Douyin anchor’s ‘vulgar’ YSL beauty livestream a cautionary tale for brands this Singles’ Day

What Happened: On October 27, top Douyin anchor Crazy Little Brother Yang’s livestream apprentice Traffic Yellow (红绿灯的黄) was accused of being vulgar and indecent for her disheveled hair and contorted facial expressions when she promoted YSL beauty products during her show.

Many netizens posted screenshots of her under YSL’s official Weibo account, decrying the livestreamer for selling the luxury brands’ foundation cushion, priced at $93 (680 RMB), like a cheap ‘9.9 RMB free shipping’ item.

Weibo user Wuwosuoxin (@无我所心) wrote: “Crazy Little Brother Yang’s [livestreaming image] really cheapens the brand – I will never buy it again.”

In response to the controversy, the young anchor apologized: “My approach to the live broadcast room was just to make everyone laugh. I’m sorry for delivering a bad viewing experience. Everyone should consume rationally and compare [products] across multiple platforms. I’m too low-level. I’m sorry.” However, the apology did little to appease commentators.

On Weibo, related hashtags, such as ‘YSL customer service respond to Little Brother Yang’s apprentice vulgar behavior’ has gained more than 560 million views. The French brand customer service expressed that relevant department will look into the issue.