Thai Tiktokers slam Indian artists’ song as racist, sexist, insulting toward Thailand (video)

Thai TikTokers slammed a song by some Indian artists, calling it racist, sexist and insulting toward Thai men and women.

The Song, Bang Bang Bangkok, performed by Indian artists Ranina Reddy, Rita, and Devi Sri Prasad, serves as the movie soundtrack to the 2015 Indian rom-com Kumari 21F. Despite its release year, the song has just gained popularity on the TikTok application recently.

The main lyrics in question are…

“Same same but different. No money, no honey. Good boy go to heaven, bad boy go to Bangkok.”

Thai TikTok users flooded the comment section of videos featuring the song, expressing their dissatisfaction. They argued that the phrase “same same but different” ridicules the way Thai people speak English, possibly referencing interactions between Thai vendors and foreign customers discussing product variations.

The lyrics “no money, no honey” were interpreted as an offensive stereotype, suggesting Thai women only date foreigners for money. Some users even linked this to the context of sex work, particularly in tourist hotspots like Pattaya, which was featured as the background of the music video.

The line, good boys go to heaven, bad boys go to Bangkok, raised concerns among netizens who felt it stereotyped Bangkok. Netizens reckon it painted Bangkok only as a den of iniquity, a hub of immoral activities

Thai TikTokers who made videos of this song were the most criticised. Netizens saw these people as betraying the country and blaming the country they live in instead of improving the country’s image. One netizen admitted the video was insulting.

“I feel bad when I learn the meaning of this song. It makes me sad to see foreigners using the song to make fun of Thailand, but it was even worse to see Thai people joining the trend.”

In contrast, many Thai people found the song enjoyable while others admitted that some points mentioned in the song were true, and foreigners knew about them even if they were not mentioned in the song.

Some netizens thought that the song was good for Thai tourism and that it would help foreigners know more about Bangkok, Pattaya, and Thailand. The heated debate continues…