LizLaz was 'offered money' to defame Virat Kohli, controversy explained
What's the story
LizLaz, the German-South African influencer who went viral after cricketer Virat Kohli liked her Instagram post, has claimed that several journalists offered her money to publicly criticize him. She claimed they wanted her to falsely suggest that Kohli had behaved inappropriately. Despite the controversy, which also led to reality show and brand offers, she defended Kohli, insisting that he "did nothing wrong."
Allegations
'I refused these offers without hesitation'
Speaking to Filmymantra, LizLaz said, "Some people also push you to say certain things you don't want to say." "So, there were some journalists who'd offer me money to throw shade at him." She added that she refused these offers without hesitation as Kohli is her favorite cricketer. "But why would I do this to my favorite cricketer? I'm not like this. But yes, things like these also happen."
Defense
LizLaz on AI images of her and Kohli
LizLaz reacted to the Artificial Intelligence-generated images of her and Kohli together that have been circulating online. She said, "For me, it's quite funny. But for him, it's not nice because it (liking her post) was never his intention." "And he didn't do anything inappropriate." She argued that since she's a travel vlogger who creates content on India's culture, this could be why her content appeared on Kohli's feed.
Statement
'People shouldn't destroy his name like this'
LizLaz further said, "There's nothing wrong with this. I don't think it should be questioned." "Virat Kohli is a big icon of India. He's basically the Messi or Ronaldo of India. So, I think people shouldn't destroy his name like this." "He should be respected. I don't think he had any bad intention or he was reaching out to me inappropriately. He did nothing wrong," she added.
Impact
'Felt I was in my own 'Black Mirror' episode'
LizLaz recalled the day she learned that Kohli's like on her post had gone viral. "I woke up one day and felt I was in my own Black Mirror episode," she said. "I was scrolling through the news on Instagram, and I could see only pictures of myself on some big magazines and big podcasts talking about this." She jokingly claimed that Kohli has now become more popular in Germany because of the controversy.
Similar incidents
Similar incident with Avneet Kaur
Kohli, the most followed Indian celebrity on Instagram with over 273 million followers, has often been at the center of online discussions due to his Instagram activity. In a similar incident, actor Avneet Kaur also had a post liked by Kohli, which led to a huge controversy. This was so serious that Kohli had to issue a statement clarifying that it was an algorithm mistake and there was no intent behind it.