[Uknow!]

Men like him are full of pride and entitlement. They joke about all sorts of things without being aware that they are doing anything wrong.
At the same time, this pride comes from their insecurity. Max is an ugly old man who once discovered great artists. Now times are moving on and in the industry, he is neither able to create something as successful as before nor to find a niche. People like him don't want to grow old, they think they are eternally young and it's the opposite, their stale mentality is what makes them older.
That's why they are always criticising and trying to please a specific audience.

The problem is that people like him, there are too many of them, and we all have one or two in our families. In the end, you put up with them, because you have to live with them. Maybe something similar happens to Ayu, except that there will be parts of him that he respects and loves.

Right now I consider Ayu's most problematic relationship to be with Urata Naoya, and I don't quite understand why she supports him.

Considering that she has "punished" other men in the industry like Tetsuya Komuro for their bad behaviour towards women.