[6] On January 31, 2013, the weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun reported that she had spent a night at the apartment of Alan Shirahama with a member of the boy band Generations from Exile Tribe.

On the same day, the AKB48 official channel published a video of Minegishi with her head shaved (or more accurately reduced to a crew cut[8]), apologizing to her fans for her "thoughtless behavior" and hoping that the management would let her stay in the group, with other members that she loved.

[9] In the YouTube statement, Minegishi explained that she cut her hair in a state of shock induced by reading the Shukan Bunshun scoop, when she could not calm down.

"[11][12] Numerous international media reported this incident, including Agence France-Presse,[13] BBC,[10] CNN,[14] Daily News,[15] The Guardian,[16] ABC,[17] The Huffington Post,[18] Radio Programas del Perú,[19] Aftonbladet,[20] Spiegel Online,[21] Al Jazeera English[22] and the Manila Bulletin.

[27] Her graduation song, "Mata Aeru Hi Made" (また会える日まで, "Until The Day We Meet Again"), was included in AKB48's 57th single "Shitsuren, Arigatō", released on March 18, 2020.