Opinion | China’s overnight social media stars are discovering the flip side of fame

After weeks of standing in front of a boiling pot, the “chicken steak guy” couldn’t take it any more. Last week, he said in a video posted to his personal Douyin account that he would take a day off.

He had grown extremely tired, not only from frying chicken nonstop, but also from the demands of his zealous fans. One news report said that during the week-long National Holiday, cornered by people asking for a picture, he exclaimed, “There’s no air, I’m suffocating.”

The “chicken steak guy” had been Li Junyong only last month. He has a small stall in the porcelain town of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, selling fried chicken steaks for a living. On September 23, he opened an account on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and was engulfed by a storm.

People were enthralled by his theatrical hand gestures, his meticulous cooking acumen and his playful wit which included telling customers, “You can reject me, but you can’t reject my delicious food” and “Students get a one-yuan discount, but I’ll charge you full price if you wait until midnight”. Having posted just 23 videos, Li has gained over 1 million followers and over 5 million likes.

The city government of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province quickly took an interest too. By September 28, the Jingdezhen tourism bureau invited him for a seminar and asked him to be the city’s “promotion officer”.

Just a few days later, his internet fame began to take its toll. It was reported that during the “golden week” holiday, people lined up for hours as spots in the queue sold for 150 yuan (US$21). Vloggers interrupted Li’s work for a photo or a video. Some created fake accounts pretending to be him while others spread false rumours about him online.