Last fall I stumbled upon a fan edit of a television show on YouTube. It intrigued me enough that I watched the show in its entirety and had a ridiculous amount of fun doing so. The show was KinnPorsche, and I loved the over the top tropes, sprawling cast, and the fact that this show existed in a magical alternate reality where everyone is queer and no one buttons up their shirts. KinnPorsche was one of my first Daily Harts of this year’s challenge, and while at the time I proclaimed that Tankhun was the best character (an opinion I still hold), the character and performance that stayed with me the most was Build Jakapan as Pete.
I could write a book on the complex and nuanced layers of this character, as well as the radiant performance behind it. And because of this, I was eager to see where this talented actor’s career would go next. Unfortunately, what happened next could also fill a book, and not a very pleasant one. In January, a series of incredibly disturbing allegations were levelled against him, and in a matter of days, he lost his job, career, and reputation. What is horrifying about this particular case is that all of the allegations against him were later proven to be false in court. As it turns out, he was actually the victim of abuse, manipulation, and gaslighting by a colleague in a position of power over him.
There are so many things that enrage me about false accusation cases like this one. But the worst is knowing how damaging they are for all victims of abuse. Because for some reason, violence and abuse against women is the one crime where in order to believe one, we have to believe them all. If someone makes a false accusation about their car being stolen, society doesn’t automatically suspect that all people who claim their car has been stolen are lying. But one woman makes false accusations, and this is held as proof that all women are lying about being victims of abuse. How many men are going to use this case as proof that their victims are lying? It makes me sick just thinking about it.
As far as this particular case goes, I can’t even begin to imagine having to go through the brutal and very public character assassination that Build Jakapan did. And in many ways continues to endure. Especially when it was proven in court that he was the victim all along. But it would seem that he possesses an unlimited reservoir of resilience, because just last month he staged a wildly successful comeback concert, during which he debuted a beautiful contemporary dance piece that quite literally took my breath away. I don’t think I will ever understand the courage that it took to create and perform this piece. All I know for sure is that Build Jakapan is far stronger than I will ever be. Hopefully someday soon he won’t need to be.
Suggestions for artists I should check out? Please contact me with your ideas. I hope you enjoyed your daily helping of art!
