While we thought our Maria Sharapova/Dentsu lawsuit headline, “Maria Sharapova’s Crotch A Key Element in Dentsu Lawsuit” was good, this one, “Make Every Shot, a Crotch Shot,” is pretty good too. We think Canon might like that word play on its “Make Every Shot A Powershot” tagline. Oddly, the Sharapova photo that has the world all aflutter was taken during a Canon photo shoot.
This is just too much fun. And it’s over nothing at all. It’s a stupid photo originally shared among co-workers and a cultural misunderstanding of what passes for normal behavior in Japan. We’re told the whole hot tub thing is as normal as being invited to play golf with your boss. And the crotch shot? It’s hardly a celebrity snatch shot the likes of Britney Spears or Paris Hilton sans underwear. Sharapova was fully clothed in tennis attire when the shot was taken. If she was worried about anyone seeing her underwear, she wouldn’t have been sitting the way she was in the photo. This is about as racy as a picture of a woman wearing a bikini while sitting on the beach.
Either there’s a part of the story that hasn’t been revealed yet or Steve Biegel is broke and needs some money. Before everyone labels us a sexist chauvinist, no, Dentsu’ Toyo Shigeta should not have taken the picture without Sharapova’s consent. No, Shigeta should not have forced Biegel to “get naked” for the hot tub. It seems clear, according to the suit, Shigeta did put Biegel in some awkward situations and then, because of Biegel’s complaints about being placed in those uncomfortable positions, basically ostracized the guy and, reportedly, fired him. Of course, Dentsu says the firing was based on performance, not the steamy details spelled out in the lawsuit.
Messy stuff but it’s not like there was any Shona Siefert-style invoicing trickery or other serious wrong doing. This is a simple case of possibly creepy boss offending possibly embarrassed subordinate. It happens all the time. This time it involved a celebrity. If it didn’t, would anyone really care about some old Japanese guy taking crotch shots and asking his subordinates to take a bath with him?
