A popular Chinese vlogger who called herself “Your Highness Qiao Biluo” was reportedly unmasked last week by accident, leaving many of her fans stunned as she was revealed to be a middle-aged woman, not a glamorous young woman that they had imagined her to be. According to online reports, the vlogger had over 50,000 followers, and she was known for “sweet and healing voice”. Your Highness Qiao Biluo was said to be “worshipped” by her loyal fans as a “cute goddess”. According to a report, it has now emerged that the unmasking may have been intentional to generate buzz.

BBC reports that the unmasking incident happened on July 25, when she was hosting a joint livestream with another user, called Qingzi, on Douyu, citing Litchi News. Things were going normal and some of her fans urged her to show her real face, as she always used filters during her appearances. She refused and reportedly said: “I can't show my face until I receive gifts worth 100,000 yuan. After all, I'm a good-looking host.”

After her request, a number of her followers started sending her donations with one as large as CNY 40,000 (roughly Rs. 4,00,000). While all this was going on, her filter seemingly malfunctioned, and she was revealed to be a middle-aged woman. Your Highness Qiao Biluo has said to have only realised what was happening when a large number of her followers from her VIP access room started leaving.

According to BBC, many of her followers, especially men, have reportedly stopped following her and have withdrawn their donations.

However, according to Global Times, a China-based tabloid, the 58-year-old vlogger said after the so-called technical glitch that it was planned to add to her fame. Local media reports indicate that she has now started taking advertisements for beauty camera, like the one used by her to create the “cute goddess” persona. Her follower count has now risen from 50,000 for 673,000. She is also said to be launching a music album.