UPDATED: Comments attributed to Punpun Sututta’s Instagram may have been fabricated.
Grammy Tai Hub film studio has punished five of its teen stars by cutting off their popular – and profitable – social media accounts after they annoyed many by posting a video of themselves dancing wildly on a public train in Tokyo.
Under pressure from an irritated public, GTH responded to the incident for a second time yesterday, saying it agreed the actors damaged Thailand’s reputation with Saturday’s silly subway dance and will punish them by pulling their social media privileges for three to six months.
The video of actors from the popular teen angst series dancing like lunatics on a train amid unamused Japanese locals caused an uproar in the social network this week, as some complained the teen stars had embarrassed the entire nation.
GTH cutting them off from social media hits them where it hurts, as many young celebs aren’t actually paid much and supplement their incomes with revenue from social media endorsements.
Tua Settawit, James Theeradon and Ket Phakamat; the series newest stars who just joined in its second season; are barred from publicly posting on their social media accounts for three months.
Meanwhile, the older teens, including Top Napat and Punpun Sutatta, are suspended from work and social media for six months.
Considering how much money a super star makes per instagram post, that’s a lot of revenue lost.
Punpun has been on unsteady ground since going into image rehab over a photo showing her smoking methamphetamine a couple years back. Many were upset by comments attributed to her taking a slightly defiant tone in response to the brouhaha, comments she denies having made and which appear to have been fabricated.
GTH has also asked the Thai Embassy in Tokyo to issue an open apology to the Japanese and Thai expats in Japan for the incident.
Related:
‘Hormones’ actors act like asses in Japan, Grammy apologizes
Reader Interactions