Olympic scandal: Curvy star should appear as a pig

Olympia scandal
Curvy-Star was supposed to appear as a hovering pig

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Great idea: The Japanese comedian and fashion designer Naomi Watanabe was supposed to appear in the stadium as "Olympig", a hovering pig, at the Olympics in Tokyo. Now the creative director packed his things.

How do you perfectly stage a recognized, curvy actress and fashion designer at the Olympic opening ceremony? Of course, you let her float into the arena as a pink pig. At least thought Hiroshi Sasaki, the ex-creative director of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Last year he made Naomi Watanabe an "Olympian" with his idea, as he joked in front of his colleagues in an internal chat. The whole thing has now been made public by Shukan Bunshun magazine and is causing outrage among many.

"Very inappropriate!"

That Naomi Watanabe is curvy only makes the whole thing more tasteless. Seiko Hashimoto, the new President of the Olympic Organizing Committee, agrees. She called Sasaki's remarks at a specially convened press conference "very inappropriate". In her opinion, something like this "should never have happened". And Sasaki himself? He resigns from his position and has since apologized to Naomi Watanabe. His idea and his words were a great insult and unforgivable, he says.

How does Naomi Watanabe react to the insults?

Pretty sovereign. In a statement released by her agency, the 33-year-old said she was surprised by Sasaki's statements and that she was comfortable with her body. She wishes that people would respect one another. We too, Sasakim, we too!

Not the first scandal at the Tokyo Olympics

The "Olympig-Gate" is not the first derailment that the Olympic Committee has afforded. Organization chief Yoshiro Mori recently resigned because of sexist comments. Hashimoto then took over the successor and now wants to campaign for equal rights for women. Well, at least a glimmer of hope …

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