Following the contentious Gabriella “LeTigress” Devia-Allen monologue on February 3 during the second week of the 2023 LCS Spring Split, Riot Games received some criticism. Many celebrities criticised the competition’s organisers for remaining mute throughout the entire situation and for not issuing any statement of their own. Others who have voiced their opinions on the matter include Brian Kibler, LCS commentator Isaac “Azael” Cummings-Bentley, and esports broadcaster Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere.
“You may have presented it, but at the end of the day it’s the responsibility of the whole LCS team to make sure things going out hit the right notes & as such it’s a failure of the whole team, not just yours,” Azael wrote. His statement was echoed by Brian Kibler, who also underlined that “the choice to air the segment was a poor one that falls on the entire LCS broadcast team.”
Sjokz expressed her compassion for LeTigress, saying that everyone can live and learn from their mistakes. At the same time, she voiced her hope that someone “superior of you speaks up here.”
Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez, an esports commentator and host, also supported LeTigress and said the LCS broadcaster should not take all the blame on herself.
“It’s unfair that you’re being harassed for a segment that was proposed to you rather than conceived by you,” he said. “I really hope the producers of LCS have your back in this publicly.”
At the time of writing, Riot has not made a comment on the incident. Its only public action so far has been retweeting LeTigress’ apology.
In the segment on Friday, LeTigress delivered a monologue about Doublelift’s history between him and TSM, his former organization, which he was playing against last Friday. At some point, the monologue went into the drama that led to AD carry’s departure, which many found “unprofessional.”
On Feb. 5, the LCS broadcaster issued an apology on her Twitter, while also revealing that she has been receiving messages full of “harassment and vitriol” ever since. Still, it caused a bigger stir in the community, with Doublieft joining the fray, saying that LeTigress should “apologize to everyone who experienced verbal abuse and workplace harassment.”