Sanrio’s Director of Retail Business Development, Jill Koch, announced that Hello Kitty is not a cat, as most people have long believed.
Surprising news
Koch’s announcement has left many fans in disbelief. She further revealed that Hello Kitty is not Japanese but British, portraying her as a young girl from London, complete with a family and a pet cat named Charmmy Kitty.
“She’s a little girl who enjoys baking cookies and making friends,” Koch explained. “She weighs three apples and is five apples tall.”
Interestingly, Hello Kitty is always shown standing or sitting upright, never on all fours.
Fan reaction
The news has prompted a range of reactions from fans, with some expressing outrage and others struggling to come to terms with the information.
One fan on X wrote, “Hello Kitty is a cat in my eyes.” Another added, “It’s a girl cat and nothing will ever change my mind.” Some were sceptical, questioning the claim altogether:
“I’ve never seen a person with whiskers and cat ears. THAT IS A CAT AND I WON’T BE GASLIGHTED!”
Created by Sanrio designer Yuko Shimizu in 1974, Hello Kitty debuted on a children’s coin purse in 1975. Since then, she has become a global icon, generating over $80 billion for Sanrio. Shimizu was inspired to create Hello Kitty by a childhood gift, a white kitten she received from her father.
What do you think about this revelation?
