Trans leader’s TikTok blunder: A careless like for a disabled spot

A Thai transgender community leader apologised for an inappropriate TikTok video mocking people with disabilities and using a special car park for disabled people, stating that she was careless and focused only on gaining likes and shares on social media.

Esor News 3 reposted the TikTok video of the renowned transgender community leader, Nattanon “Tor” Sudtanon, on August 20, drawing criticism towards her.

In the video, Tor is seen getting out of her pickup truck, which was parked in a space reserved for people with disabilities, and pretending to exit the vehicle with a lame leg. The caption in the video read, ‘POV (Point of view): who will be smarter than Chief Tor.’

Many netizens condemned her for parking in a space reserved for people with disabilities and criticised her for sharing the video on social media. Some accused Tor of mocking and insulting disabled people, with a few even wishing that she would end up with a real lame leg.

Tor later deleted the video from her account and issued an apology yesterday for her actions. She explained that the incident occurred at a hardware store in the Isaan province of Loei, where she was working on August 17 at around 5pm.

Tor acknowledged that she had been thoughtless and had not considered the feelings of others, particularly those with disabilities, before posting the video. She said she had merely wanted to create a funny video to gain views and likes from netizens.

Tor expressed deep regret for what she had done and stated that she had learned a significant lesson from the experience. She admitted her wrongdoing and, although she cannot change the past, she offered her sincere apologies to people with disabilities.

Tor also apologised to her followers for disappointing them and urged others to think carefully before sharing anything on social media.

Tor is a well-known local government official who previously made headlines when she successfully won an election and secured the position of community chief, despite facing bias due to her gender.