A Thai stand-up comedian has been charged with royal defamation for allegedly defamatory references during his recent stand-up comedy performance to the sufficient economy concept, a development approach associated with the late King Bhumibol.

Udom “Nose” Taepanich, a well-known Thai stand-up comedian, faces a royal defamation charge filed by former Palang Pracharath MP, Pareena Kraikupt, according to a report in The Standard.

In his Netflix special, Solo Special: Super Soft Power, Udom talked about self-sufficient farming, stating that after spending time with nature, he found it difficult to lead a sufficient life and earn a living solely from farming. He revealed that he did not aspire to live a sufficient life, but rather wanted to be perceived as doing so.

He also told his audience that they do not have to emulate influencers who seemed to engage in farming because what they actually did was just take photos. In the end, it is actual farmers who do these kinds of agricultural activities. “When I was a child, I was poor enough, no need to pretend to be poor. I just want to have cool air conditioning and a strong internet connection to watch movies all day, and no flies swarming round my eyes. I am a consumer,” he remarked.

Public opinion has split into two sides. Some agreed that a truly sufficient life does not exist, while some argued that Udom did not actually grasp the approach and looked down on the late King Bhumibol’s self-sufficient economy philosophy.

On Wednesday, Pareena posted on her Facebook page that she could not tolerate Udom’s attitude towards the country’s highest institution. She also noted that she had already filed a royal defamation complaint against him.

In 2020, Pareena was stripped of her MP status and banned from political office for life after the Supreme Court ruled that her guilty verdict in a land encroachment case was a serious breach of ethics.  She was later ordered to pay for the by-election to choose her successor.

Meanwhile, ex-Palang Pracharath Party member and royalist Sonthiya Sawatdee filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police Bureau, seeking an investigation into whether the content of the show intended to reference the late King’s sufficient economy. The former MP also said that Udom should clarify who the influencer he mentioned was.

It is reported that Sonthiya previously did the same thing about the Solo 13 Show in 2022, when Udom mentioned the former prime minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. But after the former PM’s term ended, Sonthiya revoked his complaint.