A Chinese social media influencer who told a viewer to work harder to be able to afford an $11 eyebrow pencil has issued a groveling apology and is now facing the wrath of Chinese state media.
Li Jiaqi, known as the "Lipstick King," is one of the best-known Key Opinion leaders (KOL) in China, with 45 million followers on his Weibo channel alone. His video apology garnered more than 400 million clicks.
The viral influencer lost 630,000 followers overnight after his comments on Sunday. China's youth unemployment rate is at an all-time high of more than 21 percent and in June the Chinese Communist Party stopped publishing the figures. It's estimated one in five Chinese youth between the ages of 18 and 25 is jobless.
China's famous make-up influencer #LiJiaqi is in hot water due to an e-commerce livestream he did on Sunday. When viewers complained about an eyebrow pencil being too expensive (79 RMB/$10.9), he got annoyed, insisting that the product was not expensive at all. Translated video: pic.twitter.com/JDKGMKovDX
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) September 11, 2023
By Tuesday, Li had made two apologies, and China's state broadcaster, China Central Television, had waded in. "Many internet celebrities and anchors were humble before making money and became very inflated after making money...and are doomed to be disgusting and eliminated," CCTV said on its website.
The broadcaster said he had sparked anger among his fans and that it's important for Chinese internet celebrities not to forget their roots or where they came from, since their income comes from the people and they are easily replaced, according to Manya Koetse, editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, a website tracking social trends in China.
"All trades and professions are inseparable from the ordinary person. Once you 'lose it' and become detached from the general public, it is like smashing your own rice bowl," the broadcaster added.
Li was selling a Florasis eyebrow pencil live online when a viewer questioned the price, at around $11. His audience are mostly young Chinese, and he gets a commission from the products he sells. Newsweek contacted Florasis for comment.
Li told the complaining viewer that she couldn't afford the makeup because she wasn't working hard enough.
"Sometimes it's because of yourself, if you haven't seen a raise in so many years, did you work hard enough?" he asked viewers.
He later apologized on his Weibo account, and the following day apologized again via video livestream.
"As a livestream host I should send out positive energy, and learn to control my emotions," he said.
There was a mixed reaction from fans. "You are making money out of ordinary people and now you turned around saying ordinary people are too poor."
Koetse told Newsweek: "It really seems that the Lipstick King is losing his crown. It has really blown up since Sunday. First it was netizens and now we also see state media reacting to it, criticizing him. A lot of people are struggling, and he made some really quite rude comments, and these were painful comments as many people do work hard and do not see raises, especially young people, and so it does have to do with that as well.
"If we look at the state media reaction, they represent the more authoritative voice, and that has to do with the role that celebrities play in China's media environment. They really have this role model idea. They (influencers) have to radiate positive energy; they have to be a guiding example for the people. It doesn't matter whatever actress or celebrity you are; a very small thing can cause a very big row.
"He was really quite rude and turned the table on viewers. He was quite arrogant and not at all a positive role model and also not a communist one, or a socialist one at that.
"People were comparing these pencils to the weight of gold, and yes, $11 for such a small pencil is actually quite expensive.
"People like this, live streamers, influencers, build their entire presence thanks to their viewers and those who purchase from them If you then grow and forget where you come from, that's what people get really really annoyed about. The moment this happens your success can blow up in your face. One of the reasons they loved him so much was that they could relate to him. By uttering these words he shows that he has lost touch with the people purchasing from him."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
