Octopus nearly rips off face of Chinese livestreamer who tries to eat it alive

To attract viewers in China's burgeoning livestreaming scene, hosts have come up with many wacky ideas.

In a video clip that's being widely shared on Weibo this week, a sweet-looking livestream host can be seen getting disfigured by an octopus as she tried to eat it while it was alive.

Just like the classic scene in Alien, the creature latched itself to her face to avoid getting swallowed whole.

"Look at the strength of its suction!" She exclaimed at the beginning of the minute-long video.

The young woman later realised she was in trouble and wailed as she slowly pulled tentacles away from her eyelid, nose and mouth.

She later realised her cheek was bleeding and screamed, "I'm disfigured!"

Ouch.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdTuVUtdnI[/embed]

But viewers are divided over the viral clip.

After the video was posted on LiveLeak, some netizens commented, "It's so scary," and "I thought her eyelid was going to get torn off."

Others were not so sympathetic to her painful encounter, with someone writing "I felt like laughing."

Live octopus is considered a delicacy in South Korea. It is, however, known to be a choking hazard as the suction cups may stick to a person's throat.

Though many people enjoy the dish by first cutting the mollusc into smaller pieces, those who attempt to swallow the creature whole tend to do it for a thrill (and the camera).

Oh, the things people do for fame nowadays.

ALSO READ: S. Korean woman dies after eating live octopus

lamminlee@asiaone.com