Lady Gaga Fans Gush, Critics Blast Fake-Watch Tweet: Bangkok

[Ferangled]

Why would any Thai be upset about this comment? The should be upset about there being so many fake goods available.

On the other hand, why would Lady GaGa make such a comment when she is from New York and fake Rolex watches are available all over the place.

Because New York isn't associated with fake goods while Thailand is seen as the veritable hub of fake products, the fake Rolex being the iconic item brought back from a holiday in Bangkok...

Yes there are fakes available in most Western cities but the vendors are kept in the streets and regularly have to dodge the BiB, here they openly rent stalls/ shops and just provide the BiB a cut of the profits if they are ever even approached by them...

Then you need to consider where are all of these fakes being produced? Hint, it's not in New York or London or the production costs would be approaching the real thing!

[tinfoilhat]

Why would any Thai be upset about this comment? The should be upset about there being so many fake goods available.

On the other hand, why would Lady GaGa make such a comment when she is from New York and fake Rolex watches are available all over the place.

I don't think anyone really IS upset. The posters here seem more upset about the idea of Thais being upset about this. This is a manufactured story. Write a story based on a few tweets that says Thais are outraged when 99% don't care at all, and then get people talking about the supposed outrage and drum up publicity.

As for why she'd say anything, publicity

I asked a few of the locals what they thought earlier on. As you correctly surmise, not one of them was remotely interested.

my experience as well. the only people who care are a handful of thais on panthip and twitter and those fueling this topic

[BigRick]

Actually fake watches in Thailand are complete crap! The ones in Vietnam at least have grades<8 year automatic Patek still runs like a charm> and you can pick up a very decent knock off for 2k Baht instead of what 2k gets you here. Most of the quality of pirated goods is inferior and higher priced compared to the surrounding region.

And now I know &lt;deleted&gt; a somchi is. I know the type especially high soc idiots that don't realize Thailand is not he center of modern enlightenment and a very small fish in a big world. How many westerners would live here if it did not have great weather great food great culture and nice women in most instances? People don't come here because its "Thai" they come here because it offers almost first world status and a lot of benefits that are not so readily available in other countries.

They should be happy that world class talent even comes to Thailand anymore look at the dates Thailand one day! Compared to the native media entertainment in this country she is a S U P A S T A! I wanted to take my GF to the concert but I know better with Impact Arena and two trade shows<Food show rocked 100's of tasty samples including Lardo>.

Edited May 25, 2012 by BigRick

[techboy]

_{Ok. Sometimes Thais tend to be overly sensitive and some took Gaga's comment too literally. Then again if the deluge of nasty crap that gets slung at them such as that which permeates this forum reaches their ears this is understandable. In any case anyone reading the article who has half a brain would understand that the comment was meant to express an interest in checking out the amazing have evereything and anything markets. Of course many forum members immediately took the opportunity to respond by shifting the context into a salvo of Thai bashing. Sooo pathetic. Needy.}

[LingLek]

LMAO!! Score one for the home team. Great comment. I'm starting to admire Gaga now.

Many were angered by the singer's remark on Twitter, where she has 24 million followers. Some fans called it offensive, insulting and bad for the Thailand's image.

What is worse for Thailand's image is ... all the stuff that happens in Thailand like the sizzling illegal goods trade that has been going on long enough (say the past 2 decades) that it is world renowned. Thank goodness she didn't mention anything about the sex trade or this little country would have been up in arms. They are so overly sensitive here about image. Here's a tip: if you are worried about your image, then CLEAN IT UP.

These comments would tend to come from two kinds of Thai people.

1) the moneyed, English-speaking, partially foreign educated Thais who MUST refuse to believe that Thailand is still in the dark ages so that they can justify their position in what they want to believe is a modern, fair, competitive and open society. They certainly do live in a Thailand completely different form most of the other population.

2) the terribly educated but deeply nationalistic Somchai who probably can't tell you one important recent event about any country outside of Thailand that doesn't involve consumerism. This Somchai is very deeply proud of most anything Thai and seems to find it very difficult to find anything in the Kingdom to criticize.

