James goes too far, fah goes natural, you can't catch Aum Neko

Kiss of death

James, Boy, Nong Wan Mai

Actor Pakorn "Boy" Chatborirak says he can’t see anything wrong with a magazine image of an actor friend kissing his baby sister flat on the mouth.

Actor Jirayu "James" Tangsrisuk is taking flak on the internet after he appeared on the cover of Sudsapda magazine, kissing celebrity toddler Nong Wan Mai, aged two.

James, Wan Mai

Wan Mai, who has her own fan club and Facebook page and appears in public often with Boy’s family, was adopted by Boy’s mother from a children’s home last year.

For some Thais the image of James kissing the child on the mouth is too intimate, especially as it is billed "A fantasy couple from different ages".

The cover shot is accompanied by a series of pictures inside, some of James, Wan Mai and Boy together, and one in which Wan Mai is applying lipstick to James’ lips.

James’ fans, weighing into the debate, say Boy’s family is close to James and advised Thais against reading too much into it. Others say the pictures go too far, even for foreigners with more relaxed cultural standards.

"It is inappropriate for non-family members to kiss a child on the mouth," one netizen wrote. "My Western friends would never kiss a child from someone else’s family like that, and the magazine is wrong to use the image as a sales gimmick. They should kiss them on the head or the cheek instead."

Nong Wan Mai was in the news last month when she appeared with her family at a live television awards show. Presenter Mayura "Tak" Savetsila apologised after a clumsy question about the youngster upset Boy’s fans.

Presenting a feel-good award for family of the year at the Nine Entertain Awards, Tak asked Boy, whose family won the award, whose child he was carrying in his arms.

Boy took the stage along with his two younger brothers, his mother and Nong Wan Mai. "Surely you can’t be the mother of a child so young?" Tak asked Boy’s mother.

Boy and his mother had just said a few words to the audience about the importance of family values and were leaving the stage when Tak dropped her clanger.

Boy, who was carrying the child, was forced to return to the microphone. "It’s my mother’s child. Nong Wan Mai is adopted," he explained.

Asked about criticism of the magazine shoot with James, Boy said it was little different from an older brother giving his baby sister a kiss. "James knows our family well, and we approved of the picture," he said. "We took Wan Mai along to the shoot and we were all present in the studio," he said.

"She’s still a baby now, but one day when she is older I will explain to her that it is inappropriate to kiss a man on the mouth that way," he said. -

Au naturel

Fah

Actress Chanyasorn "Fah" Sakornjan says she wants to make a new image for herself, as she strips out the breast implants she had done for a beauty pageant.

The 2011 Miss Thailand Universe winner says her contract with Channel 7 ran out two weeks ago, and while her TV bosses had given her a chance to stay on, she turned them down.

"I would rather take a break and find a new image for myself. This way I know I will not cause the channel’s image any harm," she said.

Channel 7 gave her little work in lakorn, for which she blames her own reluctance to bend to the demands of the industry.

"If my TV bosses asked me to get my nose, breasts, face, chin and teeth done, I wouldn't do it, as I prefer looking the way I am," Fah said, insisting she was not bitter about her departure from the channel.

She said her bosses asked her to get her teeth straightened, but she refused. She lost weight as they requested, but still failed to get lakorn work.

"I don't have many contacts, so didn't have anyone putting my name forward to be cast in soap operas. I'm quiet, and not particularly clever with words. I blame myself for missing out," Fah said.

She said elders advised her to get her breasts enlarged for the beauty pageant. She went ahead and had implants put in, at her own expense. However, she was not happy with bigger breasts, and had now taken out the implants. She had also removed a nose implant she had done before she entered the industry.

"It’s not necessary for everyone in the industry to have white skin, big eyes and big breasts. If I have to find a place for myself, I would want to look different, not like everyone else. I haven’t found that place yet," she joked.

Fah said she was open to work offers. "I can act a baddie, and I can do sexy parts, though I won’t take off my clothes, or if I do, you can film my back only," she said. -

Up for a taunt

Aum Neko

Transgender student activist Saran "Aum Neko" Chuichai’s one fingered salute to the military junta has failed to move its spokesman, who says society should judge whether her actions help bring about unity.

Aum Neko came to fame last year when she challenged Thammasat University to drop its compulsory uniform rule. She has since run foul of the lese majeste law after a TV presenter complained about her remarks about the monarchy, and on May 24 she was called in by the military junta.

The celebrity activist refused to turn up by her reporting date, and last week published a video on Facebook giving a one-finger salute to the coup leader, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha.

"You have no right to summons me. I am not a murderer. I have the same right to be here as anyone else. You’re the one who should move on … you traitor, you liar!"

Asked about her remarks, deputy army spokesman and Naresuan 5 star Col Winthai Suwaree said the National Council for Peace and Order wasn't interested in responding to her provocation.

"I think the authorities should chase her up to make sure she reports," he said. "Aum Neko has legitimate channels to air her grievances. She could send us a letter, and we could incorporate the public’s views in a change of law.

"In the meantime I would like society to consider whether her actions are appropriate, and whether we condone such strong language. We should ask whether her remarks help bring about social unity or whether they are merely designed to incite people," he said, urging the public to be cautious when sampling social media.

Aum is unimpressed. She taunts the regime in a new image of herself posing openly at a shopping mall. "I don’t see any soldiers coming after me. Ai Prayuth, this country doesn't belong to you!" she writes.

"Three fingers against the coup. We're not the criminals!" she says in a more recent post.

It is accompanied by an image in which she points three fingers towards her private parts.