HEARTSTEEL and how misogyny and homophobia go hand in hand Disclaimer: This thread is informative and based on years…

HEARTSTEEL and how misogyny and homophobia go hand in hand Disclaimer: This thread is informative and based on years of personal experiences, forums, and the impact on social media. 🧵 Not liking HEARTSTEEL ≠ homophobia. I’m focusing only on social patterns commonly seen in lol.

The idea of a boyband with Ezreal, Kayn, Sett and Aphelios had already existed since 2020 as a fandom concept. After K/DA’s debut, the idea gained even more traction The hate wasn’t really there because it remained just that: an AU skinline.

But at the end of the day, the boyband actually happened. HEARTSTEEL ARRIVED. When they debuted in 2023, people were already making hateful comments even before “PARANOIA” was released, without even giving the band a chance. The very idea was already making people angry.

“Nobody wants a boyband.” “Nobody asked for this.” “They don’t fit.” “They’re ruining the male champions.” “Too gay.” “Too feminine.” These were some of the earliest reactions to HEARTSTEEL, when we had barely even seen the band’s visual designs.

HEARTSTEEL debuted with a wave of hate already behind it. Many K/DA and True Damage fans were upset that Riot was introducing a new band instead of giving their favorites a comeback.

HEARTSTEEL also had a diverse lineup that managed to upset not only the self-proclaimed “allies” of LoLTWT, but also the average male League player. The insults constantly carried undertones of homophobia and misogyny, especially toward the HEARTSTEEL fandom.

On one hand, we were accused of “ruining” their mains. On the other, female HEARTSTEEL fans were reduced to stereotypes of prostitutes, fetishists, and porn addicts simply for liking the band.

Personal clarification: This paragraph reflects my own experience. I’ve been dealing with harassment from certain parts of LoLTWT since 2023, where I’ve been called a slut, fetishist, porn addict, and fujoshi, along with even transphobic comments.

The HEARTSTEEL fandom is constantly accused of not caring about the champions, not buying the skins, flopping every time, and not being “deserving” of having a virtual band. Because apparently, if it isn’t K/DA, no one else deserves to have a virtual band, right?

The hate doesn’t stop at Twitter. HEARTSTEEL has also faced heavy criticism in China for similar reasons. Across different forums and online platforms, the band has been portrayed as a group supposedly trying to “push LGBT politics” and “ruin League of Legends.”

It’s not surprising, considering that HEARTSTEEL is made up of queer characters, ranging from K’Sante to heavily supported ships like SettPhel at the time, a pairing that was already heavily disliked by parts of the fandom. The insults didn’t just become more frequent

Why does something automatically become “bad” when it’s aimed at a niche audience? Boybands have historically had a predominantly female audience, so why does that suddenly become a problem when the majority of League of Legends players are men?

It’s common across many spaces for things aimed at women or queer audiences to face harsher criticism, be treated as less legitimate, and make it easier for hate to spread Lol has had a long history of misogyny; that’s hardly a surprise to anyone.

Even people who consider themselves queer/LGBT allies sometimes repeat the same rhetoric as the average homophobic incel. HEARTSTEEL was never trying to surpass K/DA or be better than anyone else. It was a product made with love

The HEARTSTEEL fandom never exploded into toxicity over a rivalry, because there was never a rivalry to begin with. Yet, to this day, the unnecessary hate keeps growing, and honestly, it’s exhausting.

HEARTSTEEL is a queer band, a project that is genuinely difficult to see in the industry today. The insults often include calling them “gay” as an insult, “feminine,” saying they shouldn’t exist, or calling them a product of failure.

Riot hasn’t always handled MLM characters well in League of Legends, and even so, putting projects like this out there is still a risk. When there’s little support for them, it only reinforces the idea that MLM represent

In China, HEARTSTEEL isn’t always viewed favorably because, apparently, how is a heterosexual man supposed to project himself onto them? And in the West, a gay character is somehow treated as a threat to a band of beautiful and popular girls.

Why is something automatically considered bad when it’s made for women? Why is MLM representation treated as something disgustin When the complaints specifically focus on the characters being gay or on the fact that the project isn’t aimed at men, a clear pattern starts to emerge

Everything HEARTSTEEL releases is met with hate and criticism. Their comeback was a nightmare: leaks, spoilers, indifference, sexist and homophobic insults, all while being treated as if they were competing with another band when there was never any real competition to begin with

If you made it this far, thank you so much! This isn’t directed at people who criticize the songs or designs in a healthy way. I’m talking about the toxic environment that, unfortunately, still exists to this day. Kisses.

Les dejo una publicacion de un foro chino (entre varias) ¿Es la verdad absoluta? claro que no. pero si es cierto que refleja como se ve HS en el lado chino de este fandom, y la homofobia esta muy presente. 163.com/dy/article/IHT…