally, someone would just wear white sneakers.
"Seriously, can't Ikuta hurry up and quit already—26 years old and whether it's a plane or the bullet train, she takes her shoes off and sits with her feet up on the seat." [Attached: Shoes]
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Interesting stuff.