Avex Chairman Max Matsuura Attacked by Media After Unpleasant Comments to Female Celebrities
“I honestly don’t think much about it,”
That’s what the CEO of Avex, a major record company, said. Max Matsuura has been forced to apologize after a “slip of the tongue” incident.
The incident began with an article published on June 22 in Shukan Shincho. It is said that Mr. Matsuura repeatedly made derogatory remarks such as “ugly” and “hag” to famous celebrities including Ryoko Yonekura, Keiko Kitagawa, Satomi Ishihara, Kyoko Fukada, and Arai Nanao in response to viewers’ questions on his YouTube live distribution.
When this caused a controversy, Mr. Matsuura was forced to explain in a live-streaming session on March 23. Mr. Matsuura began by saying
“If you are really hurt by my comments, I apologize.”
He then became angry at Shukan Shincho for reporting his comments. People who saw the article thought so. There is such a thing as a malicious article.
He also mentioned that the Avex shareholder meeting was scheduled for the 24th.
He said, “They are deliberately trying to coincide with other people’s shareholder meetings.”
He continued by claiming that he had received a question from Shukan Shincho on the morning of the 22nd, but was unable to respond by the 5:00 p.m. deadline due to work commitments, and that he had to wait until the next day to respond.
He continued, “They told me to answer by 5:00 p.m. for their own convenience. Then they wrote an article as if I ran away. I can’t tolerate that kind of thing.”
They said, “You call it a ‘clipping,’ but if you check thoroughly, you will see that he meant what he said in the derogatory remark as it was. As for the shareholder meeting, Mr. Matsuura made the gaffe during a live broadcast on the 19th of this month.”
“If this was a few months ago, the “targeted” argument would be correct. In any case, although he has ostensibly apologized, it is clear that he is not sincere. It is a situation that is sure to cause further flare-ups.”
Matsuura’s tongue wagging is not limited to this occasion.
He has been openly fighting back against posts he didn’t like on Twitter for a long time, and at the end of 2007, he uploaded a lengthy text in favor of drugs, which became a problem. Even so, there is hardly anyone at Avex who can warn Mr. Matsuura.
The music industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. The company was no exception, falling into the red in terms of final profit in September 2020 consolidated interim financial results, and about 100 voluntary retirements were offered to 443 employees over the age of 40 in some parts of the music business and in indirect divisions.
The company’s building in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo, which Mr. Matsuura had built at the behest of the company, was sold to a Canadian real estate fund after only three years. Perhaps Matsuura’s “strings” were severed when he gave up the “sacred place” he had held since the company’s founding, and his freewheeling behavior has been accelerated ever since.
“He only shows up at morning meetings once in a while, and we hear the employees say, ‘It looks like he’s going fishing again.’”
“The employees are not outraged by this, but simply indifferent. The disparaging remarks this time are also not thought of in the same way, with the feeling of “Here we go again.””
Matsuura retired as CEO in 2008. He has since returned to the field of music production, but the process continues to be a trial-and-error affair.
Lately, he has become more of a YouTuber, and sometimes he suddenly does live broadcasts in a drunken stupor. According to a person who knows Mr. Matsuura.
“He is a person who usually makes harsh remarks (laughs). Some people have suggested that he may have been inspired by Yoshikazu Azumaya, a.k.a. “Gershi-ch” but This time, he put it out on YouTube, and unfortunately, the media got wind of it. I think Mr. Matsuura probably thinks that was a mistake, but I don’t think the fundamental part will change.” he says.
Mr. Matsuura, who is going his own way, is still updating his YouTube page even after the uproar.
Photo： Motoo Naka/Afro
