Chinese influencer with 1.1 million followers exposed by landlady for living in squalor

Lisa Li's apartment was covered with rotting food, litter and dog faeces

Influencer Lisa Li's landlord exposed her for living in squalor. Screengrab / Courtesy pearvideo.com

Social media often lies, we all know that. An Instagram feed is a highlight reel showing the best parts of someone’s life, making it easy to fall into the trap of believing that person has a perfect existence.

This is never more prevalent than when looking at the feeds of influencers, who are often on glamorous holidays, dressed in luxury brands and eating at the best restaurants. Lisa Li is one such influencer.

Lisa Li is known for posting glamorous images to her 1.1 million followers. Courtesy The Pear

With 1.1 million followers, the Chinese "wang hong" or "online celebrity" is well known on social media site Weibo. But her fame has reached new heights overnight after her landlord exposed her for leading a double life.

While her social media feeds portrayed a glamorous life, her apartment was covered with dog faeces, rotting food and litter. Her landlord posted a video tour of the apartment in Xi'an after learning of the state Li had left the property in.

The landlady, named by Chinese media as Ms Chen, said Li had ignored a number of her calls and owed her thousands of yuan in unpaid utility bills.

Speaking to Pear Video, Ms Chen said even professional cleaners had refused to clean the apartment due to its state.

After the video went viral, Li issued an apology to Ms Chen, saying the "complete responsibility" lay with her. Speaking to news website The Paper, she said that a number of business trips and a stint in hospital had led to her falling behind with bills and apartment maintenance. Li vowed to clean the apartment, saying she would clean overnight if necessary.

Lisa Li was later filmed sweeping up the mess in the apartment. Screengrab / Courtesy pearvideo.com

Video footage of Li cleaning her apartment then surfaced online, leading to a large amount of mockery, with many branding her “fake” and vowing to never watch her videos again.