What's good for the goose ... the wild and Rocky road to fame, what's in a 'name'

TV host’s love life questioned

Chod

A senior Grammy executive and TV host Saithip “Chod” Montrikul Na Ayudhaya is under pressure after her TV show dug into the past of two estranged starlets, with netizens challenging her to come clean about her own love life.

P’ Chod, the CEO of GMM Channel Digital TV, DJ and co-host of the Club Friday Show, was to front her critics as Club Friday aired last night after a netizen asked if the show was willing to delve into the private lives of its own hosts after baring others’ relationships to such scrutiny.

Chod, 60, is close to former actor and fellow Grammy executive Vorarit “S” Vaijiaranai, who is almost 19 years her junior.  The two have known each other for 10 years, according to media reports, have been on skiing trips together and are seen often in public as a couple.

One netizen challenged her to invite onto her show S’s former girlfriend, actress Yardthip “Yard” Rachapal to discuss the unhappy end to their relationship, and so indirectly subject Chod to scrutiny as to whether she was going out with a good man.

The fuss, which propelled Chod and the two estranged starlets to the top of the country’s Twitter rankings last week, follows an interview last week in which the Club Friday Show invited actress and singer Sakolrat “Four” Woraurai to open up about the end of her six-year relationship to former boyband singer Pitch “Pitt” Karchai.

Without mentioning names, Four said her relationship with Pitt ended when she caught him seeing another woman. 

She had ignored long-standing warnings from friends that he had an eye for the ladies, but the night before they were to break up finally caught him in the act. “I cried for two days, I was so upset. I didn’t think he would be unfaithful because I was perfect to a certain degree already, as I like to look after myself,” she said.

“I was also working hard, so I wasn’t all that interested in love, and his behaviour didn’t change ... no matter whether it was his phone calls, or messages he sent me before bed.”

Four’s immodest reference to her own perfection sparked a popular hashtag on Twitter, as did Pitt’s acid response to the tell-all interview:  “No one would argue, as I’m perfect to a certain degree myself. There’s no depths to which you won’t sink.”

Pitt’s ungallant remark sparked a flurry of criticism, including a jibe from a friend of Four’s who said she knew the singer as a serial philanderer. His current girlfriend, Paloy Horwang, also had a sly dig at Pitt, writing: “Just how perfect? Ask yourself in your heart.”

Pitt later apologised to his former girlfriend, saying the remark about her sinking to low depths was a phrase he and friends bandied about to criticise each other in jest.  He did not mean to attack her personally, and said the two were still in occasional contact.

Reaction to the saga led to renewed interest in Chod’s long-term interest in S, director of lakorn production for digital TV channel GMM 25. His former girlfriend, Yard, said she was not willing to dig up the past, so would turn down any invitation to appear on the show.

Ahead of last night’s programme, which had yet to air when this column went to press, Chod remarked on Twitter: “Age is but a number, money is just paper. As it happens, our home has more than a little paper.” She also added that if she was really bad, she wouldn’t have the courage to look people around her in the eye, even as their boss.

DJ and TV host Kachapa “Mod Dum” Tancharoen, whose tell-all show Chae appears on GMM 25, asked if Chod’s relationship with S was not merely one of close friends and colleagues. “She might be a person where it’s not necessary to know the status of their relationship,” he said.

The night it all went wrong

Lamyai

Sexy singer Lamyai Haithongkam is stumbling on her rapid ascent to fame after a prominent Pattaya nightspot laid a police complaint against her record label for unprofessional conduct.

Nattaseht Sajjamanor, manager of Tawandang Pattaya Variety, last week laid a complaint with Pattaya district police after a concert starring Lamyai and fellow luk thung singing star Arm Chutima went wrong.

Lamyai, whose hit song Pu Sao Kha Loh propelled her to overnight fame on YouTube, and earned a rebuke from the prime minister for her revealing dance moves, turned up late, put in a lacklustre performance and turned up alone without Arm, he said.

More than 1,000 patrons turned out to see her, paying a 200 baht entry fee. Many were unhappy with how the concert went and had started staying away from his outlet to show their displeasure, he said.

Mr Nattaseht said he booked Lamyai and Arm to perform on July 1. He said talks with her agent and record company started as early as March.

His company agreed on a hiring fee of 75,000 baht for the pair, and arranged publicity, refreshments and accommodation, only to find later that Lamyai had booked half a dozen concert appearances in the province the same day, including three nearby. 

“They were supposed to arrive at 12.30am, but turned up half an hour late, which left just an hour for the show, as we have to shut our doors at 2am,” he said. “More importantly, Lamyai came alone, despite our contractual agreement for both stars.

“She failed to put everything into it and her act wasn’t entertaining, probably because she was tired.

“The saga has affected confidence in us and our service, to the point where many of our customers have stopped coming back. The artists’ label has accepted no responsibility, so we have gone to the police.”

Lamyai has boasted previously that she accepts five or six concert bookings a day as she rides the wave of success.

Mr Nattaseht said most artists avoid accepting work in the same area a month before and after they are booked for a concert, as a professional courtesy.  His company was forced to stop selling tickets and let people in free when it discovered there were rival bookings across town.

“We discovered promotions for the concerts which doubled up across the province. It’s their right how much work they accept but it should be in different areas,” he told police.

“As far as punctuality is concerned, they should abide by the contract and show some respect for the host,” he grumbled. 

A spokeswoman for Lamyai’s record label said singer Arm, a supporting act to Lamyai, failed to show because she was unwell. The hiring fee covers them both, whether or not both artists turn up. She asked why the organisers did not complain on the night if they were unhappy.

Singer breaks up with lover

Name

Getsunova lead singer Prakarn “Name” Raiva has broken up with actress and model, Chicha ‘‘Kitty’’ Amatayakul, though denies it’s because she now likes women instead.

Name confirmed last week that he and Kitty had grown distant but insisted no third hand was to blame. Earlier, Kitty revealed she was now seeing sexy model Chayatanus “Cheraims” Sornthat, but denied they were a romantic item.

However, as if to counter that claim, she published images of her and Cheraims in bikinis on a beach, and in a bare-chested embrace. Cheraims, meanwhile, revealed Kitty had come home to meet her parents, and she liked to refer to Kitty jokingly as her “girlfriend”. 

Kitty and singer Name drew close after Name took a trip to Hong Kong to see her in July last year. An eagle-eyed fan spotted them shopping hand-in-hand.

Previously Kitty was seeing singer Nawin ‘‘Navin Tar’’ Yaowapholkul, a close neighbour and friend of Name’s. Name was forced to deny reports he acted as a third hand, breaking up Tar and Kitty, though he admitted Tar called him to ask if it was true the two were seeing each other.

Things have now come full circle with Name forced to deny that the lanky Cheraims, who models for a Hong Kong agency, broke up his relationship with Kitty. He insisted his own character flaws were to blame.