Gossip never got so good

The year of the Horse was a time to hit full gallop for a lucky few in show business. While others loped along or just grazed in the pasture, these six celebrities were the fastest out of the starting gate. Mind you, that still doesn’t make them thoroughbreds!

 

Shiney new Janie

The way Janie Thienphosuvan dominated the front pages, gossip columns and social media this year would have made any celebrity envious. Of course they’d probably prefer to garner headlines under completely different circumstances. 

You’ll recall that Thai-American actress Janie was huge news in 2013 with her lightning marriage to politician Chonsawat “A” Asavahame. Then as if unwilling to yield the spotlight, Janie eclipsed that news this year by divorcing him. 

And, just as she’d had earlier hinted at a romance in her posts on the social networks, this time Janie left clues that it was over. A new Instagram account suggested she was looking for a fresh start in life, especially with the first post: “Begin again”. 

While rumours flew about, but ahead of the divorce announcement, photos of a woman at least resembling Janie appeared online, showing bruises she’d received of unknown origin. Then came a leaked group chat among male buddies on Line with details about her unhappy marriage. Clearly Janie or her allies were guiding public opinion.

Her cryptic hints apart, Janie remained stoically mum throughout all this. Only when the divorce was finalised did she message fans that she needed a break and was off to the US. Now she’s back and it seems that everyone’s ready to forget the turbulence – this girl’s star is on the rise again, with plenty of sympathy for rocket fuel. 

 

Sek Loso in orbit

Rock star Seksan “Sek Loso” Sukpimai also carried the ball of fame from 2013 into this year, and again the news was grim. A very public battle with his wife “Karn” Wiphakorn was waged on Facebook, intensifying as the year began to the point that showbiz reporters dubbed Sek “Rockweiler”. 

What started out as an online catfight caught fire and became “the Sukpimai War”. She accused him of abusing both her and illicit drugs, announced that she’d charged him with domestic violence, and called upon Dr Angkooj Patrakorn of the Thanyarak Institute to drag him back into rehab. 

Sek, burning up the social media, went after the good doctor like, well, a Rottweiler, swiftly earning a defamation suit, but by then he had plenty more to worry about. And meanwhile Modernine declined to broadcast Sek’s interview on “Woody Talk” and tossed it onto YouTube instead. 

No need to worry, Sek lied, he had this massive concert coming up at Rajamangala Stadium, titled “40 Feeling Like 14” to celebrate his imminent return to bachelorhood. He said the place would be packed. It wasn’t, though, not even close. Even the people who went had plenty of complaints later, such as the poor sound system and shabby treatment of the top-paying customers. 

Unfazed, Sek declared there would be more shows upcountry. He was all set to divorce Karn, but then she didn’t show up at the district office to sign the papers. Obviously there’s more of this to come. The Goat will get to feast on this garbage.

 

The trials of Tony Jaa

Action-movie star Tony “Jaa” Yeerum had a terrific year career-wise, joining a stellar cast (well, Vin Diesel and Jason Statham) for the Hollywood film “Fast and Furious 7”. His martial-arts rep preceded him and he got a warm welcome on the set. So this was the year Panom Jaa Yeerum turned into an international star. He’s now better known as TJ and has 3.3 million followers on Facebook. 

The downside, though – and there’s always a downside in Hollywood – is that Jaa had to leave not just Thailand and his family but also Sahamongkol Film, the studio that gave him his big break. It didn’t go well. 

Then his mentor, Panna Rittikrai, died in July and Jaa was “too busy” to pay his last respects in person, so people thought he was being ungrateful. Then his father died and, though Jaa did attend that funeral, it was only for about 10 minutes. His mum and siblings were glad to see him, but then it emerged that they’d had another row, and Jaa skipped the cremation the next day. His sister “Waew” Charinthip told the press the family had cut him off for good. “He’s changed a lot and was really cold to us. He doesn’t deserve to use the Yeerum name.”

Well, his name is TJ now.

 

Beauties beset

Life also got unruly for Welrulee “Fai” Disayabut in 2014, despite being crowned Miss Universe Thailand. The social media took their own vote and decided she wasn’t as good-looking as runner-up Pimbongkod “Ellie” Chankaew, and then it was discovered she’d once made nasty remarks on Facebook about the red-shirt movement. 

Fai tried apologising, but ultimately had to relinquish the crown after only a few weeks. Some people sought to dissuade her, but she was adamant that she wanted to protect her family name and soothe her worried mother. 

With Fai cast aside, attention turned to second runner-up Sanannika “Nampetch” Kritsanasuwan. “Sexy” pictures of her were leaked online, along with evidence that she’d previously taken less-than-respectable jobs. That was enough for the pageant organisers, who stripped her of her title in July. Here’s the title, Nampetch replied, but I’m keeping the tiara. (And we’re still not sure if she ever gave it back!) 

Meanwhile Nampetch sniped at Ellie after a photo of her kissing her boyfriend went public. 

We’d almost forgotten about her when she reappeared in the news in the autumn giving the impression that she was close to boxing champ Bawkao Banchamek. He denied there was any special relationship, though, and, despite compelling circumstantial evidence, Nampetch ended up worse off yet again.

 

Bored being bared

Try as she might to do otherwise, luk thung singer Suteewan “Baitoey” Thaveesin spent the whole year getting up on the wrong side of the bed. Whatever she did ended up in the gossip columns, and certainly not all of that was intentional on her part.

The highlights include a catfight with Irin “Ple” Sriklao on the social media that helped inspire an “anti-Baitoey” group. “If you don’t like me, don’t follow me!” she responded. “There is no need to watch me 24 hours a day! You get no reward for that! Do not mess with my life! Don’t be nosy!” 

The “stalking” continued, however. Baitoey was accused of misleading viewers, as when she posted a photo of a luxury resort, implying she was staying there, though she wasn’t. She was ridiculed for her poor English after saying she’d qualified to become an airline cabin attendant, which requires proficiency. 

And of course no one was going to let her alone about her skimpy attire. That she tried to address in October by announcing she was jettisoning the loud outfits and tiny shorts. She’ll be the san samoe hu (short-short hot pants) girl no more, she said. We’re not sure if we’re looking forward to that or not, quite frankly.