Over the past year, politics has managed to poison much of everyone’s lives, seeping into entertainment both on TV and outside of our Monday-to-Friday rigamarole. The over-saturation reached a breaking point this week when former Kawasaki USA Public Relations Manager Kevin Allen told Reuters Wednesday during a telephone interview: ““Once we understood the concerns of American citizens, we have taken the approach of agreeing not to participate in the show in the future as long as Mr. Trump is involved as an executive producer.”
While “Kawasaki products appeared in the third episode of the series, as part of a placement deal brokered with MGM, which produces the series,” writes a report in entertainment magazine Variety – Allen’s words both misrepresented the truth of Trump’s near-nonexistent role in the show (in name credit only) and Kawasaki’s position, as the company’s association with the television program has already expired, presumably having paid “any integration fees it owed the production.”
This alone was enough for Kawasaki USA to take immediate action, announcing that Allen had been terminated from the company and that his statements were not in parallel with the company’s position, stating:
“Throughout its 50-year history in the United States, Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA, its subsidiaries and affiliates, have remained neutral in regards to American politics. Recently, published comments relating to The new Celebrity Apprentice and President-Elect Donald Trump’s involvement in the show attributed to a Kawasaki employee are a misrepresentation of the company’s position and the employee is no longer with the company.”
The announcement came as many threatened to leave Kawasaki over its partisanship, while others choosing to part ways with the brand for simply getting involved in the political arena. Thankfully, wiser minds prevailed: “The last thing I’m thinking about when I’m riding my Kawasaki is politics. I choose Team Green!” wrote commenter Jeff Knoll on Kawasaki USA’s Facebook page last night – and for the most part, most everyone commenting felt the same.
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