Beauty blogger Austin Li Jiaqi applies makeup while livestreaming on the e-commerce platform Taobao. The influencer, nicknamed China's "Lipstick King," sparked a backlash from some of his followers when he snapped at one of them in September. © Getty Images

China's 'Lipstick King' leaves Alibaba with a livestreaming dilemma

Live-selling influencer's outburst highlights perils of relying on stars

CISSY ZHOU, Nikkei staff writer

October 6, 2023 06:00 JST

HONG KONG -- When China's top online influencer, Austin Li Jiaqi, lost his temper during a recent live sales event, many of his followers were shocked and hurt. Some were angry enough to ditch Li and boycott the brand he was pitching.

Nicknamed China's "Lipstick King," Li has around 75 million followers on Taobao Live, a live-selling platform run by e-commerce giant Alibaba. Over the past few years, he has cultivated an image based on thoughtfulness toward his followers, mostly girls and women looking for bargains.