"We are more civilised than you think," tweeted DJ Suharit Siamwalla

Actually, no, you are not, and, if you actually knew what most of the world thinks of you, you might REALLY be upset.

"She came to our home, but instead of admiring us she insulted us,"

Well, it is what it is.

What does the rest of the world think of Thailand? You seem to have your ear to the ground on this one.

[BarryM]

The culturally acceptable thing would be "I want to get pissed, drive a speeding Porsche along a crowded street and slice little girls in half"

That's the sort of thing that rich people do in Thailand. Everyone knows they don't wear fake watches, that would be socially unacceptable

[saengsureeya]

If I ask the same THAI people what they would do in the Netherlands, the answer is always: "Go coffeeshop and red-light district"

Talking about stereotypes.

Anyway, Lady Gaga offers the opportunity to make a lot of fuzz about nothing. Every possible mishap over the coming days will put on her neck now, that's what the Thais good at apart from selling fake watches and cooking crappy food.

[BirdsandBooze]

It`s hardly outrageous, she could have said she was going to make out with a ladyboy in the Jenny bar on Walking Sreet and the complainers would still have no justification for complaint. Life is what you see here.

[swillowbee]

... "lady market" and "fake Rolexes" ... prostitution + counterfeiting ... immoral + unethical ... in a phrase, Lady Gaga nicely summarizes the world's view of Thais.

... Thailand is what it is ... if Thais do not like what it is, only Thais can change that.

[canman]

Lady Gaga is a very young person without any important background of studies at university. She does not know Thailand, she does not care, she did not intend to be offensive. She is an excellent professional making a poor joke, that's it. She just repeats what she heard. Within 3 days, she'll have forgotten all about Thailand.

IF you (you are) going to make comments on someone's education and background, may i (I) suggest you get your grammar and language skills to a higher level.

She sure has more (enough) talent and education to have reached the four million mark in digital sales and have a second world tour

Maybe you should get your writing abilities up to par before you comment on another person's effort. "More", in your usage, is comparative. You didn't compare it to anything. You should have written "more than enough" or simply "enough", as I have indicated in parenthesis.

Thanks for your time.

I always console the grammer nazi's with a 'there, their, they're don't worry everything will be OK.'

[Payboy]

... Thailand is what it is ... if Thais do not like what it is, only Thais can change that.

Or leave.

To quote a phrase often used on TV.

[bobl]

Also quite surprised that nobody hung themselves up over her comment about "50,000 screaming Thai monsters" - unless 'monsters' is simply pop lingo for 'loving fans', of course.

Couldn't work out if you were being serious or not, but...

Yes, 'monsters' is her collective term for her followers...

[theajarn]

List of better things for her to tweet:

"I'm glad I was able to land on dry ground"

"I heard their politicians comes in two colours"

"What sex trade?"

"Free tablets, anyone?"

"One word: Jetskis. OK, that might be two."

[GentlemanJim]

Maybe I have lived in a cave all my life but I can honestly say I have never ever seen or heard GaGa perform and think I have only seen her twice on TV, once being last night on the news as she arrived in BKK. Have I missed anything? ...... I don't think so.

[theajarn]

If I ask the same THAI people what they would do in the Netherlands, the answer is always: "Go coffeeshop and red-light district"

Talking about stereotypes.

Anyway, Lady Gaga offers the opportunity to make a lot of fuzz about nothing. Every possible mishap over the coming days will put on her neck now, that's what the Thais good at apart from selling fake watches and cooking crappy food.

Uhgh. I hate your quote... YOU'RE SO RIGHT WITH THE CRAPPY FOOD THING~!! Thai dishes are nice, but man... I'm running out of places to eat near my work place that WONT give me diarrhea/botulism.

Oh, that'd be a good extra tweet for the list:

"I hope they fried those roaches well"

[BigRick]

Lady Gaga is a very young person without any important background of studies at university. She does not know Thailand, she does not care, she did not intend to be offensive. She is an excellent professional making a poor joke, that's it. She just repeats what she heard. Within 3 days, she'll have forgotten all about Thailand.

