Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
XG producer Simon Jakops unfortunately made news recently with his drug arrest for alleged possession of cocaine and weed. Since then, much more disturbing allegations have been made in Shukan Bunshun, as the XGALX CEO has been accused of verbally and physically abusing employees.
According to reports by Bunshun, SIMON’s alleged abuse of power toward employees had “long become a norm” within the company and was described as a serious internal issue.
One source claimed that he would often intimidate and verbally abuse staff.
“If we made a mistake or he simply got irritated, he would slam the table or throw plastic bottles on the floor to startle us. He would also get close to us and intimidate us, saying things like, ‘Go die, are you kidding me?’ or using crude expressions like ‘F*ck.‘ Sometimes he cursed at us using extremely vulgar Korean insults.”
The source also alleged that the behavior escalated beyond verbal intimidation.
“Some staff members were even physically attacked — he kicked people and even hit them in the head. He would usually apologize after getting angry, but would repeat the behavior again later.”
As a result of these types of actions, it’s reported that there’s been high turnover among staff, with at least 10 leaving.
Additionally, it’s claimed that he essentially used funds inappropriately for partying and alcohol, that he had disputes over song credits and income distribution, and had ongoing conflicts with external staff/production.
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On one hand, Bunshun is still a tabloid and the period after a drug bust in Japan is an ideal time for score settling. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean there can’t be truth to it, and really none of this could possibly surprise anybody involved with the industry by now.
The sad thing is I find basically every allegation in here morally worse than the personal drug use, but this is likely to get a lot less attention and resolution as the focus will be on whether he and his cohorts will get jailed for possession instead.
