Riot Games has rushed to update an upcoming League of Legends emote that comes packed with several LCS designs, after the League community pointed out how “toxic” the Akali artwork could be.
Most toxic emote 😡
The League emote, which was revealed earlier this week, depicted assassin champion Akali in a green-washed 100 Thieves jumpsuit with one eye raised and her hand formed with a finger and thumb pinched together—a casual gesture often associated with telling someone they have small genitals. Today’s update has now changed Akali’s only visible hand to instead cover her ear.
It’s not surprising that Riot made the change so quickly, especially considering that League developers have been working to remove anything that could be used to promote toxicity in ranked queues. This rapid rework comes a year after the team removed a “bait” emote that was frequently used to criticize struggling players.
What is somewhat surprising is that the Akali emote was even revealed in its original form, given the massive anti-toxicity campaign. Dot Esports reached out to Riot PR for more clarity on the design process.