P&G has removed the YouTube videos for its Bold Gel Ball 4D laundry detergent that feature the TV personality Matt, after a second magazine report on an allegation of non-consensual sex. The commercials had aired nationwide since September 17, with Matt playing a pink bird character alongside timelesz member Fuma Kikuchi and his father, the former Yomiuri Giants pitcher Masumi Kuwata.
The allegation first appeared in the electronic edition of Weekly Bunshun on the 28th of last month. Matt, 32, denied it the same day through Rose world, the company behind his produced brand, saying in a statement that he and his lawyer "clearly deny" the conduct described and that the company, on the facts it knew at the time, understood no such act occurred.
Bunshun returned to the story in its issue released on the 5th, carrying fresh testimony from the person who says she was assaulted and messages said to have been exchanged with Matt on the Line messaging app. The magazine maintained that non-consensual sex took place, putting it at odds with Matt's blanket denial.
Videos gone by the 7th
The videos could still be viewed on the 5th, the day the second report came out, and had disappeared by the 7th. An advertising agency source told Tokyo Sports that detergent commercials face especially strict screening because they need a clean image, and that Matt's side had held firm in denying the allegation after the first report. The source said the specific Line exchanges in the follow-up likely prompted the decision to delete the videos.
P&G did not answer questions about its use of Matt. Asked several times after the first report, the company replied each time that it would pass the inquiry to the person in charge but could not say whether a call back would follow.
Matt continues to call the report groundless. An entertainment industry source told the paper that Bunshun is still preparing further coverage and that the client had probably put risk management first.
No charge has been brought and no court has ruled on the allegation.