A prominent eSports commentator revealed on Thursday that she received “death threats and hundreds of hate messages” in response to a tweet expressing gratitude to men for their support on International Women’s Day.

Soe Gschwind-Penski, the Overwatch League host and analyst known as Soembie, had sent a tweet earlier on Thursday offering “a special shoutout to all the men in our lives who have supported us, gave us a voice when we had none, fought for our cause and treated us the way we all ought to treat each other...like a fellow human being - no race, no gender”.

It's #InternationalWomensDay I'd like to give a special shoutout to all the men in our lives who have supported us, gave us a voice when we had none, fought for our cause and treated us the way we all ought to treat each other...like a fellow human being - no race, no gender. — Soe Gschwind-Penski (@Soembie) March 8, 2018

But shortly after, the 29-year-old from Switzerland described the heaps of abuse prompted by her initial remark by way of responding to a user who wrote: “Lady you have some internal misogyny to deal with”.

“Ive gotten death threats and hundreds of hate messages the past 20 minutes because I thanked men for treating me as their equal, on a day which is all about womens struggle for equality,” Gschwind-Penski posted. “Hate, because I am grateful for the men in our lives who fight alongside us for our rights.”

She added: “[D]id I offend you by treating ALL genders equal and thank humans for treating each other the way they should? Believe it or not but women are not the only ones fighting for equality.”

Ive gotten death threats and hundreds of hate messages the past 20 minutes because I thanked men for treating me as their equal, on a day which is all about womens struggle for equality. Hate, because I am grateful for the men in our lives who fight alongside us for our rights... — Soe Gschwind-Penski (@Soembie) March 8, 2018

The professional scene around Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter from World of Warcraft developer Blizzard featuring a diverse cast of heroes spanning genders and ethnicities, has at times struggled to reflect the game’s inclusive values.

The two-year-old OWL did make headlines last month when South Korean teenager Kim Se-yeon signed with the Shanghai Dragons to become the league’s first female player.

But high-profile eSports competitions remain a male-dominated space: Gschwind-Penski is the only female member of OWL’s full-time commentary team.