Internet Star Dies After Excessive Drinking on Livestream
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A Chinese live streamer died shortly after he was seen drinking excessive amounts of alcohol on Douyin.
User Brother San Qian drank at least seven bottles of baijiu（Chinese spirits） during a live stream last Tuesday.
According to the report, San Qian put four bottles of Baijiu into a huge wine glass and drank the entire glass in one go. Baijiu is a colorless liquor typically ranging from 35% to 60% in alcohol content. His lifeless body was found the following day.
His death - widely discussed on the internet - has sparked calls for stronger regulations of the booming live-streaming industry.
The 34-year-old, whose last name was revealed as Wang by the media, had specialized in drinking the Chinese liquor during live streams. Baijiu is a strong spirit that contains up to 60% alcohol.
May 16, he participated in four one-on-one PKs, where influencers competed with each other to earn the most amount of gifts from fans in a short window of time.
He lost three of the rounds, after which he had to drink bottles of baijiu as punishment. Viewers said he drank at least seven bottles that night.
Wang ended his live streaming after midnight. He was found dead the following afternoon, his friend told a Chinese news outlet.
"When his family found him, he was already gone, he didn't even get a chance for emergency treatment," a man named Zhao told Shangyou News. A funeral was held on Saturday.
“I was very shocked by the death of my friend. We were close friends. I did not think he would die from this cause. He was an honest and good-natured person. I received the news on the night of May 19 and traveled to my hometown to see him for the last time. I could not sleep since yesterday.
“He died on May 16 after the live stream ended at 1 am. His dead body was found dead at 1 pm the next day. I don’t know how much he had been drinking before streaming, but I saw him drink nearly four giant glasses of alcohol in the video. He drank three bottles without vomiting and then continued with a fourth bottle.” Zhao said.
Douyin already bans drinking during live streams, with penalties ranging from warnings to users being restricted from livestream competitions and being shown on the app.
Wang had also been banned from the app before for drinking. But he circumvented this by opening new accounts, Chinese media reported. His most recent account had more than 44,000 followers.
A report by authorities last year found more than one billion internet users were active on short video platforms like Douyin, and the industry is worth about 199 billion yuan ($28 billion).
Wang's death has sparked huge scrutiny of the safety and regulations of such apps. The People's Daily newspaper posted an editorial on its Weibo account criticizing "livestream behaviors that go off the tracks."
He is just the latest live streamer whose death has been linked to their online work.
In 2021, Yu Hailong, who became popular for eating excessive amounts of food on Douyin, died after "long hours of high-intensity work", his agent said.
In 2018, live streamer "Dafei", who was known for drinking alcohol and cooking oil on camera, also died shortly after an online broadcast.
*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.*
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