During a livestream with She-Ra and the Princesses of Power showrunner Noelle Stevenson and members of "Crew-Ra" on Wednesday, Stevenson recounted an "inside joke" with board artist Sam Szymanski that sparked significant controversy. While discussing the writer's room process, Stevenson made reference to a seemingly long-running joke about main character Bow, a skilled archer, having multiple siblings whose names all rhyme, in addition to reflecting their main pursuits.
"There's like Oboe and he plays the oboe, and Gogh -- like Van Gogh -- and he's missing an ear," Stevenson explained. "[Sam] would come up and just be like, 'Which one of Bow's brothers likes to till the fields?' I'm like, 'Which one, Sam?' and he's like, 'Sow.' Sam was very big on puns."
Fans were quick to point out the racist implications of a Black character named "Sow" being the one to "till the fields." Stevenson was called out for perpetuating racist stereotypes about African Americans and for repeating a joke that implies Bow's brother is a slave. Although Stevenson admitted to being unaware of the implications in an apology she posted to Twitter, the joke and the fan art mentioned in the stream -- which she also shared on Twitter -- both seem to reveal implicit racism.
In her apology tweets, Stevenson wrote, "Hey everyone, I made a very careless statement in today's stream that hurt a lot of Black fans and fans of color. The implications did not occur to me and that lapse in judgment is fully, 100% on me. I apologize wholeheartedly and I'm sorry for the hurt caused and trust lost.
"I take the responsibility of creating a safe and positive space for fans very seriously, and I've failed in that today," she continued. "Thank you for making your voices heard. I will be rededicating myself to examining my language and behavior so that this failure will never be repeated."
Stevenson ended her apology with a reminder to her fans not to harass or attack anyone who called her out. "And for white and nonblack fans, please remember that I do not need defending and do not harass or add emotional labor to those hurt by this. I accept the consequences and will be taking serious action to make this right in any way I can."
The She-Ra stream sparked tons of discussion on Twitter and Stevenson's name was trending in the U.S. for some hours on Wednesday. Black illustrators and animators commented on the issues they face in the industry and how problems like this could be mitigated if more Black creators were allowed in writers' rooms. Several also pointed out that Crew-Ra is all white, which is problematic in and of itself.
In addition to the slavery joke, fans also noted that a cisgender, heterosexual man used the d-slur for lesbians and there was discussion about characters Entrapta and Hordak being good Autistic and disabled representation, which has been a major discussion point in the fandom since She-Ra premiered in 2018. A viral tweet implied these comments were also made my members of Crew-Ra, but this information is incorrect.
She-Ra: Progressive of Power podcast co-host and producer Eric Garneau used the d-slur -- though he later tweeted he had been "cleared to use it by the show creators" and then locked his Twitter account. The claim that Entrapta and Hordak are good representation came from a fan email that was read aloud on the livestream.