Hello Kitty is not a cat, Sanrio says, sparking fan anger

The character has a boyfriend and has her own pet cat, named Charmmy Kitty.

“So if shes a little girl, how come her head is cat shaped?” one commenter wrote on YouTube.

That sentiment was found across social media platforms as fans expressed playful disbelief.

“I can’t believe I’m being gaslit into thinking that’s not a cat. It’s a cat and it’s been a cat all my childhood,” a person wrote on X. On the same thread, someone else wrote, “That’s like saying Peppa Pig is not a pig but a girl.”

On Facebook, users would not accept that Hello Kitty isn’t a feline, even going so far as to call it “blasphemy.”

“You can’t change our minds this late in the game. She’s a cat. Keropi is a frog … and so on,” one person wrote on Thursday. Then another person said, “I don’t care what anyone says. You’re not stealing my childhood. That’s it the END!”

Despite fans’ surprise, this week was not the first time Hello Kitty was identified as a human child.

Anthropologist and Hello Kitty expert Christine R. Yano told the Los Angeles Times in 2014, “She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. … She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature.”

Back then, social media users were also stunned. “The world is crumbling before my eyes,” wrote one person.

Hello Kitty’s British, human storyline originates from the mid-1970s, when Sanrio, the Japanese toymaker, promoted her to Japanese women who admired Britain.

According to the company, her real name is Kitty White and she was born on Nov. 1 in the London suburbs. She is a third-grader who enjoys making new friends, traveling and eating cookies.

Unlike many popular characters, Hello Kitty didn’t originate from a television show, movie or comic book. Her image started appearing on products in 1974, and her massive audience has grown since. The company says her trademark character is on about 50,000 products sold across 130 countries.

Singer Katy Perry has a tattoo of Hello Kitty on a finger. There’s been a Hello Kitty float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for several years. Fans can visit the Hello Kitty Land theme park in Tokyo. This weekend, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is releasing a limited-edition Hello Kitty ice cream flavor, to coincide with National Ice Cream Day on Sunday.

Last month, at a state banquet speech celebrating Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s visit to Buckingham Palace, King Charles gave Hello Kitty a special birthday greeting.

“Raised in a London suburb with her twin sister, a self-made entrepreneur worth billions of dollars, and a UNICEF Children’s Ambassador on top of all that,” the royal said. “So I can only wish a very happy birthday to … Hello Kitty!”

Despite the uproar over Hello Kitty’s identity, Cook, the director at Sanrio, said her purpose has remained the same for half a century: “Her core message is friendship, kindness and inclusivity.”