Yuki Kimura (Yukipoyo) says sorry for drugs scandal by stripping off
As someone who has cultivated a gyaru “bad girl” persona as a model and celebrity, the fact that Yuki Kimura (aka Yukipoyo) is mixed up in drugs should shock no one.
She started as a model for legendary gyaru fashion magazine egg and also appeared on The Bachelor Japan (Amazon Prime) and then became a regular on TV variety shows. But the Japanese-Filipino’s career was almost derailed at the start of the year when it was (belatedly) reported that police in May 2020 had arrested a man she was with — presumed to be her lover — on drug charges. Yukipoyo was not charged or detained, but a tabloid magazine article in January claimed that she was also suspected of taking the drugs.
Drug allegations — even just a hint — are essentially a death sentence if you’re a mainstream celebrity in Japan. Issuing an apology tweet about her “immaturity,” Kimura then went quiet for two months amid speculation that she would leave the industry.
In fact, she was busy getting in shape and orchestrating her comeback. She returned to the public eye at the end of March.
She is now the face of Rizap, the gym chain that likes to hire celebrities without athletic bodies (though not exactly overweight either by North American or European standards) to show off how its speed-training program can have results. (Previous hires include AKB48’s Minami Minegishi.)
Yukipoyo has also released a new photo book in which she is semi-nude. So in effect, apologizing for the drugs scandal by stripping off. Shot in Okinawa, the book comes out on May 25.
A promotional spread is also published in the current issue of weekly gravure tabloid Friday, showcasing her newly toned body.
The 24-year-old Kimura is no stranger to stripping off for the cameras — this is her third photo book — and her past lingerie shoots include these stunners.
It’s a shame that she didn’t go the whole hog and strip fully nude. Angelica Michibata showed last year that this is the real way to make a comeback after a scandal. Well, we suspect this won’t be Yukipoyo’s last brush with controversy, so perhaps we can hope she goes further next time.
For more Yukipoyo pics, check out our tumblr page.
