An online exchange between China's 'Lipstick King' and a viewer over the affordability of an $11 beauty item shows just how messed up the country's economy is

• A livestreamer in China is under fire for his response to a viewer complaining about the price of an eyebrow pencil.
• Li Jiaqi told the viewer to reflect on whether they have been "working hard enough" if their salary hasn't increased in years.
• His comments went viral on social media, with many accusing him of being out of touch with the common people.

A top livestreamer in China has come under fire for ranting at a viewer who complained about the affordability of a $10 eyebrow pencil.

Austin Li Jiaqi, a popular streamer on Alibaba's Taobao livestreaming platform, was selling an eyebrow pencil from Florasis, a homegrown brand, priced at 79 Chinese yuan, or $10.90, on Sunday when a viewer commented the product was too expensive. For context, Florasis' eyebrow pencils are costlier than other brands on the market, per Yicai Global.

In response, the 31-year-old — known as China's "Lipstick King" — told the viewer to do some soul-searching on why they found the beauty product expensive.

Li further told the unnamed viewer to reflect on whether they have been "working hard enough" if their salary hasn't increased in years, according to Insider's translation of a widely circulated clip of this interaction.

Livestreaming is a huge $21 billion industry in China. Streamers make money from endorsing products, receiving commissions from items sold, and tips from their followers.

Li's outburst sparked a controversy in China, where the economy has been in the doldrums after a post-COVID spurt.

In particular, youth unemployment has hit a record high, with one in five between the ages of 16 and 24 unemployed. In July, China said its GDP grew by 6.3% in the second quarter from a year ago — a big miss from the 7.3% economists polled by Reuters had expected.

Li apologized the following day, but his comments continued to fuel debate and scrutiny on his personal income and what 79 yuan means to the common person.

Many accused Li — who started his career as a cosmetics sales assistant on the shop floor — of being out of touch and forgetting his roots.

"I said some inappropriate words that made everyone uncomfortable. While I was working today, I kept reflecting on how disappointed I would be if I were the girl in the comment," Li wrote on his verified Weibo account on Monday, a few hours after the livestream ended.

"What I said failed to live up to your expectations, and I'm really sorry," he added.

Still, Li has collectively lost over 1.5 million followers from Taobao Live and Weibo, China's Sixth Tone publication reported Tuesday. At last check, Li still has 2.9 million followers on Weibo, but that's down from over 3 million before the debacle. He has 76 million followers on Taobao Live, per CNN.

"You're making money off ordinary people, yet you still mock ordinary people for being poor," read the top comment to his apology post, which had over 800,000 likes since being posted on Monday.

"You are apologizing to money, not to us," said another Weibo user on Monday whose comment garnered over 126,000 likes.

Li is no stranger to controversy.

In June last year, he mysteriously went offline after showing off a tank-shaped dessert on a live stream on the eve of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989.

His disappearance sparked speculation that the Chinese government may have censored or detained him for showing a reference to the politically sensitive event. Li resurfaced three months later with no explanation.

Li's recent outburst comes two months before Singles' Day — a mega shopping event in China. The event takes place on November 11 and is so popular that it even dwarfs Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

In 2021, Li sold nearly $2 billion worth of goods during a promotional event three weeks before Singles' Day. He did not feature in Alibaba's Singles' Day marketing campaign last year.

Li did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent via his agency, Meione.