The Virat Kohli “like” controversy on Instagram has taken a new twist, with German model and influencer LizLaz claiming that she was approached and paid to spread negative statements and raise baseless allegations about the Indian cricket star. The row first sparked momentum when Kohli’s official Instagram activity appeared to include a “like” on one of LizLaz’s posts, setting off a wave of debate and speculation across social media.
LizLaz, who later became a trending figure herself, said she was persuaded by members of the media to make false claims about Kohli and then publicly target him. She also alleged that she was offered money to carry out the idea. The remarks resurfaced widely after clips from an interview with Filmymantra Media went viral on social platforms on Tuesday.
Speaking in the interview, LizLaz said, “Some journalists even offered me money to say bad things about him (Virat Kohli) and make allegations about things he never did. But why would I do that?” She maintained that Kohli remains one of her favourite cricketers and insisted she had no plan to harm his reputation for publicity or any financial motive.
LizLaz also described how she only became aware of the Instagram activity after people started calling her about it. “I found out because people started calling me. I didn’t even see it in my notifications,” she said. She added that her online accounts quickly became flooded with messages as the topic escalated, leaving her at the centre of the conversation.
She further recalled the intensity of the digital attention, saying that when she searched online, there were extensive pages devoted to the matter. “I opened Google and there were pages and pages about me. It felt very unreal,” LizLaz said.
One of the most notable parts of her account was the difference in how the story was discussed in Germany compared to India. “In India people were asking, ‘Who is Lizlaz?’ But in Germany, the headlines were asking, ‘Who is Virat Kohli?’ because cricket is not very popular there,” she joked.
Meanwhile, Kohli’s focus remains on IPL 2026, where he is playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He was in the hunt for the Orange Cap during the season, but his momentum stalled after he was dismissed for a duck in two straight matches—only the second time such a sequence has happened in his IPL career. In the current campaign, Kohli has amassed 379 runs for RCB across 11 innings, including three half-centuries.
