SKIN-DEEP APOLOGY, KWAN FINDS THE LORD, SEK ON THE PROWL
Red-faced stars fight back
Stars caught up in the celebrity endorsement scandal for cosmetic and weight loss products are planning to fight back with legal action.
They claim they were duped by the manufacturer at the centre of the police probe, Magic Skin Co, and are just as much victims as the hapless consumer.
This is despite the stars earning huge figures for their product endorsements, which police say persuaded consumers to part with millions of baht for goods which were unapproved and in some cases amounted to nothing more than powdered milk with colouring.
Actress Rybena “Nana” Tanwimon, among those offering an apology in the past week for unwittingly duping consumers, said she had spoken to her lawyer about taking legal action against Magic Skin Co.
The firm paid stars large sums for endorsing the products on its website or on their social media accounts. Police have called in an initial nine stars for questioning about the saga. At least 60 celebrities are known to have promoted products on the firm’s behalf.
The company stands accused of peddling dodgy goods with fake Food and Drug Administration permits, or no permits at all. The crackdown follows a raid on its Pathum Thani factory earlier this month. The FDA has cancelled the production of 266 cosmetic items, withdrawn their registration, and recalled all products.
“I never thought they would be game to sell products without a permit or carrying fake permits,” actress Nana said, adding she usually checks if a product she reviews has an FDA permit.
“I have spoken to a lawyer about taking legal action, as I feel like a victim. I also sympathise with consumers who were duped,” she said.
The probe has exposed how easy it is for stars to offer paid “reviews”, effectively endorsements. It has also thrown the spotlight on cosmetic and weight loss products which many stars, now accused of fake advertising for the firm, themselves peddle on the internet as a sideline business.
Actress Rasri “Margie” Balenciaga said she accepts few products for review, but did promote this one. She admits she failed to check on its permit properly, and apologised.
“I never thought a product which had been on the market for a year, and with such heavy advertising, would be fake or have no approval,” she said.
A report in Thai Rath newspaper said payments for celebrity reviews vary depending on a star’s internet following. For a one-time review by a big star, the rate could be struck at 10% of the number of her followers, or “likes” drawn by the post.
“If a star has 800,000 followers, she could earn 80,000 for each picture or review. It would also depend on how long she agreed to keep the post on her social media account,” it said. For mere net idols or minor influencers, typical payments were in the 5,000 baht100,000 baht range.
Actress Kannarun “Prang” Wongkajornklai took an ethical tone, saying she has refused celebrity reviews from the outset, though admits asking friends to endorse her own product.
“I do not accept reviews for diet or beauty products, as I want to give consumers the truth as much as possible. I have turned down large offers of money, but don’t miss it too much,” she laughed.
“I sell a product of my own but didn’t accept reviews even before that. Everyone in the industry talks about what good, easy money reviews can make. But I worry about the effect on people if the product is dodgy,” she said.
“I don’t have time to test everything which comes along. Posting a review on FB looks like I am selling it. I would rather be neutral.”
Prang, who sells a FDA-approved product of her own on the internet, admits asking others to review the item, but only if they have tried it. She said friends had asked to review their products too.
“If I accept, I usually post a picture of my friend holding up the product. I write a caption saying it’s her product, not mine, but I don’t write anything to recommend it.”
Actress Sutatta “PunPun” Udomsilp, who admits having reviewed Magic Skin products twice, said the company contacted her manager, and she accepted the work just like any other job.
“I take a picture of the product, post it on IG, and delete it after 15 days as agreed. I noticed it had a FDA number but it didn’t occur to me it could be fake.”
Actress Usamanee “Kwan” Waitayanon combined a personal sideswipe with an apology, admitting she had been careless in failing to run proper checks on the Magic Skin product she reviewed.
However, she said someone formerly “very close” to her was to blame, as he had recommended the product to her.
Kwan is thought to be referring to her former boyfriend singer Pichaya ‘‘Golf’’ Nitipaisalkul. The two split up in a blaze of family acrimony early this year (see story below).
“We were close, and so I trusted the source. But now I know I can really only vouch for my own products as to whether they have FDA approval, which I always try before I promote,” she said craftily.
On a more humorous note, actress Punyaporn “Benz” Poonpipat said she is thinking about getting a medical check-up after taking a skin whitening formula she reviewed for the firm. She tried the product for her paid review, but after hearing it might be fake is wondering what affect it had on her health.
“They sent me a box of the stuff and I just kept eating it. I am shocked by all this. My Mum says I should get myself checked just in case,” she said.
A noble cause
Actress Usamanee “Kwan” Waitayanon is staying mum on whether her “friendship” with an English nobleman has turned into something deeper.
Kwan is unhappy after a mischievous netizen posted two contrasting clips of the actress commenting on her relationship with billionaire James Palumbo, Lord Palumbo of Southwark. In the first one they were merely friends; in the second, more recent clip, they appear much closer.
Kwan denied persistent rumours that she tossed in her relationship with singer Pichaya ‘‘Golf’’ Nitipaisalkul early this year for the Eton-educated businessman, who has long-standing ties with Thailand but lives in London.
Golf and Kwan parted in a blaze of acrimony, with Golf accusing her family of being interested only in money. Golf claimed Kwan’s mother had introduced Palumbo to Kwan, a claim she denies.
Kwan went before the media tearfully to insist Palumbo was a mere confidante and adviser, though she had been to England to visit his secretary and played with his dogs. She said talk of him acting as a third hand or her being unfaithful was “lies”.
When reporters asked her about Palumbo again recently, Kwan spoke in more romantic terms. Kwan admitted she had met him over Christmas, but said their relationship had since passed its “sweet” phase, as both had returned to their own lives. “Now we offer each other strength and praise,” she said, adding she did not know what the future holds with him. A mischievous netizen last week paired both interview clips and drew the inevitable contrast. Kwan let off a tirade on social media in response, saying her critics were making assumptions about her life which they could not possibly know to be true.
Sek’s looking, but not
Rocker Sek Loso is leaving his fans guessing about the status of his relationship to his latest “wife”, a former beauty queen, after he declared last week he was single again.
“All I want to say is this ... I am single again [with four kids, three dogs],” he wrote on social media.
Later, he posted an image of his live-in girlfriend, former beauty contestant Apisaya “Eve” Pattanaworasap, giving him a cheek kiss, accompanied by the words: “Who among you youngsters thinks she might be my next wife?”
Until recently, Sek and Eve were seen everywhere together. Eve accompanied the rocker during his recent arrest drama after he fired a handgun into the air at a temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, and resisted arrest at his home in Bangkok.
The Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial court sentenced him to 10 days in jail for firing into the air and possessing an unlicensed weapon. Sek is out on appeal.
Yet another woman in Sek’s life is the mother of his newborn child, actress Paphada “Sandwich’’ Chotikawanitch, whom he started seeing last year but has since dumped in favour of Eve.
Contacted by reporters, Eve laughed off the rocker’s mysterious post. She said they were still together, and she was still living at his home.
“We are planning a trip to Europe, but I am waiting for him to confirm the details,” she said.