AKB dramz

[eri]

http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-6158

AKB48 management seeks 150 million yen in lawsuit

Tue, June 1, 2010 (10:20am EDT)

AKS, the management company behind the popular idol group AKB48, has filed a lawsuit against publisher Bungeishunju, which puts out the magazine Shukan Bunshun. It has been learned that AKS is seeking more than 150 million yen in damages caused by an article published in February.



The lawsuit was launched in response to an article in Shukan Bunshun's February 18 issue, which alleged that AKS president Yasushi Kubota had an inappropriate relationship with member Mariko Shinoda (24).



In the first court hearing, held on Tuesday, AKS called the article completely groundless and asserted that it has had a serious effect on the group's activities. Bungeishunju, however, has expressed confidence in their publication of the story.

[fpd]

By inappropriate do they just mean had sex with, or pressured into sex/raped? Don't really see the issue if it was consensual and not about her job at all. :/ (I can certainly see her feeling pressured to have sex with the guy even if he didn't overtly say anything though.)

[Milly]

Wow, I had expected them to go for a settlement with the magazine.



This is bad publicity whether they win or lose.



[quote name='fpd' post='80468' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:34 AM']By inappropriate do they just mean had sex with, or pressured into sex/raped? Don't really see the issue if it was consensual and not about her job at all. :/[/quote]

Shinoda is one of the oldest members in the group and according to the magazine it was consentual. However I've seen AKB48 on several tv-shows saying there's a strict no boyfriend rule. So it would be pretty bad for their image if one of the most popular members was dating the boss.



A while back, one of their members (Kikuchi Ayaka) got caught with a boyfriend, kicked out of the group, later re-auditioned and is now a member again. So the rule is not that strict, I guess.

[Special Needs Tricycle]

Maybe they should tell their members to stop fucking their way to the top if they don't want magazines writing about it.

[momoirosaya]

....It's like Ai (Takahashi) having an affair with Tsunku. (Because of the age, other wise Takahashi=Atsuko popularity wise)

[eri]

[quote name='fpd' post='80468' date='Jun 2 2010, 12:34 AM']Don't really see the issue if it was consensual and not about her job at all. :/ (I can certainly see her feeling pressured to have sex with the guy even if he didn't overtly say anything though.)[/quote]

Not about her job?? 24 year old idol in mind-numbingly anonymous group giving sexual favors to a 54 year old, ugly, producer? How can anyone seriously think it otherwise??



Also, consent means nothing here. What is "consent" when one party is vastly more powerful than the other? When she might think her career depended on doing whatever he asked her? Direct rape is just one end of the spectrum of sexual violence. It is an entirely unequal relationship and she generally has no power to say no.



Another problem is how it screws things up professionally even if she exchanged sexual favors willingly. The entertainment world is unfair and cutthroat and many girls would feel obliquely pressured to similarly slut it up to gain prominence. What then would the message be to the MANY AKB girls well under 24 years?



There are tons of issues.

[al kusanagi]

Sayu starts writing for Friday. A major AKB scandal breaks out. Coincidence?

[Ap2000]

[quote name='fpd' post='80468' date='Jun 2 2010, 08:34 AM']By inappropriate do they just mean had sex with, or pressured into sex/raped? Don't really see the issue if it was consensual and not about her job at all. :/ (I can certainly see her feeling pressured to have sex with the guy even if he didn't overtly say anything though.)[/quote]



I doubt it was pressured... because that way he should have choosen one of the pretty girls. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... popper.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



I'm surprised this took so long for the AKB guys to take any action against it.

Wether and under what circumstances this happened we of course can not know, but it's morally questionable either way.

[Haru]

[quote name='Milly' post='80469' date='Jun 2 2010, 12:32 PM'][quote name='fpd' post='80468' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:34 AM']By inappropriate do they just mean had sex with, or pressured into sex/raped? Don't really see the issue if it was consensual and not about her job at all. :/[/quote]

Shinoda is one of the oldest members in the group and according to the magazine it was consentual. However I've seen AKB48 on several tv-shows saying there's a strict no boyfriend rule. So it would be pretty bad for their image if one of the most popular members was dating the boss.

