Teacher-turned-influencer in China fights back against sex-for-money rumours

A former preschool teacher in China who became an online celebrity has fought back against online rumour-mongers who are trying to tarnish her name.

The influencer - who is known as Teacher Huang and who shot to fame singing nursery rhymes in videos - has become the target of sex-for-money rumours, South China Morning Post reported on Monday (March 11).

A WeChat user, who goes by the name of Tianwang, claimed to have paid Huang a sum of money for sex, according to multiple media reports.

The user wrote. "She pretended to be a pure girl at first, but when I increased the price to 30,000 yuan (S$5,700) per night, she agreed to have sex with me."

Huang was also the victim of a pornography slur when another netizen released a video in which her face had been digitally attached to a naked body.

'Clean hands need no washing'

Initially, Huang ignored the rumours, only releasing a video where she said that "clean hands need no washing". 

But she changed her mind soon after and lodged a police report.

"Knowing that I myself am innocent is useless," she explained. 

"The Internet isn't a lawless place, so I calmed down and collected the evidence, reporting the case to the police."

She added: "Internet users don't have to be responsible for what they say, but I should be responsible for my own life."

Hailing from Wuhan, Huang gained fame as a girl next-door nursery teacher after a video of her singing nursery rhymes appeared on Chinese social media platform Douyin.

The clip of her singing Small Small Flower Garden has garnered 7.2 million likes to date.

Netizens were immediately taken by her attractive smile and warm rendition of the nursery rhyme, with many "singing along" in the video's comments section.

After she became an online celebrity - she has almost 7.6 million followers and over 37 million likes across all her videos - Huang quit her job and became a full-time online influencer.

Now, she does regular livestream sessions and shares snippets of her singing children's songs.

She also became a mother at the end of last year.

ALSO READ: China's state TV slams beauty influencer who told off thrifty viewer

khooyihang@asiaone.com