IF you (you are) going to make comments on someone's education and background, may i (I) suggest you get your grammar and language skills to a higher level.

She sure has more (enough) talent and education to have reached the four million mark in digital sales and have a second world tour

Maybe you should get your writing abilities up to par before you comment on another person's effort. "More", in your usage, is comparative. You didn't compare it to anything. You should have written "more than enough" or simply "enough", as I have indicated in parenthesis.

Thanks for your time.

I always console the grammer nazi's with a 'there, their, they're don't worry everything will be OK.'

What do you expect. My guess the TV demographic consists of A. Teachers B. Retired grumpy old guys C. White people from Europe,America, Anzac South America with a few dutch Afrikaners throw in for good measure. D. A small percentage of people new too Thailand or trying to refresh a memory. For all the flaws one can complain about Thailand there are at least twice as many things to like. Thai people are "people" just like "people" anywhere else good bad indifferent it is the cultural influences and belief system that makes them "Thai" <Or Laotian,Cambodian,Burmese,French,Irish,American,yada yada yada>. They are also a homogenous country without the western pressure of Multiculturalism<See how well that is working out in our home countries>. Living in Thailand I have met all types. Seen a bad thing or four that I never saw back in the states. But my time here will be spent trying to enjoy Thailand and dealing with the little things that go wrong with that Mai Pen Rai attitude.

And its great Lady Gaga came too Thailand that is a world class act no matter what the older crowd says. I see people bashing her but honestly she has her sh*t together don't hate the player hate the game she is a S U P A S T Aaaaaa! as Asians like to say.

Edited May 25, 2012 by BigRick

[unanimosity]

They are sooooooooooo pathetic, ranting away about the Thai image on their laptops with cracked OS........

Actually I recently bought a laptop that came without an OS. The store, one of Thailand biggest electrical retailers not only offered to install a pirated OS they were unable to tell me where I could buy a genuine OS.

Bought laptop last week,asked for genuine W7,couldn't do it,licence cost too much.Well i tried.

Wait till you do the updates and security patches.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

What does the rest of the world think of Thailand? You seem to have your ear to the ground on this one.

Admitting to a respectable audience in the west that you've lived in Thailand causes them to immediately assume you are a whore monger if not a pedo.

Being honest about liking this country will hurt your prospects both in the job market and as a potential mate.

The only way to keep respect is to lie about where you've been, much more respectable to say Burma, Malaysia or Laos.

And of course once you've lived here for a while it seems completely normal and OK to lie in order to save face 8-)

[DP25]

Also quite surprised that nobody hung themselves up over her comment about "50,000 screaming Thai monsters" - unless 'monsters' is simply pop lingo for 'loving fans', of course.

Couldn't work out if you were being serious or not, but...

Yes, 'monsters' is her collective term for her followers...

LOL I was wondering why no one was upset at her calling Thai people monsters too

[pxlgirl]

Bought laptop last week,asked for genuine W7,couldn't do it,licence cost too much.Well i tried.

Get a genuine Linux then.

[Jingthing]

Maybe Lady Gaga was being sarcastic in light of the deep root thievery of people who steal everything they can get their hands on - particularly copyrighted music. Maybe she was mocking Thailand. Maybe she has a darn good point. Maybe if more Thais mocked Thailand, Thailand wouldn't be mocked by the rest of the world as a cheap place to vacation, a cheap place to get laid, a cheap place to buy illegal stuff, just a plain cheap place.

Foul. No longer cheap! Sigh.

First world prices. Third world products and services. Come and get it. Tweet that!

TAT new slogan: It's an amazing MIRACLE so many tourists still come here!

Edited May 25, 2012 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

With all this stupid nationalism, xenophobia and hypocritical image obsession displayed by some locals, I find find more than fitting that the concert apparently is called "The Born This Way Ball"...

Also quite surprised that nobody hung themselves up over her comment about "50,000 screaming Thai monsters" - unless 'monsters' is simply pop lingo for 'loving fans', of course.

That's what Gaga fans are called everywhere. Duh!

