BAITING PEL, GLAD TO BE GAY, INCORRUPTIBLE COPS, JUST A MUMMY'S BOY

Baitoey

Singer and actress Suteewan "Baitoey" Thaveesin has pulled out of a film that cast her next to an actress she dislikes, but insists she can still work with anyone who is willing to treat her right.

Baitoey and fellow RS Promotions actress Wanida "Gybzy" Termthanaporn last week withdrew abruptly as co-stars from a ghost movie, Suay Pa Sak, for Claylor Studio.

The pair were attending a costume fitting at the Lat Phrao studio on May 24 when they heard that model and actress Irin "Pel" Srikaew, with whom Baitoey has bad blood, had also showed up.

Pel and Baitoey say they were unaware the producers had cast them in the same film.

Pel

When the organisers learned the pair were likely to clash if they were brought together, they asked Pel to wait in the car for more than two hours.

Pel eventually lost her patience and stormed to the studio to talk to reporters, complaining organisers had told her that she would be cut from the film. "RS Promotions contacted the studio and gave them an ultimatum that if I was to appear in the film, it would withdraw Baitoey and Gybzy," she said.

"I want to know why this woman is so intent on undermining my career," Pel added in tears.

She and Baitoey managed to avoid meeting each other.

Pel has previously accused Baitoey of copying her songs, and trying to sabotage her work on a recent drama, the Murderer Iron Box, in which she shares a love scene with Baitoey’s boyfriend, actor and DJ Pattanapol "Man" Kunchorn Na Ayutthaya.

A clip of their sex scene, in which Man openly gropes his co-star’s breasts, was leaked to the media. It landed Man in trouble with Baitoey, who said it was too raunchy.

Pel, who fell out with Man in the fuss over the clip, said Man accused her of being behind the leak, which she denies. She said Man, stung by his girlfriend’s response, also called the producers and tried to get the scene cut from the movie.

Explaining her decision last week to leave the ghost movie, Baitoey insisted she did not try to have Pel booted from the film, though admits her label may have spoken to the producers.

"Gybzy and I agreed to leave the film because we believe it was being run in a less than transparent manner." RS said the film-makers had sent a cast list, but it did not mention Pel.

"As for claims that I lack spirit, I would like to stress that I am willing to work with anyone who is willing to behave in a professional manner," she said, referring to the producers. "Too many people in the industry are willing to sign up performers with a reputation just to give their product a good name when their professional standards might be lacking," she said. -

2.

Art

Singer Akrin "Art" Chaikaewskulchai has a double shock for his fans, admitting he is gay, and also the proud father of a little girl.

Art went before reporters last week after publishing on social media a picture of his one-month-old daughter, Hannah.

The KPN Music singer, once linked romantically to singer Pongsak "Aof" Rattanaphong, says he has agreed to bring up Hannah as a single father, after the girl’s mother and he decided to part.

"We met when I had nobody and my spirits were at a low point. She is the first woman with whom I have shared really good feelings. We weren’t drunk, and nor was Hannah the result of carelessness," he said.

"She knew the way I am. We discussed the matter as friends, and I offered to bring up the child alone," he said.

"If Hannah’s mother had stayed, she could have felt trapped and uncomfortable. She is still young and can end up in relationships that are more complete than the one I can offer her," he said.

He declined to reveal her identity.

Art said he took on the task of single father right after Hannah’s birth. The mother had not been in touch since.

A school friend who gave birth about the same time offered some of her breast milk to feed Hannah. Art said his mother and father were eager grandparents, and he was sure Hannah would not lack love or affection.

"I promise to be the best father that I can, though I do not intend to change my sexual orientation. I hope when she grows up whether she will accept who I am," he said. -

3.

Chanya

Honest police should be commended, says Thai-Japanese model Chanya Tamada, insisting a clip she published of a traffic policeman refusing a bribe is real.

Chanya last month published on Instagram a clip of her and a male driver being stopped by a traffic policeman in Min Buri.

Chanya, who was filming the exchange secretly from the rear of the vehicle, said she asked her driver friend to offer the policeman a bribe, so she could catch him in the act.

"Police in my area are always stopping motorists and demanding bribes, sometimes not very nicely. But on this occasion I was surprised to meet a policeman who refused to take our money," she said.

The camera records the policeman, whose face can’t be seen, refusing the offer. The driver urges him to help them out as they are in a hurry.

"I don’t want to have to pay the fine at the station," he says. "I'm not from around here."

The policeman says he can’t oblige. "As it happens, they have culled all the bad cops from the force. There are only people like me left," he says. "Please don’t encourage police to be corrupt. Our country is in bad enough shape as it is," he says.

From the back of the car, Chanya can be heard saying: "Leave him be. It’s hard to find honest police these days."

Explaining her decision to post the clip, Chanya said she knew offering a bribe was wrong, but the policeman’s conduct was so admirable she thought it was worth airing.

"It’s good to know we still have some decent police. Everyone hopes it will be that way," she said.

Media reports have since identified the policeman as Pol Sen Sgt Maj Siriwut Thonglamul, of the Min Buri police. -

4.

Kotee and his Mum

Comedian Kotee Aramboy is defending the extravagant expressions of love he offers his mother, saying they are good for her ailing health.

Kotee was criticised for spinning a positive image of himself after posting pictures of a Songkran festival tribute to his mother. The rotund performer is seen kneeling at his mother’s feet. He doused them in water, then took her feet and rubbed his own head with them.

Kotee in tears

"I know how hard my mother has had to walk with these feet to earn a living to raise her three children, including me," he said on Instagram.

After martial law was declared last month, Kotee published an "I love Thai soldiers" message, attracting similar criticism that he was being over the top. He has since denied taking sides.

Last week he went before reporters to clear the air over the Songkran image, saying his mother had been unwell for six years.

"My mother took on a job looking after cows and buffalo in Phichit province, when a thief struck her over the head with his gun," he said.

"It affected her mind and she has not been the same since," he said.

He also said that an insurance company had since refused her cover because she had been to see a psychiatrist as part of her treatment.

"They said she was crazy," Kotee said in tears.

Her regular doctor prescribed sedatives to help her sleep, but also advised him to show his mother plenty of love.

"This is why I have told my mother every day for the past six years that I love her," he said, adding that if his internet critics don’t like what they see, they are not obliged to follow his posts.

"Mum’s condition now has improved so much we have cut her dose of sedatives," he said.