[/quote]



Stark difference between boyfriend and having sex though, especially if it's with your producer.



I just googled Mariko. She looks like a cross between Yurina, Konkon and Eri. All of those girls are pretty, but not rolled all together. XD

[michikodesu]

Well, my thing is, that the magazine is standing confident in what they wrote. Most magazines will just back down and settle out of court or something like that; but they're standing on what they wrote.

Interesting........................... <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... cratch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />

[Kaworu]

[quote name='eri' post='80493' date='Jun 3 2010, 01:12 AM'][quote name='fpd' post='80468' date='Jun 2 2010, 12:34 AM']Don't really see the issue if it was consensual and not about her job at all. :/ (I can certainly see her feeling pressured to have sex with the guy even if he didn't overtly say anything though.)[/quote]

Not about her job?? 24 year old idol in mind-numbingly anonymous group giving sexual favors to a 54 year old, ugly, producer? How can anyone seriously think it otherwise??





[/quote]



Yup, only that AKB48 is really not anonymous anymore. At all.



Their latest single just got released last week and they sold 500k copies in 4 days...



Well, if AKS is confident that there is no proof to any of the accusations and they're willing to go to court and have a huge public scandal about an article that was written months ago and that didn't have any strong repercussions for the group, at least sales-wise, maybe they're right and she didn't have sex or anything with him.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='Kaworu' post='80529' date='Jun 3 2010, 10:34 PM']Yup, only that AKB48 is really not anonymous anymore. At all.



Their latest single just got released last week and they sold 500k copies in 4 days...



Well, if AKS is confident that there is no proof to any of the accusations it might be true and they're willing to go to court and have a huge public scandal about an article that was written months ago and that didn't have any strong repercussions for the group, at least sales-wise, maybe she didn't have sex or anything with him.[/quote]



I think eri meant "anonymous" in the sense that the AKB girls seem more like a group than a collaboration of unique girls. (I'm not saying there are no unique girls in AKB, I like several songs of them, I'm just saying what the general impression seems to be)

[eri]

Thanks AP - that was my intended meaning.



I don't really follow AKB and this all sort of reeks of typical entertainment sleaziness and all...

but somehow I found it really sad and disturbing.



My sister-in-law is trying to break into Hollywood stuff so, all these types of scandals strike me in a new way.

[Kaworu]

^Oh, ok.



In any case Mariko Shinoda is one of the girls with more "solo recognition" out of the whole group. From what I know she's one of the girls that have more appearances by herself on variety shows and she also has a lot of magazine spreads. She's also definitely on the top 5 of most popular girls in the whole group.



I do understand though that it would be absolutely really sad if any of the girls were actually involved in sexual favours in exchange for attention from the management. I really hope this whole story is not true.

[FY08]

[quote name='Special Needs Tricycle' post='80472' date='Jun 3 2010, 01:35 AM']Maybe they should tell their members to stop fucking their way to the top if they don't want magazines writing about it.[/quote]



Maybe you should pull out your head from Tsunku's ass instead...

[Special Needs Tricycle]

[quote name='FY08' post='80560' date='Jun 4 2010, 09:05 AM'][quote name='Special Needs Tricycle' post='80472' date='Jun 3 2010, 01:35 AM']Maybe they should tell their members to stop fucking their way to the top if they don't want magazines writing about it.[/quote]



Maybe you should pull out your head from Tsunku's ass instead...

[/quote]

u mad

[eri]

[quote name='Kaworu' post='80549' date='Jun 3 2010, 11:06 PM']^Oh, ok.



In any case Mariko Shinoda is one of the girls with more "solo recognition" out of the whole group. From what I know she's one of the girls that have more appearances by herself on variety shows and she also has a lot of magazine spreads. She's also definitely on the top 5 of most popular girls in the whole group.



