China’s Douyin livestreamer dies from drinking too much baijiu, too soon

One of Wang’s friends, a man known as Zhao, who was seen in past videos feasting and drinking with Wang, told Chinese media that the livestreamer’s body was the last broadcast. He said it was discovered around 1:00 p.m., about 12 hours after the video. Zhao suspected his friend was also drinking before he started streaming.

Mr Wang was cremated on Saturday, according to Chinese media. “May there be no (livestreaming) challenges and baijiu in heaven,” Zhao said in a video he shared to pay tribute to Wang.

Wang had multiple accounts on the video-sharing platform shut down, presumably for reasons related to online drinking. Douyin prohibits content creators from drinking alcohol during live streams. However, Mr. Wang ended up creating a new account. His latest account had around 44,000 followers.

In a previous video, Wang could be heard promising to consume large amounts of baijiu if donations from viewers reached a set target.

Mr. Wang’s death, apparently the result of his binge-eating livestream, highlights how some livestreamers perform risky stunts to win more financial “gifts” from viewers. It’s putting the spotlight back on what’s running.

In 2021, a Chinese influencer died after viewers urged him to take pesticides during a livestream.