Ozawa won the Grand Prix prize at the Bacs Award 2013, which jump-started his acting career.[1] In November 2018, Ozawa left the boy band B2takes!!, and his graduation ceremony took place during the group's 6th anniversary concert.[2]
Following domestic abuse reports in December 2020, Ozawa was dismissed from his agency. Subsequently, he was removed from upcoming projects, including the stage play adaptations of Le Petit Prince and Night Flight.[3] The final episode of Kyouen NG [ja], which he co-starred in, was originally scheduled to broadcast on December 14, 2020, but was delayed to December 19.[4] In addition, his voice clips were removed from A3! and replaced by Tomoru Akazawa's.[5][6][7] In September 2021, Ozawa stated through an interview with Shukan Bunshun that he had no plans on returning to entertainment.[8] However, on October 8, 2022, Ozawa announced through his Twitter account that he was continuing his career.[9] On June 24, 2023, Ozawa announced that he had rejoined B2takes! and would be performing under the stage name Ozawaren (written in roman letters).[10]
Personal life
In December 2020, Shūkan Bunshun published allegations from his ex-girlfriend stating that Ozawa physically assaulted her throughout their 5-year relationship.[6] The two began dating in 2015, beginning from when his ex-girlfriend was 16 years old, and moved in together in Setagaya, Tokyo in 2019 until she moved out in September 2020. Ozawa's ex-girlfriend alleged that he assaulted her regularly, especially during sexual intercourse, and that he had once forced her into getting an abortion after she became pregnant.[6] On August 31, 2020, a neighbor called the police after hearing her being physically abused, but charges were not filed. On November 28, 2020, his ex-girlfriend attempted suicide before a friend intervened.[11] On December 14, 2020, AIS, Ozawa's agency, terminated his contract, stating that he confirmed the reports.[12] Ozawa issued a statement of regret on his Twitter account. He later followed up by denying his agency's statement and retweeting his lawyer but has since removed the tweets.[13]
After months of silence, Ozawa returned to Twitter on August 12, 2021, posting on his 30th birthday a formal apology for troubling fans and colleagues.[14] On August 30, 2021, through an interview with the magazine Weekly Josei Prime, Ozawa denied the allegations, saying that he never forced his ex-girlfriend into having an abortion nor hit her stomach, and their sexual acts consisted of BDSM with her consent.[15] He also stated that she had physically assaulted him and drew a kitchen knife against him on November 28, 2020 after he had tried to relocate.[15] Through an interview with Shūkan Bunshun, Ozawa also commented on the backlash regarding dating his ex-girlfriend when she was still a minor, stating that her family had given him consent to do so.[8]
^ abc"小澤廉のプロフィール" [Ren Ozawa's profile]. Oricon (in Japanese). March 15, 2017. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
^ ab""元恋人DV報道"小澤廉、アプリゲーム『A3!』声優降板 ボイス無音化で対応" [Mobile game A3! removes Ren Ozawa and mutes voice clips after domestic violence case with former spouse]. Oricon (in Japanese). December 18, 2020. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
^"小澤廉、古巣グループへの復帰報告「応援よろしくお願いします！」20年に元恋人へのDV報道で解雇も" [Ren Ozawa announces his return to his former group: "Please support me!", following his firing from a 2020 domestic abuse report to his ex-girlfriend]. Sports Nippon (in Japanese). June 24, 2023. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
^"植田圭輔、太田基裕、小澤廉ら出演「たびメイト」10月3日からTOKYO MXで" [Keisuke Ueda, Motohiro Ohta, Ren Ozawa, and others starring in "Tabimate" from October 3rd at TOKYO MX]. Natalie (in Japanese). August 31, 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
^"小澤廉と小園凌央がドラマ「あおざくら」で防大生役、本郷奏多らとルームメイトに" [Ren Ozawa and Ryo Kozono play the role of National Defense Academy in the drama "Aozakura", and become roommates with Kanata Hongo and others.]. Natalie (in Japanese). October 1, 2019. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
^"竜星涼主演の青春ファンタジームービー『マジックナイト』今夏公開!" [Youth fantasy movie "Magic Night" starring Ryo Ryusei will be released this summer!] (in Japanese). Oricon. April 30, 2014. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^"ミュージカル『薄桜鬼』新選組奇譚 上演決定！". Musical Hakuouki Official blog. October 22, 2015. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^"舞台『夢王国と眠れる100人の王子様 』第1弾キャラビジュアル公開" [The first character visual release of "100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams"]. Oricon (in Japanese). March 26, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^"OxTの仲良し共同生活描く「Everlasting Dream」MV、小澤廉が友情出演" [Ren Ozawa's friendship appearance in "Everlasting Dream" MV, which depicts OxT's friendship and communal life] (in Japanese). January 21, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^"荒牧慶彦・北村諒・小澤廉がSho-Comi男子演じる、求愛ドラマCDが3号連続付録に" [Courtship drama CD played by Sho-Comi boys Yoshihiko Aramaki, Ryo Kitamura, and Ren Ozawa is included in the third consecutive appendix]. Natalie (in Japanese). September 19, 2020. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
