“The Glory” Effect? Popular Thai Actor Comes Forward With An Apology For His Bullying Past
Popular Thai actor Pawat Chittsawangdee, aka Ohm Pawat, recently came forward with an apology for bullying his classmates in school. A significant chunk of netizens believes that the popular Netflix series The Glory was a catalyst leading to this situation.
Ohm Pawat debuted as an actor in 2016, but his breakthrough role was in a 2021 BL drama called Bad Buddy. His portrayal of the protagonist Napat Pat Jindapat made him very well-loved by Thai drama fans. But it started to crumble early this year when multiple schoolmates of Pawat began coming forward on Twitter with their stories of being bullied by him.
An actor from gmmtv who studied at an all-boys school is rumored to have bullied his friend during his (middle?) school days. It's also said that he even bullied student with autism and @ohmpawatt is strongly suspected of being the bully boy. Wow that is crazy! #ohmpawat pic.twitter.com/v2w8LDLuqB
— 👾🍵 (@suppasme) January 4, 2023
Almost a week after the allegations surfaced, Ohm took to social media and posted an apology, explaining that he played pranks as a student and later apologized to the victim’s parents.
ผมขออนุญาตอธิบายเรื่องที่เกิดขึ้นนะครับ 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/jnMM9i5EdG
— Ohmpawat (@ohmpawatt) January 8, 2023
But this apology seemed insincere to many netizens and even some of his fans. What ticked off most people was his apparent attempt to paint the incident as “boys being boys.”
'naughty young boy' 'just a boy being a boy' you are SCUM. https://t.co/UZdJ3MucEt
— lexi (@KIYOI_STALKER) January 8, 2023
took you long enough like you just kept posting like nothing was going on and now you wanna talk about being “naughty” and “ playing like a boy” ??? you were a BULLY ohm and everyone in the qrts thanking him and forgiving him like this apology is not for you to accept you freaks https://t.co/n9DocSXE5R
— sophie ⵣ (@pattpran) January 8, 2023
Being naughty and being a bully are two different things 😭😭 if u enjoy hurting someone weaker than you then you're a bully, simple as that https://t.co/aJ4RYHKcap
— Bea🍃 (@ATP_tmc19) January 8, 2023
Though his apology has received mixed reactions from the internet, many netizens believe that the issue got to see the light of day because of the influence of The Glory. The Song Hye Kyo-starrer follows the story of a woman seeking revenge on her classmates who bullied her ruthlessly in high school. The first part of the series was released on December 30, 2022, and instantly became an international hit.
The drama had a visible social impact in South Korea, where it continues to prompt discussions about school violence. Netizens believe that it carried the same effect in Thailand, where it was the most-watched series on Netflix during the first week of January. The accusations against Ohm Pawat started appearing on Twitter just a few days after the series hit it big in the country. The correlation ended up trending “Thai The Glory” on Twitter. The tag is now flooded with videos of school bullying incidents, calling for action against such issues.
It is said that Ohmpawat bullied his austistic classmate in the past. However, there were many cases and celebrities that brought up as abuser, making it "Thai The Glory" is trending,
Like its own #Metoo movement but for school violence after the drama airs #TheGlory pic.twitter.com/FPsWfTOnYV
— 리리 ♡ 🍊⚖️🔮 (@blueskypallette) January 9, 2023
Following the apology of Pawat, many netizens are now demanding that another Thai actor, Gulf Kanawut, answer for his problematic actions, both in the past and present.
แล้วตอนนี้รู้สึกยังไงกับสิ่งที่ตัวเองเคยทำไปบ้าง https://t.co/MVCRXTd8wX pic.twitter.com/N4RZDfeTs9
— ยาน้ำเชื่อม (@yanamnamnam44) January 3, 2023
Even in 2022 boy making fun of disabled people. https://t.co/lK8PVeLrm9 pic.twitter.com/eYE3zTg5UL
— l (@lemmlol_) April 16, 2022
Whether prompted by The Glory or not, it seems like a ripple effect has been created in Thailand to call out celebrities with a past of school violence. Many netizens feel that the series truthfully portrayed the level of brutal torture that is involved in most ‘bullying’ cases in South Korea, and now people might understand better why the country is so harsh on its celebrities who get accused of being a bully in school.
- “Nobody is like that at a young age; that’s why it’s bad. I hope he pays for what he did.”
- “I honestly wonder what people think “school violence” even means… There are way worse cases of bullying than in ‘The Glory’ out there.”
- “This is a good influence. School violence perpetrators should be ruined.”
- “Not Ohm Pawat…no…”
- “Ohm and Gulf, both cases are shocking. What on earth…”
- “You call that an apology?