People apparently just want the ever-young celebrity to act her age.

These days the list of things to be outraged about is pretty long. Some things are worth addressing, like racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism, but sometimes the things that people get riled up about, particularly when it comes to celebrities in Japan, are major head-scratchers. Putting your hands in your pockets when it’s cold outside? …How dare you? Tattooing your family’s names on your shoulder? For shame…?

Even fashion icon and superstar singer Ayumi Hamasaki, famous for dominating the Japanese pop music scene in the 2000s, is not immune. She’s been under fire by Korean fans before, but now Japanese fans are mad at her too. Why? Because she posted a photo of herself sitting in a shopping cart on Instagram.

The picture looks entirely harmless. Ayumi is sitting in a red shopping cart, with her knees folded in front of her, wearing stylish round sunglasses and casually dangling her wedge sandals over the edge of the cart. She’s smiling happily and looking like she’s having a great time, and since the picture is off-center, and the colors of the graffiti-painted buildings behind her are bright and vibrant, it’s actually a pretty artistic shot.

But Japanese netizens had nothing but criticism for the photo, according to livedoor news. Many thought posing like this was inappropriate for a 40-year-old woman. Since Hamasaki is an internationally renowned celebrity, she is a representative of Japan, and has an undeniable influence on the youth of Japan. Apparently, sitting in a shopping cart is shockingly immature behavior for a woman of her age and stature.

Interestingly, people seemed half-pleased that she had removed her shoes before climbing in–as a polite gesture to maintaining the cleanliness of the cart, perhaps?–but some said it was not enough, and she was still setting a bad example by being in the cart at all. “Shopping carts are not for riding!” some people allegedly criticized.

▼ She may be 40, but she certainly doesn’t look it!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx2A8WqhyY8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Hamasaki is not the only celebrity to be criticized for misusing shopping carts. In January of 2018, pro baseball player Sho Nakata uploaded a shot of himself being pushed around in a cart by his teammates during a practice camp in the U.S., and was also called “an embarrassment to Japanese people” as a result.

That picture was quickly deleted, but Hamasaki appears not to be deterred; she seems to have disabled comments, but the picture remains up and proud on her Instagram. Whether in defiance of the criticism or simply as an inspirational quote, the photo’s caption says, “Take a deep breath for my brain…And live ourselves lives, not others”, perhaps intending to mean, “Live your own life” or “Live for yourself”. So it seems clear that she won’t be deleting it any time soon.

Personally, I like the photo and I don’t think Ayumi is doing anything particularly worth getting worked up about. Though, I’m of the opinion that if you act young and actively enjoy life, you’ll feel younger, so I’m in favor of celebrities doing whatever makes them happy at any age, as long as it’s not hurting anyone.

Except X-Japan’s Yoshiki. He’s not allowed to play around on skateboards anymore.

Source: livedoor news via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Instagram/@a.you
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