YOU HAVE HATE MAIL, BADMINTON COURTING RUMOURS, PINKY'S DENIAL

Anti-James site

Actress Janie Tienphosuwan and superstar Jirayu ''James'' Tangsrisuk have joined the ranks of performers with hate sites dedicated to them.

Janie's marriage to millionaire businessman Chonsawat ''Ae'' Asavahame early this month appears to have gone down poorly with the public. Critics say they feel sorry for Ae's former wife, and wonder if Janie did it for the money.

One netizen unhappy about the pair's lightning marriage created a Facebook page called ''Confident that at least 1 million Thais hate Janie''.

At the time of writing it has attracted 6,100 ''likes'', which falls far short of its founder's expectations.

A hate site created about the same time to vent criticism of actor James is doing much better, attracting almost 15,000 ''likes'' at the time of writing.

James is under fire after he turned down a request by actress and former model Sujira ''Nui'' Arunpipat that he pose with her for a fan photograph.

After Nui revealed that James had given her the brush-off, members of his fanclub left nasty messages about her on her Facebook site, making her cry.

Nui

The anti-James backlash has since begun, with netizens sympathetic to her plight _ and perhaps upset about James' meteoric rise to fame _ creating the so-called ''Anti James'' hate site in his honour.

James has apologised for the ''misunderstanding'' with Nui over the incident, to little avail. James said he declined to have his picture taken because he was wearing only his underwear, and looked indecent.

Last week, director Yuthtana ''Pa Jaew'' Lopanpaibul stepped into the saga, urging his fans to show more restraint.

Pa Jeaw, who directed the TV soap Supap Buruth Jutathep in which James shot to fame, cautioned James' fans about making life awkward for others in the industry.

''There's no need to take sides or protect him so avidly. He's not an angel, but can make mistakes like everyone else,'' he said.

Pa Jaew, James

Meanwhile, TV presenter Kanchai ''Noom'' Kamnerdploi is defending a photograph in which he and a group of fellow performers appear wearing boxer shorts, ridiculing James. Nui appears in the middle, looking shocked.

Some reports say the picture, and a message which Noom left on the popular web board pantip.com in which he called the image a mere prank, gave rise to the anti-James website.

Noom, however, insists he is a fan of both James and Nui, and does not want his fans to get carried away. 

Noom and his mates

''It's common for entertainers to tease each other,'' he said. ''We took the photograph to cheer up Nui, not to take sides.

''I wouldn't like to think that, as a result of fanclub criticism, James' seniors in the industry have to go around giving him a wai every time we see him.''

Meanwhile, Janie and Ae last week braved widespread public dislike of their marriage to go out publicly for the first time.

The couple registered their marriage on Aug 8 after a furtive five-month romance. Ae's former wife, singer Nantida Kaewbuasai, was overseas at the time.

Ae is also chairman of the Samut Prakan Provincial Administrative Organisation and a motor racer. Shortly after their public outing, Ae invited the media to see his Lamborghini racing car, newly painted with the monogram J&A.

Ae, Janie

Their outings together appeared to do little to abate criticism of their union. One personality said last week the couple should avoid making their romance too public, as people would find it hard to stomach.

Mr Chonsawat's father is former deputy interior minister Vatana Asavahame, who is on the run from a corruption conviction. -

2.

June and May

World badminton champion Ratchanok ''May'' Intanon is upset about reports linking her to her close friend taekwondo gold medallist Rangsiya ''June'' Nisaisom.

As May gathers plaudits for her victory last Sunday against Chinese Li Xuerui at the world championships in Guangzhou, reporters have been keen to point to possible romantic links between May and tomboy-like June.

The Thai daily newspapers say the pair lend each other moral support as they go up against the world in their respective sporting codes. May and June also meet for meals, and watch movies together, just like ordinary teens, they say.

May has not been quoted at length on her friendship with June, except to say that reports suggesting something romantic might be in the air had made her feel uncomfortable.

June has gone into greater detail about her friendship with May, but says she is just as unhappy about the attention.

''I don't want people getting the wrong idea. We are just close friends, and I am worried the stories might upset May,'' she said.

''We met at the London Olympics last year, though we didn't talk much, as taekwondo came later, and May went home before I could compete.

''We met at sporting events and exchanged phone numbers, Line and Facebook details.''

They went out socially, though their time is limited, as both are studying at university and also training hard.

June left a message of encouragement on May's Facebook page as she prepared to go into battle with world No.1 Li Xuerui last weekend.

''As sportspeople, we have to go into battle. When we hit the court, we can't afford to be scared of our opponent. Don't get stressed. Play as you do when you are training. Have confidence in yourself. Believe you can be a world champ,'' June wrote to her friend.

Since her return from China, May has been doing the rounds of sponsors, politicians, police and other public figures eager to share in her victory.

On Wednesday, May took part in a friendly game of badminton with metropolitan police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, who offered her a job in the police force.

After talking to her manager-mother, May politely declined, saying she still has her sights set on pursuing further sporting success.

May says the constant stream of public events she must attend is more tiring than the toughest badminton match.

Media outlets keeping tabs of how much she has won in sponsorship deals, cash and in-kind handouts say the total has now reached more than 7 million baht. -

3.

Pinky, her admirer

Actress Savika ''Pinky'' Chaiyadej has been spotted about town with an Indian admirer, though she says they are merely friends rather than a romantic item.

Pinky said she shared a candlelight dinner in Bangkok recently with the visiting lead actor of an Indian movie she is starring in.

Her friend, Suman, has travelled to Thailand to shoot a couple of scenes in which they appear.

''Suman doesn't know anyone here, so I offered to show him around,'' she said.

''At night, he had no one to see, so he invited me out for a meal.''

The two were close, and he had met her mother, Pinky said.

However, he was not flirting with her, and it was too early to say if they would hit it off.

''He's single. If anyone is interested, I can get in contact with him for you,'' she joked.

Pinky said she has broken up with her previous fling, American-Japanese businessman Paul Michio.

She took Paul before reporters at the 4th Nataraja industry awards in Bangkok in May.

Pinky said she should have thought more carefully about the relationship. When it became clear that they were not suited to each other, she called it off.

One report last week suggested Pinky felt as if she had been used.

''Paul asked me to take him to the awards. When I let him escort me as my boyfriend, it was as if I helped open doors for him to enter the industry,'' she said. ''Today, he's a model.

''Never mind. I put it down to life experience. I now know people better than I did before.''

In a later interview, she played down reports he was trying to leech off her fame.

''We just had different ideas about what we wanted,'' she said, adding she would rather keep the details to herself.