- The Tokyo
Olympics creative chief resigned after suggesting a plus-sized fashion icon could play an "Olympig." - This is not the first controversy to the rock the top levels of the Olympic committee.
- In February, Tokyo Olympics President Yoshiro Mori resigned after having made sexist comments about women.
The creative chief of the Tokyo Olympics, Hiroshi Sasaki, has resigned after derogatory and sexist comments he made in 2020 about a Japanese entertainer came to light.
In his role, Sasaki had been in charge of the Games' opening and closing ceremony. He had suggested that Naomi Watanabe, a plus-size Japanese entertainer, could play a role as an "Olympig."
According to a report from the weekly Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun, Sasaki had suggested that Watanabe be lowered from the ceiling in a pink outfit while sticking her tongue out, the South China Morning Post reported. Sasaki is quoted in the magazine as saying it "would make her look charming," per the SCMP.
In a resignation statement released through the Olympic Games early on Thursday morning, Sasaki acknowledged that his comments were "very inappropriate."
"I sincerely apologize to her and people who have felt discomfort with such contents," Sasaki said. The International Olympic Committee did immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this story.
Naomi Watanabe shot to international fame in 2008 for lip-synching to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love." She's since acquired a massive online following; with 9.3 million Instagram followers, she's Japan's most-followed person. The 33-year-old is also known for being outspoken on topics including body image and the perception of women in media.
Watanabe addressed the topic in a 2018 Financial Times profile. "People always say I'll lose my job if I lost weight. I just happen to be fat now, but I don't have to be fat to be me," Watanabe told the FT's Kana Inagaki. "I want people to see me as a person, not for my physique. It also shouldn't matter if I am a man or a woman."
Watanabe did not immediately reply to Insider's request for comment for this story.
This is not the first controversy to rock the upper levels of the Tokyo Olympics committee. In February, Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo Olympics, resigned after making sexist remarks about women. In a meeting with the Japanese Olympic Committee, Mori said women "talk too much."
The Games are slated to begin on July 23, 2021.