BEIJING (SCMP): A Chinese big stomach influencer with more than 30 million followers on social media garnered attention for her surprising revelation that she was biologically male, living as a woman.
The internet celebrity, known by the handle @langweixian on a short video platform, vanished from the digital landscape in 2022 following a legal dispute with her multichannel network (MCN). Despite her vast following, she faced significant challenges during this time.
Subsequently, she created a new account to tell her fans of her biological identity as a man.
Langweixian, whose real name is Li Hangze, burst onto the scene in 2018, gaining notoriety for her impressive appetite.
While her eating achievements paled in comparison to those of other competitive eaters, her candidness and the intrigue surrounding her gender drew viewers in.
Langweixian presents herself as a woman and speaks in a feminine manner. However, her baritone voice led many to speculate about her true gender for years.
Li explained that he adopted a female persona to fulfil the roles of both mother and father for his son, a teenage boy he has raised alone since divorcing his wife. He expressed remorse that his son did not have a mother to pick him up from school like his peers did.
Later, Li stated that he began dressing as a woman for no particular reason.
He also endured multiple cosmetic surgeries to enhance his femininity.
Rather than expressing outrage over the deception, the public’s fascination shifted to Langweixian’s legal troubles with the MCN.
Langweixian’s account was suspended after her collaborator, You Xu, urged her to leave their original Tianquanxing MCN company, located in southwestern China’s Chongqing.
You was among the company’s earliest staff members, and the founders entrusted her with managing both the business and Li’s account.
Exploiting their trust, You forged an account rental agreement between her and the company. She retained control of Li’s account, which she had registered under her own name, and renamed Langweixian’s account to reflect her own.
You once informed the founders that the Langweixian account could be sold for 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million).
A staff member later disclosed that You had also removed several electronic devices from the company, including hard drives and mobile phones.
In 2023, You was arrested for occupational embezzlement, and recent reports indicate she has been sentenced to eight years in prison and fined one million yuan (US$140,000).
The company successfully reclaimed the account and allowed Li to resume control.
Currently, Li’s two accounts boast a combined following of 32 million. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
