Gene Lab head honcho Ohm Panthapol has explained the label’s position in the ongoing controversy surrounding embattled singer-songwriter Stamp Apiwat.
Ohm, who is also the frontman of rock band Cocktail, issued a lengthy statement on 21 January as a label representative. Gene Lab manages Tilly Birds, which has been caught in the crosshairs of the ongoing saga.
At the heart of matter is Stamp’s disclosure about being victims of harrassment, which was later revealed to be from a sound engineer who worked with Tilly Birds and his girlfriend.
Days later, however, Stamp made an about-turn, admitting on social media that he had not told the full story and revealing that he had cheated on his wife.
In his statement, Ohm apologises for the belated response to the saga, pointing out that Stamp’s initial disclosure had “many facts changed from what was understood. Some points were omitted and some were added.”
He notes that the label – and Tilly Birds – were aware of the tiff between the sound engineer and Stamp two years ago. He also points out that the sound engineer was not a Gene Lab staff, but was employed by Tilly Birds.
This meant that the label “had no direct authority” to handle the dispute between Stamp and the sound engineer. He also points out that the label and Tilly Birds were aware back then the dispute centred around adultery.
Ohm’s statement also suggests that he had floated the idea of bringing the case to the courts two years ago, and had also helped prevent any information of the case from being leaked to the media or the public.
He also corroborated the sound engineer’s account that Stamp did not “win the court case”, but rather both parties had settled out of court.
Ohm also says the label was made aware of Stamp’s “discomfort” of seeing the sound engineer and his girlfriend at “various events”, something which the latter had shared initially. He adds that Gene Lab did not know of another “ongoing dispute” between the sound engineer and Stamp.
Following Stamp’s bombshell revelation on 15 January, Ohm says Gene Lab “did not initially take any action” because it “could not understand Stamp’s intentions at all”.
“Everything that Stamp said on stage is likely to be distorted from the truth and cannot be proven in any way, because there are no documentary evidence or people to support it,” says Ohm, who notes that the allegations of harrassment “were new to us”.
On 19 January, following Tilly Birds’ disclosure that they knew the parties involved, the band had drawn flak from netizens after it emerged they had still worked with the sound engineer amid the harrassment allegations.
Stamp later apologised to the band after revealing the full extent of his cheating case, saying that he had caused them “much suffering” with his initial account.
