Embattled singer-songwriter Stamp Apiwat has admitted to having an extramarital affair, in a bombshell turnaround days after he revealed he and his wife were harrassment victims.
In a statement early on 20 January, the 42-year-old apologised for “(choosing) to exclude the real root cause” of the alleged harrassment, while admitting that he had cheated on his wife.
The harrassment allegations first surfaced on 15 Janaury, in the middle of Stamp’s showcase in Bangkok. The 20-minute recount saw Stamp recount several instances where he and his wife Jerisuda Sriwat were being harrassed.
He also revealed that he had pressed charges against an unnamed person and his girlfriend, and had won the lawsuit.
The allegations sent shockwaves across the Thai music industry, with artistes like Bowkylion (and her label What The Duck), as well as bands like Moving and Cut coming out to distance themselves from the controversy.
Tilly Birds then disclosed that they knew who Stamp’s alleged harasser was, and that the person worked as a sound engineer with the band. Despite requests – reportedly from Stamp – to fire the said person, Tilly Birds declined to do so, noting that the employment of the person was not related to the ongoing controversy.
In his latest statement, Stamp apologised to “everyone who was caught up in my story”. In particular, he said sorry to Tilly Birds “for causing them suffering…from the problems I created in my family”.
Alluding to the criticism the band caught after their statement, Stamp says: “The fight we had would not have happened if I had been honest with my wife from the beginning.”
Stamp also apologised to other artistes like Bowkylion, Moving and Cut, as well as Mean, all of whom were implicated in the controversy.
The matter took an interesting twist on 19 January, when a Facebook profile purported to belong to a friend of Stamp’s revealed that the singer-songwriter had not “told the full story”.
The friend also disclosed the incident involved adultery, and not harrassment as initially alleged by Stamp.
Explaining why he chose to recount the story in the middle of a showcase, Stamp said he “intended to use the stage as a medium” to inform everyone what was going on, “to inform a number of people” about the court proceedings.
“So I used the method…of not naming any individuals, and I avoided the issue that was the real cause. But…the biggest mistake was that I did not think at all that someone would dig up and reveal to the public who the characters…were,” he wrote.
He apologised again to the parties involved, and to his wife and fans: “I had done something inappropriate. I promise that from now on, I will live my life with caution and be mindful.”
“I apologise for causing trouble to everyone.”
