The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee fired the opening director on Thursday because he made a mass murder joke in a 1998 comedy show.

The chairman of the organizing committee Hashimoto Seiko said that the opening ceremony director Kentaro Kobayashi has been removed. He was accused of using jokes about the Holocaust in his comedy performances, including the phrase “Let’s Play the Holocaust” in one of his shows.

He was fired on Friday the day before the opening ceremony of the Olympics was postponed due to the pandemic.

Earlier this week, a composer who was expected to use his music at the opening ceremony was forced to resign after bullying his classmates in the past, which he boasted in a magazine interview.