I do understand though that it would be absolutely really sad if any of the girls were actually involved in sexual favours in exchange for attention from the management. I really hope this whole story is not true.[/quote]



Yeah but it is like...

is "Mariko Shinoda" a household name? Or is she only popular vis-a-vis other girls in AKB?



Also, why isn't FY08 banned yet? Every post is basically garbage.

[Haru]

[quote name='FY08' post='80560' date='Jun 4 2010, 09:05 AM'][quote name='Special Needs Tricycle' post='80472' date='Jun 3 2010, 01:35 AM']Maybe they should tell their members to stop fucking their way to the top if they don't want magazines writing about it.[/quote]



Maybe you should pull out your head from Tsunku's ass instead...

[/quote]



Maybe you should pull your's out of Yasushi's.



I know nothing about any members of AKB48. Except for this Mariko chick, and the fact they have a member who looks like Maimai.

[aine]

This PV's intro is not going to help their case too much... (that's their newest single if I'm not mistaken)



I certainly did warm up to AKB, partly through exposure, partly through seeing them live, and partly just because a lot of their songs are simply good. But in almost everything they do there's this factor of sleaze lurking in the shadow (and sometimes prancing around in broad sunlight). It makes me dread to think what their inner workings really are. And it turns 99.999% of their fans into braindead drooling monkeys whom I despise with furious anger (read in Samuel Lee Jackson's voice). Even the most adventurous stuff H!P has ever released seems immaculately chaste next to it.



[quote name='eri' post='80493' date='Jun 3 2010, 06:12 AM']Also, consent means nothing here. What is "consent" when one party is vastly more powerful than the other? When she might think her career depended on doing whatever he asked her? Direct rape is just one end of the spectrum of sexual violence. It is an entirely unequal relationship and she generally has no power to say no.[/quote]

Indeed. Everyone who doesn't know or is forgetting about the superior/subordinate relationship between the producer and the product idol has no idea what they are talking about. Many if not most jurisdictions criminalize the abuse of the position of authority, also in this kind of context. Many medium and bigger companies regulate it internally as well, mine notwithstanding - should a relationship develop between employees of different level but from the same department, it needs to be reported to the higher management so necessary steps can be taken: from transferring one of them to other duties/department, to contract termination. On one hand, I do rage at such stepping into people's private lives (at least on paper), on the other hand though, you can't underestimate the possible conflict of interest and the impact it could have on the rest of the team/company/idol group.



[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='80494' date='Jun 3 2010, 06:17 AM']Sayu starts writing for Friday. A major AKB scandal breaks out. Coincidence?[/quote]

Huh what, did I miss something?



[quote name='FY08' post='80560' date='Jun 4 2010, 02:05 PM']Maybe you should pull out your head from Tsunku's ass instead...[/quote]

Maybe I should just stick to banning idiots on the spot and not wasting time with the "one last chance" crap...

[Ap2000]

Oh boy, what a musicvideo ! haha

Anyway, they're not the only group to do such naughty stuff.

[al kusanagi]

[quote name='aine' post='80578' date='Jun 4 2010, 03:51 PM'][quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='80494' date='Jun 3 2010, 06:17 AM']Sayu starts writing for Friday. A major AKB scandal breaks out. Coincidence?[/quote]

Huh what, did I miss something?



[/quote]



Sayumi wrote an article for Friday about the recent trip overseas (HK I think it was) for that helper dog promotion they did.

[Haru]

[quote name='aine' post='80578' date='Jun 4 2010, 03:51 PM'][quote name='FY08' post='80560' date='Jun 4 2010, 02:05 PM']Maybe you should pull out your head from Tsunku's ass instead...[/quote]

Maybe I should just stick to banning idiots on the spot and not wasting time with the "one last chance" crap...

