Chinese internet host’s publicity stunt in subway carriage deemed off the rails
Photo of man and his friend eating on the floor prompts more disgust than admiration
An aspiring internet personality in southern China has come under fire for a stunt he staged on a busy subway carriage that he admitted was purely “a bid to gain fame”, a local newspaper reported.
On Saturday, a photo went viral on Chinese social media showing the man, the host of a number of live-streaming sites who is known online as “Limouge”, and a friend seated on the floor of the carriage drinking and eating peanuts in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, with items of clothing hanging on handrails over their head, according to a report in the Southern Metropolis News.
Limouge, who appears on Chinese online live-streaming sites where fans can watch his performance via a webcam, told the newspaper that he had staged the scene for entertainment and “in the hope of getting famous”.
The photo shows the pair sitting on the floor beside a door of the carriage, with a spread of peanuts and boiled eggs on a small folding table.
This is not their home! How uncivilised! What on earth were they thinking?
But the stunt was greeted more by public outrage than amusement, with thousands of internet users labelling the behaviour as shameful and lacking social decency.