Influencer gets one in the eye

A famous beauty livestreamer who told off a viewer for complaining about the high price of an eyebrow pencil has been slapped on the face by state broadcaster CCTV as many people are feeling feel the pinch from an economic slowdown.

Hard words for Li Jiaqi, dubbed the "Lipstick King" for his ability to get followers to sink billions of yuan into beauty products, followed a furor on social media.

"Many internet celebrities and anchors were humble before making money and became very inflated after making money," CCTV said on its website, but they are "disgusting" and will be "eliminated."

Li gets a commission from products he promotes on his livestreams.

On Sunday a viewer told Li that prices for domestic make-up products, such as a 79 yuan (HK$85) eyebrow pencil he was pushing, were increasingly expensive.

Li responded by saying prices were not rising and told the viewer she couldn't afford the eyebrow pencil because she wasn't working hard enough. But he later apologized twice to her.