[/quote]



I didn't mean for you to do that, lol. I was just joking.



@Al, what do you mean by helper dog? The one with Jun/Lin/Risa/Ai, or the one where they're all wearing blue overalls and making me feel Southern again? The latter, I'm pretty sure was Japanese. I know the former was Chinese though.



And yeah, the Ponytail to Shushu PV is...interesting.



ETA; Anyone notice how that dog has that I CAN'T UNSEE WHAT I HAVE JUST SEE look?

[Shoujo Q]

[quote name='Haru' post='80601' date='Jun 5 2010, 10:44 AM'][quote name='aine' post='80578' date='Jun 4 2010, 03:51 PM'][quote name='FY08' post='80560' date='Jun 4 2010, 02:05 PM']Maybe you should pull out your head from Tsunku's ass instead...[/quote]

Maybe I should just stick to banning idiots on the spot and not wasting time with the "one last chance" crap...

[/quote]



I didn't mean for you to do that, lol. I was just joking.



@Al, what do you mean by helper dog? The one with Jun/Lin/Risa/Ai, or the one where they're all wearing blue overalls and making me feel Southern again? The latter, I'm pretty sure was Japanese. I know the former was Chinese though.



And yeah, the Ponytail to Shushu PV is...interesting.



ETA; Anyone notice how that dog has that I CAN'T UNSEE WHAT I HAVE JUST SEE look?

[/quote]



It's all related. They were wearing the blue outfits (I thought of them as jumpsuits) as a promotion for the helper dogs. Which is all related to the Shanghai Expo. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />

[Haru]

Ohhhh.

Dammit, here I thought it was Japanese.



But hmm, either way, now that I think about it, that is a little hinky...I'm sure it's not for real, but one can never assume these things...



ETA

Sayumi Michishige has angered fans after admitting that she was a fan of AKB48. It's no secret that H!P and AKB48 fans aren't on the best of terms and this comment only added more fuel to the fire. Fans stormed her blog and left comments such as "you like AKB,don't you? So please resign from Momusu and join to AKB" and "You should not say such words like "AKB48"". No word on whether or not she will make an official apology to her fans.

http://community.livejournal.com/aramatheydidnt/865457.html



...

[al kusanagi]

When did she do that? In her blog she always just says "other idols."

[Hana]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1yIvuytEB0

[mrsross]

Sayumi Michishige has angered fans after admitting that she was a fan of AKB48. It's no secret that H!P and AKB48 fans aren't on the best of terms and this comment only added more fuel to the fire. Fans stormed her blog and left comments such as "you like AKB,don't you? So please resign from Momusu and join to AKB" and "You should not say such words like "AKB48"". No word on whether or not she will make an official apology to her fans.

http://community.livejournal.com/aramatheydidnt/865457.html



...

About this whole Sayumi loving AKB48 drama, even though I don't like AKB48 that much, I respect what she likes and I still love her.

[Special Needs Tricycle]

The only part that upsets me is that she didn't say Idoling!!! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' /> WHAT HAPPENED, SAYU. I THOUGHT YOU HAD TASTE.



Oh and Japanese wotas are dumb. Cool shocking revelation there.



I also wouldn't doubt that a lot of the people flaming Sayu don't even like her in the first place just using it as ammo against her. Hardcore wotas tend to develop extreme hatred for some members along with their extreme love for their favorites. :X Sayu's had trolls on her blog since the day she opened it.

[Milly]

Sayu likes Idolling. Sayu likes Berryz Koubou. Sayu likes C-ute. Sayu likes Smileage. Sayu likes AKB48.



The fact that some wota are upset now because AKB48 sells better than Morning Musume just shows how sad some of them are. If she had said this two-three years ago when AKB48 sold less than Morning Musume nobody would have batted an eye at this.

[Kaworu]

Yeah, totally. One of the other really popular girls of AKB has stated since the beggining that her childhood dream was to be a part of MM and that she loves H!P and nothing happens.