Charoenpura family 'outings' are no picnic

A difference in political outlook has sparked a war of the celebrity half-sisters. Inthira “Sai” Charoenpura laid the groundwork with a Facebook rant about anti-government protesters wearing T-shirts based on the corn-seed bag in which one of their guards famously stashed a gun during the deadly clash at Lak Si. “I’m not okay with ‘Popcorn’ fashion, whether it’s T-shirts, bags or phone cases. It’s not funny – it’s in poor taste. It is depressing.”
Vipawee Charoenpura reacted with a screed of her own on Facebook that went way beyond politics. “Before and after my dad died, this damn kid [she meant Sai] never looked after him, even though she just stayed in the same house. I’d love to give her an Oscar for her great acting, but it’s better if I give her one-way ticket to go somewhere else.”
Sai was furious over her elder half-sister’s attack and said so, first on FB again and then to TrueVisions and ASTV Manager. She said Vipawee could say whatever she wanted about her (Sai’s) political stance, but she’d better not tell any lies concerning their father, the late filmmaker Surin “Ruj Ronnapob” Charoenpura.
“She can criticise me on my politics or whatever, but don’t lie about things,” she said, straightforward as always. Vipawee had never visited their father while he was ill, she said. “She never touched his diapers once. It was my family – Mum, my brother and me – who looked after him.” The brother had to take time off from his coffee-shop business to take care of Ruj full time, she added, and Sai too struggled financially as a result of their dad’s sickness. “I had to accept roles in some movies that I didn’t want to do.”
Asked why she was in so few of the photos taken at Ruj’s funeral, Sai said, “I stayed around the ice buckets and I saw that the other sisters [Vipawee and Mai] were taking good care of the guests. But I was the person behind it – I paid the bills. They helped slightly in paying for the food,” Sai said.
Vipawee’s assault shook the whole family up, Sai said. “I don’t want to spill the beans but if that’s what they want, I think they have more [scandals] than I do. I didn’t make my dad upset that much,” she said, mentioning the nude photo and divorce case on the front pages.
Perhaps this will be the last time Sai talks about the rest of the family. “I think I will say no more even if Vipawee says something else. I have said all I have to say, and I think if I have to talk about it again, it will surely be the same.” She said she’s sorry to have to admit it, but there is no family bond. If she happens to bump into anyone else from the family, she’ll say “Sawasdee” and leave it at that.
The consensus is that both of them got carried away with their public comments, but we shall now stand by and see if Sai is allowed the final word.