Thailand's public health minister Pattana Promphat has said Lisa did not breach Thai alcohol advertising law when she shared a drink on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The segment was filmed and broadcast outside Thailand, and Pattana said Lisa appeared to be acting personally rather than promoting a product. The issue had prompted discussion after clips from the programme were shared online.

"Thai law does not prohibit drinking alcohol. It prohibits alcohol advertising," the minister said.

What happened on the Jimmy Fallon show

Lisa appeared on the US talk show and introduced host Jimmy Fallon to som tam, along with a drink containing Thai beer, soju and Sprite.

She taught Fallon to say "mod kaew" - meaning "bottoms up" - before the pair drank together. The appearance later drew attention in Thailand because alcohol promotion is tightly regulated.

Pattana said the overseas setting was central to the assessment. He added that the matter should not have developed into a major controversy, particularly as the filming and broadcast took place outside Thailand.

Reposting clips can still require care

The minister said Thai media organisations and social-media users who reposted footage of the segment had generally blurred the alcohol brand name and logo. In his view, this was consistent with Thai law.

However, he cautioned content creators against treating the ruling as a free pass to make promotional alcohol content in Thailand. Those recreating the drink should be careful, he said.

Content that visibly shows a brand or directs viewers to an online shop could be viewed as having a commercial purpose and could face legal scrutiny.

This can be particularly relevant to travel vloggers, restaurant reviewers and influencers who film drinks for social media. Simply recreating Lisa's Thai beer, soju and Sprite mix is not the point at issue; prominently displaying a brand or linking followers to a seller may change how authorities view the content.

The minister's remarks relate specifically to Lisa's overseas television appearance and do not remove the need for creators in Thailand to consider how alcohol-related posts are presented.

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19 September 2026

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The interview showed Lisa as an international ambassador and credit to Thailand.

Lisa and Nene will surely draw visitors to Thailand for the first time.

It's crazy that a Thai would have an issue about the beer logo.

There are some strange people who seem to believe that Thai laws apply outside of Thailand; more often than not, many Thai laws are not enforced in Thailand.

Sounds positively hideous. Chang beer with anything.🤢

Well that is at least 1 Thai that speaks excellent english.

Thailand should promote her clip as an example of that.

There are better clips of it on YT.

It came up in my feed , don't know why.

2 hours ago, NedR69 said:

The interview showed Lisa as an international ambassador and credit to Thailand.

Lisa and Nene will surely draw visitors to Thailand for the first time.

It's crazy that a Thai would have an issue about the beer logo.

Totally agree...
With ALL the problems Thailand is facing, thais really do not have anything else to do than criticize who is actually doing them a favor?
Very, very typical...

It would have been absolutely moronic if they had made a big deal about this. Lisa is absolutely adorable and about as fine an ambassador for Thailand as one could possibly ask for.

That show sure seemed to spike sales of Chang, Soju, and Sprite in my area of Chiang Mai, she sure did influence a bunch of Thai women here in my village. The one lady who sells that stuff didn't understand why those brands sales suddenly picked up, then someone told her about that show, then she understood.

5 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Those recreating the drink should be careful

Yes, let's not confuse Singha beer with bottled Singha water.

Phew! That's a relief! I was worried that Sonthi and The Merman would be back on the streets complaining about damage to Thailand's reputation...

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It would have been absolutely moronic if they had made a big deal about this. Lisa is absolutely adorable and about as fine an ambassador for Thailand as one could possibly ask for.

She certainly seems a much better ambassador for Thailand than the current Prime Minister

4 hours ago, LALes said:

Sounds positively hideous. Chang beer with anything.🤢

Eats chilli and you can't taste the beer so any local swill will do?