Cheers to Dome for giving us another sudsy scandal

Better late than never, we eventually tell ourselves. Actor Pakorn “Dome” Lam, who’s been criminally irresponsible in the past, admitted on Tuesday that he’s ready to accept responsibility for posting his picture on Instagram holding a bottle of beer.
Speaking to reporters amid rehearsals for an upcoming charity concert, the man busted in 2001 in a drunk-driving incident that left two people dead agreed that maybe the beer picture wasn’t such a good idea after all.
In his own lame defence, Dome said he didn’t realise that the snapshot would have such an impact. (It did, kid – the social networks are frothing and the anti-drinking crusaders are thirsting for justice.) He’s going to have to do better than that if the cops get serious about charging him and six other beer-flogging celebrities under Section 32 of the Alcohol Control Act on suspicion of illegally advertising booze.
The police might let them off with a kick in the pants, but folks in general are thinking an A-list celebrity like Dome with billions and billions of followers online definitely knows by now that everything he posts has an impact. If he posts a picture of a bruised knee, all of his fans are going to get their knees bruised. If he uploads a picture with a bottle of Chang in it, it’s an advertisement for that beer.
Dome and the six other stars maintain that Chang did not pay them to post those photos. But, while Dome said he was just sharing a glimpse of his lifestyle, like he always does, the others have admitted they were promoting the product – not for money but to “help out a friend”. Virithipa “Woonsen” Pakdeeprasong and Nontaporn “Ying Yae” Teerawatanasuk insist they voluntarily posted the pictures. The public, ever dubious, suspects that the sudden flurry of Chang beer photos had to be a planned “seeding” campaign.
For its part, Thai Beverage Co, which brews Chang, has also denied paying anyone to advertise the new bottle design. The public, ever cynical, has seen too many celebrities rewarded in one form or another for endorsing products. And when cash is involved, it’s not chump change. Praew magazine once reckoned that A-list stars get six- to seven-digit fees for popping a picture on Instagram and the B list gets Bt20,000 or Bt30,000.
Whether the Group of 7 celebrities currently in the hot seat got paid or not, a legal battle is looming, because the Stop Drinking Network is keen to rub shoulders in court with the rich and famous.
Dome is trying to look like he’s accepting responsibility. “I’ve removed all the photos with alcoholic drinks from my Instagram and Facebook,” he said. As for being summoned by the police, he said he postponed the first appointment and the cops missed the second, so he’s waiting for another call. And he regrets posting the picture in the first place.
“I’ve been in this industry for two decades and I want to be a good role model. From now on I’ll be more careful and stop regarding the social media as my private sphere.” And he’s going to tone down the partying? Not really, Dome said. He’ll just party in private.