Overwatch League host and analyst Soe Gschwind-Penski began her celebration of International Women's Day Thursday by thanking all the men who support women in their struggle for equality. Twitter users quickly pounced on her statement as a sign of internalized misogyny, and after Soe defended herself, she began to receive death threats and hate messages on the platform.





In Soe's original tweet, she wrote, " 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."

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

When one Twitter user replied to Soe saying she had "some internal misogyny to deal with," Soe retweeted the reply to defend herself. " Oh I am sorry," she wrote, "did 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."





When Totalbiscuit chimed in to offer Soe his support, she revealed that since she'd published that tweet, she had received "death threats and hundreds of hate messages," which she says were sent "because I am grateful for the men in our lives who fight alongside us for our rights...."

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

Soe is the only female member of the core OWL talent, which has led many to wonder if the OWL is doing enough in the name of diversity. She was joined for the first time Wednesday by Erin Steeby, who will be filling in for Malik Forté until the Stage 2 finals.

Cover Photo Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment