Bangkok Governor blames rise in HIV on gay characters in TV shows
By Joshua Haigh
Bangkok’s Deputy Governor has blamed a reported rise in HIV infections on the media.
Thaweesak Lertprapan made the bizarre claims while speaking in Thailand’s capital while leading a governmental conference on HIV.
According to Lerprapen, gay characters in television shows like How To Get Away With Murder and Glee have made being gay “fashionable” to impressionable youths.
He argued that such portrayals on popular TV shows have made young men eager to have sex with their male friends.
“The risk to HIV is increasing among gay men more than other groups because of men imitating behavior from TV soap operas and social media,” he told media, according to GSN.
“This has made being gay fashionable and hastened the coming-out process among youths,” he added.
Despite his remarks, HIV numbers in the country aren’t even on the rise.
The Deputy Governer then admitted he didn’t have data to back up his claims, and explained that he was just repeating what a colleague at the conference had told him.
Does this man sound like Trump or is it just us?