Kumi Koda comment goes "rotten," suspended for month

Tokyograph News · 02-02-2008, 09:01 PM

Pop star Kumi Koda has found herself in trouble after making a careless remark on a radio show earlier this week. As a result, Koda will be putting all of her activities on hold for the time being.

The comment came on Tuesday night while Koda was hosting "All Night Nippon." The topic of her manager's marriage came up, and Koda was asked about when her manager was planning to have children. She made a seemingly light-hearted reply that "when women turn 35, their amniotic fluid goes rotten, so I'd like them to have a child by 35."

The inaccurate statement sparked a lot of criticism among listeners, particularly on the internet. Koda issued a public apology on Friday through the websites of Nippon Broadcasting System and Avex, but the damage had already been done. Cosmetics firm KOSE has temporarily removed her presence from its Visee site, and promotional events for her new album "Kingdom" have all been canceled. Koda was also scheduled to appear on a Tokyo FM show on Saturday, but she has been replaced by fellow Avex artist Ami Suzuki.

However, some of her television appearances will go on as planned, such as the already-recorded "Koi no Kara Sawagi" on Saturday and "Tetsuko no Heya" on Thursday.

According to Avex, the length of Koda's self-suspension has not yet been decided but is expected to last until the end of this month. Koda has a national tour scheduled to start in April, so she hopes to resume activities in time for rehearsals in mid-March.

Link to article

02-03-2008, 12:32 AM

Avex should just drop her off the label's roster already.

02-03-2008, 12:59 AM

how stupid can she be? and Nakai was supposed to be marrying her in July?

doinkies · 02-03-2008, 08:32 PM

As I said on another forum:

I can understand why people would be offended at this remark, especially the female audience (and especially women in their 30s or close to approaching their 30s). I'm not surprised that she'd get suspended for a month. Some people on certain forums were all "WAAH IT WAS JUST A JOKE WHY R AVEX SO ST00PID IF THIS HAPPNED IN TEH US SHE'D BE OK BUT JAPAN IS DOINKY". However, I feel that those sorts of "jokes" should be kept in private and not said in a public venue like a radio show. Honestly, if a celebrity said something like that in the U.S., it would offend people too.

**migimaru** · 02-03-2008, 10:21 PM

I agree - a lot of people don't realize how bad comments like these are. I imagine it's harder for men and younger women to relate.

It's also understandable that KOSE doesn't want to be associated with her right now. I mean, if you were a woman over 35, would you want to buy cosmetics being promoted by someone who basically just told you your womb was rotten?

03-25-2008, 06:22 PM

Either way, I can understand why people are taking it so seriously, but it truly was only a joke aimed towards her manager. The media has blown it completely out of proportion. Had it been Ayumi who said something similiar, I doubt people would be so criticizing.

People say dumb things - things they don't mean to let slip, but do. Why should Kumiko be expected to have no faults? She's still human and we have to give her that.

02-02-2008, 09:01 PM	#1
Tokyograph News Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 11	Kumi Koda comment goes "rotten," suspended for month Pop star Kumi Koda has found herself in trouble after making a careless remark on a radio show earlier this week. As a result, Koda will be putting all of her activities on hold for the time being. The comment came on Tuesday night while Koda was hosting "All Night Nippon." The topic of her manager's marriage came up, and Koda was asked about when her manager was planning to have children. She made a seemingly light-hearted reply that "when women turn 35, their amniotic fluid goes rotten, so I'd like them to have a child by 35." The inaccurate statement sparked a lot of criticism among listeners, particularly on the internet. Koda issued a public apology on Friday through the websites of Nippon Broadcasting System and Avex, but the damage had already been done. Cosmetics firm KOSE has temporarily removed her presence from its Visee site, and promotional events for her new album "Kingdom" have all been canceled. Koda was also scheduled to appear on a Tokyo FM show on Saturday, but she has been replaced by fellow Avex artist Ami Suzuki. However, some of her television appearances will go on as planned, such as the already-recorded "Koi no Kara Sawagi" on Saturday and "Tetsuko no Heya" on Thursday. According to Avex, the length of Koda's self-suspension has not yet been decided but is expected to last until the end of this month. Koda has a national tour scheduled to start in April, so she hopes to resume activities in time for rehearsals in mid-March. Link to article

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02-03-2008, 12:32 AM	#2
Unregistered Posts: n/a	Avex should just drop her off the label's roster already.

02-03-2008, 12:59 AM	#3
Unregistered Posts: n/a	how stupid can she be? and Nakai was supposed to be marrying her in July?

02-03-2008, 08:32 PM	#4
doinkies Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 16	As I said on another forum: I can understand why people would be offended at this remark, especially the female audience (and especially women in their 30s or close to approaching their 30s). I'm not surprised that she'd get suspended for a month. Some people on certain forums were all "WAAH IT WAS JUST A JOKE WHY R AVEX SO ST00PID IF THIS HAPPNED IN TEH US SHE'D BE OK BUT JAPAN IS DOINKY". However, I feel that those sorts of "jokes" should be kept in private and not said in a public venue like a radio show. Honestly, if a celebrity said something like that in the U.S., it would offend people too.

02-03-2008, 10:21 PM	#5
migimaru ミギ丸 Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 736	I agree - a lot of people don't realize how bad comments like these are. I imagine it's harder for men and younger women to relate. It's also understandable that KOSE doesn't want to be associated with her right now. I mean, if you were a woman over 35, would you want to buy cosmetics being promoted by someone who basically just told you your womb was rotten?

03-25-2008, 06:22 PM	#6
Xenobia4 Posts: n/a	Either way, I can understand why people are taking it so seriously, but it truly was only a joke aimed towards her manager. The media has blown it completely out of proportion. Had it been Ayumi who said something similiar, I doubt people would be so criticizing. People say dumb things - things they don't mean to let slip, but do. Why should Kumiko be expected to have no faults? She's still human and we have to give her that.