German influencer and singer LizLaz has made a startling claim in the ongoing Virat Kohli Instagram controversy, alleging that journalists offered her money to publicly attack the Royal Challengers Bangalore star and make false accusations against him. The influencer, who unexpectedly became the center of a social media storm after Kohli’s account appeared to “like” one of her posts, stated that she refused to damage the cricketer’s reputation for publicity or financial gain.
Speaking in an interview with Filmymantra Media, clips of which quickly went viral online, LizLaz alleged that she was approached by journalists who wanted her to make false statements about Kohli. “Some journalists even offered me money to say bad things about him and make allegations about things he never did. But why would I do that?” she said. LizLaz also made it clear that she had no intention of targeting Kohli and actually considers him one of her favorite cricketers. “I would never do that for publicity or money,” she added while speaking about the controversy.
The influencer also recalled how she only realized the incident had blown up after her phone started flooding with calls and messages. “I found out because people started calling me. I didn’t even see it in my notifications,” she said. Interestingly, LizLaz had earlier reacted sympathetically towards Kohli over the trolling he received online after the incident exploded across social media.
The entire controversy started after Kohli’s Instagram account appeared to “like” an older post featuring LizLaz alongside photographer Advait Vaidya. The interaction quickly went viral because Kohli does not follow the influencer, leading to widespread memes, speculation, and online chatter. Within minutes, screenshots of the interaction flooded social media, with fans jokingly reviving Kohli’s now-famous “algorithm” explanation from a similar controversy in 2025 involving actress and influencer Avneet Kaur. Back then, Kohli had clarified that the interaction was accidental and linked it to Instagram’s algorithm while clearing his feed. This time too, the reactions online largely turned into memes rather than serious controversy, with phrases like “algorithm registered another interaction” quickly becoming social media jokes again. LizLaz later revealed that she initially felt happy seeing Kohli interact with the post but also felt bad seeing him get heavily trolled online afterwards. An older clip of the influencer supporting Royal Challengers Bengaluru also resurfaced during the controversy, where she described herself as an RCB fan and called Kohli one of the most exciting players to watch.
For most of IPL 2026, Kohli looked set for another classic season with the bat. The RCB opener scored 379 runs in his first 11 matches and stitched together nine straight double-digit scores while acting as the stability behind Bengaluru’s rise towards the top of the table. But the last two matches have suddenly shifted the conversation. Kohli heads into RCB’s crucial clash against Kolkata Knight Riders after back-to-back ducks, managing just three balls combined across both dismissals. Despite that mini-slump though, RCB have continued winning, something that perhaps says a lot about how balanced the side has looked this season compared to previous campaigns where Kohli’s form often directly shaped Bengaluru’s fortunes. Still, with the playoffs approaching and pressure matches arriving one after another, Kohli’s form remains one of the biggest talking points around RCB heading into the final phase of IPL 2026.