*Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faced backlash after his controversial remarks about African women during a political rally.
According to the South China Morning Post, he commented on the difficulties Thai women encounter in achieving success as supermodels, noting that they are more attractive than African women. Shinawatra, who returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years in self-imposed exile, said his Pheu Thai party aims to elevate Thai women as international runway stars. The billionaire described African women as “black with flat noses” while pointing to their success in securing lucrative modeling contracts.
“African people, who have black skin and flat noses that make it difficult to breathe, are hired for millions of baht to be models,” he reportedly said at a recent campaign event for a candidate running in the Chiang Rai provincial election, per SCMP.
“It’s time to encourage more Thais, including those from ethnic groups like the Karen, who possess natural beauty, to become international models,” Shinawatra said.
Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit called his remarks a “serious matter internationally.”
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“Discrimination against an individual based on their skin colour is a big problem. I want Thaksin to apologise for his remarks,” Angkhana said.
Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who serves as the current prime minister, said her father had “no intention to make racist remarks”.
“He actually meant to say that he did not want Thai women to undergo surgery, but for them to maintain their natural beauty and take part in beauty contests, they should be encouraged to do so,” she said.
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