Every cosplay outfit is an opportunity for a cancellation these days. Unless you’re dressed as a character that’s of the same race and gender as you are, chances are, someone’s going to take issue with it. In the upcoming EuroCosplay Championships in London this month, a French cosplayer named Livanart designed an elaborate costume based on the League of Legends pirate-themed character, Pyke.

While almost any other character would’ve been fair game for Livanart, the outrage brigade took issue with her decision to go with Pyke, who’s described as a “black guy”. This isn’t the first time Livanart wore the design, having previously won an award at a French cosplay event for it. Her costume, elaborate as it is, managed to earn her a finalist spot in the upcoming EuroCosplay Championships—at least until complaints surfaced.

Livanart informed her fans on Facebook that organisers suspended her costume from the competition due to “concerns”. She is still allowed to compete, but only if she wears something else.

Image: Alice Livanart | Courtesy of Facebook.

“We hear and appreciate all of your concerns regarding the costume of one of our finalists. We would like to confirm that this cosplay will not be appearing in the event, and we would like to apologise for any offence caused,” the organisers wrote.

Complaints about the costume were raised by members of the social justice mob who argued that the costume was an example of “blackface,” given that the character is dark-skinned and she is not. Unlike Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who painted his skin black on multiple occasions, Livanart did not apply make-up or paint. Instead, she designed a prosthetic suit to transform herself into the dark-skinned fantasy video game pirate.

Image: Alice Livanart | Courtesy of Facebook.

The outrage mob argues that Livanart is simply a racist who’s intentionally skirting around the rules of “blackface” through the use of prosthetics instead of makeup. They argue that painting yourself in dark makeup is rooted in historical examples of racism in North America and that any attempt for a non-black person (including Asians and Hispanics) is considered a form of bigotry that’s as bad as calling someone the n-word.

If Livanart were racist, wouldn’t she be more likely to dress up as Adolf Hitler instead of a black video game pirate?

Image: Prosthetic "Pyke" costume head piece | Courtesy of Facebook.

Posting on Facebook, Livanart stood up for herself and called on other participants to stand by her against the social justice mob.

“I am now talking to the other participants: the BEST way to show EuroCosplay that they made a huge mistake and for them to change their mentality, is to boycott the competition this year,” she wrote. “Cosplay is family, and we must stand against the oppressors.”

“Today it is me,” she continued. “But who is going to be the victim tomorrow? And what is cosplay but paying tribute to the characters that you love? Whether it is white, black, purple or elvish?”

Livanart poked fun at the Twitter pronoun brigade — social justice warriors who put their gender pronouns and their sexual kinks in their Twitter bios.

“Are we going to let ‘sad people who absolutely want to explain their sexuality on their tweeter profile’ rule cosplay? I don't want to. We are bigger than them, and we can win this fight,” she wrote.