Hitoshi Matsumoto is not even allowed to “just show his face”… He will not appear on the “Widener Show” and will effectively “silently” retire.

“He’s not going to appear after all!”

We can almost hear the public saying, “He’s not going to appear after all!

Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto has cancelled his appearance on Fuji Television’s “Widener Show” for the January 14 broadcast.

I’m going to appear on “Wide Nasho.

Some have pointed to Matsumoto’s “lack of courage,” but the truth seems to be a little different.

The “Shukan Bunshun” (weekly magazine) reported late last year that Matsumoto had been involved in a sexual scandal. In 2003, he held a drinking party with three women in a luxury hotel room, after which he reportedly engaged in sexual acts with them. Yoshimoto Kogyo, to which Matsumoto belongs, stated

Yoshimoto Kogyo, the company to which the celebrity belongs, denied the allegations, stating, “There are no such facts whatsoever, and the article in question is extremely damaging to the celebrity’s social reputation and defamatory of her reputation.

Yoshimoto Kogyo denied the allegations.

“We plan to consider legal action in the future.

The company then stated, “We will consider legal action in the future.

As the new year dawned, the situation moved even further.

The Weekly Bunshun, released on January 9, carried the testimonies of three new women, and following Kazutaka Ozawa of “Speed Wagon,” the names of junior comedians Kenji Tamura and Jun Kurose of “Punk Boo Boo” were mentioned as the people who gathered the women.

Matsumoto announced his suspension of entertainment activities through Yoshimoto Kogyo on August 8, when he was aware of a follow-up report in Bunshun. The reason was that he wanted to focus on the trial with Bunshun and others. At that time, Matsumoto said in X

I will fight it because it has no basis in fact. I’m going to appear on the Widener Show, including this.

I’m going to appear on the Wide-Na Show. The fact that the show was cancelled led some in the media to point out Matsumoto’s “bravery” in announcing his appearance on the Wide Naksho before he knew whether he would be able to appear or not, or that he was “privatizing the show,” but the reality is different.

After the Bunshun report, Matsumoto discussed the matter with the Wide Naksho staff, and the program was moving forward in the direction of having him appear on the show. In other words, Fuji was on board with Mr. Matsumoto from the beginning.

On top of that, Mr. Matsumoto posted on X, ‘I’m going to appear on the Widener Show. Therefore, it was not an act of courage on the part of Mr. Matsumoto, and it is impossible that some media outlets were “angry” at Mr. Matsumoto for taking matters into his own hands.

The reason for the cancellation of the appearance was, after all, public reaction.

The facts of the Bunshun report had not yet been confirmed, and since there were women who had complained of sexual abuse, there was a possibility that Matsumoto’s words alone could create secondary damage. Furthermore, there was a string of objections to the use of public airwaves to broadcast such a sensitive issue.

Matsumoto said on the 9th

《To greet my fans (who may or may not be there) before I go on hiatus. It’s just to show my face.

That is why Matsumoto toned it down.

In the end, the station decided that ‘it would be risky to release her now,’ and told Matsumoto’s side that she would not appear on the show. It would have spurred the sponsors away from the show.

Mr. Matsumoto was shocked to lose his last opportunity to show his face before going on hiatus. In a sense, the seriousness of the situation may have been truly expressed in the incident.

Thus, Matsumoto will no longer appear on the Wide Nah Show and, except for those already recorded, will disappear from the world of television.

The trial with Bunshun is expected to take as long as the number of women making accusations increases, and if there are appeals and appeals, it will “take nearly five years” to reach a verdict (according to a legal expert). It is honestly doubtful that Matsumoto will be able to maintain his motivation. According to a person involved in the comedy industry, “Matsumoto is back in the entertainment business.

I am worried about whether Matsumoto will be able to come back to show business. He will probably suffer from “Matsumoto loss” for a while, but after a year or two, he will get used to it.

In 2011, Shinsuke Shimada retired from the entertainment industry, which sent shockwaves through the industry, but the entertainment industry is still going around today. I hope Mr. Matsumoto doesn’t continue to effectively retire as well. ……” (Comedy insider)

The entertainment industry has been in upheaval since the beginning of the year. It seems that the turmoil will still continue. ……