COPYCAT?
Woman says LEAGUE OF LEGENDS character is based on her, Riot denies it
an alias. Stephanie says she and John
met twice, and otherwise chatted and
played League over three months in- When Stephanie visited Riot’s
LA headquarters for a tour, John
produced artwork depicting her as
Ahri, which she thought “strange”
given how briefly they’d known each
other. She adds that John implied he
could influence the KD/A project.
Afterwards, Stephanie cancelled
future plans to see John and told him
he was moving too fast. Then “he
ended things and blocked me”.
Roll round to September 2020,
and Stephanie was reminded of
something John had said: a K/DA
surprise revealed on her birthday. On
A
woman named
Stephanie has alleged
that a new League of
Legends character
with a similar
appearance and name, Seraphine, is
based on her. At the crux of this
allegation is her brief relationship
with a Riot employee in 2019, who
she believes borrowed details from
her likeness and life for the popstar
from fictional girl group K/DA.
Riot denies the allegation, “Seraphine
was independently created by Riot
Games and was not based on any
individual. Additionally, the former
employee [Stephanie] is referring to
left Riot more than a year ago and
was in a department and role that
has no input whatsoever into the
creative design process.”
We omit Stephanie’s full name at
her and Riot’s request. In a Medium
post, Stephanie shared texts and
recounts her relationship with ‘John’,“IT’S BEEN KIND OF
HORRID TO HAVE A
LEAGUE CHAMPION
WHO LOOKS LIKE YOU”The pink-haired
Seraphine looks
similar to Stephanie,
and poses in
illustrations
somewhat like
Stephanie’s photos
with her cat, which
she says she sent
John in 2019.MONITOR
NEWS | OPINION | DEVELOPMENT