[Kalbo]

They are sooooooooooo pathetic, ranting away about the Thai image on their laptops with cracked OS........

Actually I recently bought a laptop that came without an OS. The store, one of Thailand biggest electrical retailers not only offered to install a pirated OS they were unable to tell me where I could buy a genuine OS.

Bought laptop last week,asked for genuine W7,couldn't do it,licence cost too much.Well i tried.

Wait till you do the updates and security patches.

Mine upgrades fine. Then again, must be genuine cos it was on a DVD and cost 100 baht more than the one's on CD.

[arthurwait]

The comment,

The faux outrage,

Lady Gaga

= Boring.

[Om85]

I got a friend that instead of buying a fake rolex accidentally bought a fake lady hahahhahhaha

[FOODLOVER]

There are a lot of Thai people out there including me who don't get offended by what she said.

Some of you live in Thailand for a long time and already know that you have to be 'fake' to make people like you.

When I was young and still lived in Thailand, I didn't have many friends in school & uni because I was a frank person and liked to speak my mind. Most of them hated me because of that reason. They just couldnt accept the truth.

Another funny thing I read on some forums is that some Thai people translated 'Lady Market' as Brothels [Market that sells lady] LOL instead of a shopping place.

Same thing happened to me , turns out i was just too darned handsome.I outgrew it.

[alanferdi]

its always funny to see how serious Thais become when an international icon is talking about the TRUTH ....and nothing than the TRUTH ...oh my goodness ..how shocking ..... I will boycott the concert ...bla bla bla .....if you dont want any one to talk about fake rolex or other watches ..clean your pavement ... intellectual properties here means nothing .Thais for sure have NO sense of humor. so we cannot talk about prostitution ? fake Gucci shirts ? and illegal music CDs ? LOL what a joke .....

its always funny to see how serious Thais become when an international icon is talking about the TRUTH ....and nothing than the TRUTH ...oh my goodness ..how shocking ..... I will boycott the concert ...bla bla bla .....if you dont want any one to talk about fake rolex or other watches ..clean your pavement ... intellectual properties here means nothing .Thais for sure have NO sense of humor. so we cannot talk about prostitution ? fake Gucci shirts ? and illegal music CDs ? LOL what a joke .....

Do not forget the fake smiles that ends in stares, fake ladies that end are in reality lady boys, fake tax collectors that turn up to check if you have licenses to operate and collect amounts that are not receipted or countersigned, fake claims.... SORRY CHUM,.... since when did the conscience hit some people that they are being faked? Rethink, leave your ivory castles and take to the streets. Everytime you close your eyes to reality.... someone else is photographing it for reference!

[happysanook]

Maybe Lady Gaga was being sarcastic in light of the deep root thievery of people who steal everything they can get their hands on - particularly copyrighted music. Maybe she was mocking Thailand. Maybe she has a darn good point. Maybe if more Thais mocked Thailand, Thailand wouldn't be mocked by the rest of the world as a cheap place to vacation, a cheap place to get laid, a cheap place to buy illegal stuff, just a plain cheap place.

&lt;deleted&gt;? who doesn't like cheap? the 1% of people who are rich. that's who... and even most of them are still cheap when they can be.

[TantraMantra]

Gotta love the University Lecturer Kalyakorn Naksompop's retort though.

"If Gaga supports fake Rolex in Thailand, I bet she also supports the illegal copies of her album. Such an ignorant comment!"

Nice to see a keen minded statement in the press here in Thailand.

Good point. Gaga supports Piracy. I support her though. She's an all round true artist. I don't know why Madonna still bothers...Oh! of course money and EGO.

[Roota]

The posters here seem more upset about the idea of Thais being upset about this. This is a manufactured story. Write a story based on a few tweets that says Thais are outraged when 99% don't care at all . . .

Exactly. The problem is that too many people here like to swallow this kind of story at face value so they can get all righteously indignant. A quick look at Twitter or pantip.com very quickly reveals that the silly criticisms of this Gaga person are a very small minority. But then I suspect that the farangs who get most worked up by this kind of story are generally the ones who don't read Thai and have no interest in doing so.