It’s funny what can turn the public against you nowadays. For one of my J-Idols, Koda Kumi, the answer is…amniotic fluid. During a radio show interview on “All Night Nippon,” Kumi was casually talking about her manager who had gotten married, she began talking about her manager’s child-filled future, which is where the situation got a little…weird. “After a mother turns 35, her amniotic fluid becomes spoiled,” “True, true! It gets dirty. That’s why I want her to have a baby before she turns 35.”
That was it. The joke hit the blogs, hit mainstream media, and a furor took off. People were outraged at Kumi’s notion of “spoiled goods” post-35, and demanded an apology. Not only that, Avex (her record label) has ceased promotion for her album, and two advertising companies have already pulled out of deals with her.
All this from an off-handed, crudely worded comment about age and pregnancy. Apparently, some talk shows are hosting gynecologists to dispel the rumors of pregnancy at an older age.
Do I think what she said was wrong? Not especially. I think the point she was making was fairly uncontroversial…that once you reach a certain age, it can become dangerous to have children. Her wording is what gets me. I thought it was a Japanese translation that came off as really odd, but it wasn’t. Japanese outlets are agreeing that using “amniotic fluid” was one of the main, perplexing aspects of her comment. Despite that, the comment was nothing short of ill-wording and improvisation gone a bit fucked.
Kumi has since publicly apologized, but they ain’t having that. A sensitive bunch, aren’t they?