An online influencer in China with five million fans has faced criticism after she claimed to be earning US$41,000 a day by doing nothing. - Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin/Sohu
BEIJING: A Chinese online influencer, who boasted about earning 300,000 yuan (US$41,000) in a single day by lying in bed and later referred to it as “hard-earned money” has sparked severe backlash online.
The influencer, known by her online alias Gu Xixi, who has nearly 5 million followers on a major social media platform, recently revealed her earnings during a live stream.
Between February 8 and 16, her sales on one major live streaming platform totalled 10.39 million yuan (US$1.4 million), with an estimated commission of 2.79 million yuan earned.
On another live streaming platform, her sales amounted to 8.94 million yuan (US$1.2 million) over the past seven days.
“Today, I spent the entire day lying in bed, did nothing, and still made 1.16 million yuan in sales on my Douyin shop, with an estimated commission of 303,200 yuan (US$42,000),” she said.
“The more you cannot stand seeing me doing well, and the more you criticise me, the more I make. It is not about earning hundreds of thousands yuan per month, it is about earning hundreds of thousands of yuan per day! Understand?”
Gu Xixi, who was born in 1998 in Nantong, Jiangsu province, southeastern China, is a controversial internet celebrity who rose to fame by performing bizarre stunts, such as swallowing a ping pong ball.
Previously, her account was temporarily suspended multiple times for displaying “vulgar content,” including insulting people and even live streaming herself washing her buttocks to boost traffic.
During one live stream, she shared that at the age of 15, she was sentenced to two and a half years probation for affray, and said that she was not concerned about how it would affect her children’s future.
It is not the first time she has flaunted her wealth.
Last November, she said that she planned to buy a 2,000-square-metre villa in Nantong, with an estimated cost of over 20 million yuan (US$2.7 million).
Amid an online backlash, Gu revised her statement during a live streaming session on February 17, claiming that all her earnings were “hard-earned money”, saying that her comment was meant to provoke people who hate her.
“Do you know why I do not frequently share my sales performance now? Every time I do, there is a problem, right? It causes trouble, right? This time, it makes the headlines, right? That is why influencers like to act like they are poor,” she said.
“We did not steal, we did not rob. All the money we make is hard-earned. When I said I did nothing all day, it was meant to provoke people. Do you think I can really do nothing all day? I said it just to irritate those haters.”
However, her remarks failed to assuage the public’s anger.
One online observer said: “It is heartbreaking for a master’s student to watch, and a PhD student to cry. She has redefined what ‘hard-earned money’ really means.”
While another person added: “Please ban her account, so she does not have to ‘work so hard!’” - South China Morning Post
