The absurd toxicity of the internet has claimed a new victim. Virtual content creator and independent VTuber Essie, who had won the public’s affection (and fear) for her incredible bad luck supporting various teams during the current World Cup, was forced to completely withdraw from the activity after suffering an intense and aggressive wave of harassment from extremist fans.

What began as a completely harmless joke within the community escalated to alarming levels after England’s team elimination. Essie, known for her adorable sheep-themed avatar, had been participating for weeks in a fun narrative where any country she supported by wearing its jersey during her live streams ended up losing its respective match disastrously. Although her audience initially played along with the idea that she was a walking “curse” and even begged her to wear rival team colors, England’s downfall unleashed irrational fury that crossed all acceptable limits.

One moment to the next, the girl’s inbox was flooded with genuinely hostile messages and personal attacks blaming her directly for the team’s failure. Terrified by the magnitude of the funa, Essie had to quickly hide all her contact information and post a statement demanding that attackers stop taking so seriously what was clearly just a statistical coincidence. This unfortunate experience led her to conclude that the football environment can become infinitely more toxic and dangerous than the streaming ecosystem she is used to, deciding to step back to protect her own mental health.

Considering that just a few days earlier the VTuber had tried to play with the meme after finally getting a result right, it’s depressing to see how a radical segment of fans ruined internet fun. Knowing the immense passion with which football is lived globally, do you think content creators unrelated to sports should completely avoid commenting on these tournaments to avoid risking abuse from deranged fans?