League of Legends has its first ever lesbian champion, Neeko

Nov 20 2018
Written by Josh Jackman

League of Legends' Neeko mesmerised by a butterfly

Neeko, a shapeshifting chameleon, is the game’s first lesbian champion (League of Legends)

League of Legends has introduced its first ever lesbian champion, Neeko—and she’s a shapeshifting badass who’s not afraid to speak her mind.

The multiplayer online battle game, which is played by around 100 million people every month, unveiled Neeko—a queer chameleon who is able to take on other forms—on Monday (November 19).

After Neeko’s interactions made players wonder about her sexuality, Matt Dunn, senior narrative writer at League of Legends developer Riot Games, replied to a fan on Twitter, writing: “Neeko *does* like female champions more than male champions.

League of Legends writer Matt Dunn confirms Neeko is a lesbian

“Neeko *does* like female champions more than male champions” (thatmattdunn/twitter)

“Neeko identifies as a lesbian.”

Gamers had spotted that when Neeko takes on another character’s female form, she makes comments such as: “Neeko is joyful to become you” and “wish I could stay like this forever,” and asks other female characters questions like: “Does dragon lady want to eat lunch with Neeko sometime maybe?”

This is in stark contrast to her reactions when she takes on a male’s appearance, with the chameleon throwing out quips like: “Yuck! Take a bath! Gross” and asking: “Do I smell as bad as I look?”

Neeko, lesbian character from League of Legends

Players thought Neeko might be a lesbian because of her in-game remarks (League of Legends)

Dunn also tweeted that Neeko was “currently single and looking. She loved (fellow champion) Nidalee, but it was unrequited.”

The game has previously introduced a gay champion called Varus, who fuses with his lover, Kai, and a dark spirit to create a whole new being.

League of Legends players delighted with lesbian Neeko

Queer fans of League of Legends were ecstatic at the news.

“As a young queer person, it’s great to see characters like Neeko in media who represent my reality so accurately”

— @Not_Named_Laura

Though there was, of course, anti-gay outrage from some of the game’s players, the rainbow wave of support was much more powerful. Comments like “She is ME. I lOve hER” and “You saved my life” were common.

One enthusiast tweeted at Dunn, writing: “I know this is going to get lost in the ocean of replies but I wanted to thank you and the others who worked on Neeko for this representation.

League of Legends fans were happy about the introduction of lesbian character Neeko

“Thank you so much Matt” (Not_Named_Laura/twitter)

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