Italian man slammed for insulting Thai taxi driver comparing him to dog
Thai and international netizens condemned an Italian man after he posted a video insulting a Thai taxi driver for eating from a plastic bag, allegedly comparing the driver to a dog.
The Italian tourist shared the video on his Facebook account yesterday, Saturday, January 11, along with a caption written in Italian. The caption was later translated as, “Enjoy travelling in Thailand. His lunch goes viral. Let’s see why.”
The video showed a Thai taxi driver sitting on the boot of his green-and-yellow taxi while eating food from a plastic bag using a plastic spoon. The vehicle was parked at the free zone area of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
In the footage, the Italian man could be heard speaking in Italian while filming the driver, who appeared unaware of what the foreign man was speaking.
According to Thai media reports, the Italian man said in the video, “Look at our taxi driver. He is having lunch. He eats from a plastic bag like a dog. He is exactly the same as a dog. I love dogs, but this kind of people is disgusting. Is it true, Bobby?” referring to his dog.
The video quickly went viral among both Thai and Italian social media users. Many criticised the man for insulting a local who was simply eating his meal during a break.
One netizen commented that the man should show respect to locals who welcome and serve tourists. The Italian man replied that no one welcomed or took care of him, insisting that he travelled using his own money and therefore had the right to speak.
Thai netizens flooded the comment section in both Thai and Italian, condemning the man for what they described as rude and discriminatory behaviour. Some pointed out that eating from plastic bags is common in Thailand and reflects local lifestyles rather than poor manners.
Others warned that recording and sharing videos of others without consent could violate Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). Some commenters said they would report the video to immigration authorities.
The Italian man ignored the criticism and challenged netizens by posting the location of his hotel in Bangkok in the comment section, daring people to confront him in person.
As of the latest update, the video had accumulated more than 670,000 views, nearly 900 reactions, and over 1,100 comments. It has since been reposted by several Thai news outlets.
Aside from this video, the Italian man posted several others complaining about Thailand. In one of them, he filmed a street food cart and said in the caption that it was dirty.
