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Who runs Girlfriend Reviews? Liberal YouTube gamers brutally slammed while playing 'Hogwarts Legacy'

Girlfriend Reviews faced the ire of netizens for streaming 'Hogwarts Legacy, an action role-playing game due to be released on February 10

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: While the 'Harry Potter' franchise, based on the popular book series by British author JK Rowling, may have earned over $7.7B at the box office, the series' legacy is fast fading. Apart from the movie, the books, games and merchandise remain an important part of the childhood of millions. However, recent comments by Rowling, perceived by many as being transphobic, have not just courted controversy for the author, but also for everything else that is associated with the words: "Harry Potter". 

Recently, two gamers faced the ire of netizens for streaming 'Hogwarts Legacy', an action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label, which will release on February 10. The gamers - Matt and Shelby - who operate the popular gaming channel, Girlfriend Reviews, were berated by netizens while streaming the upcoming game on Twitch. However, before we move on to the controversy and what exactly transpired during the live stream, here's everything you need to know about the popular gamer couple. 

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Who are Matt and Shelby of Girlfriend Reviews?

Girlfriend Reviews was founded around the year 2018 by real-life couple Matt and Shelby, whose hilarious narrations as they review the games have earned them over 1.37 million subscribers on YouTube. Their Twitch channel’s very first video in November 2018 gained over 1.6 million views.

As per a 2020 video the couple had posted, Matt and Shelby met online and hit it off instantly. While Matt takes care of the script and the video editing, Shelby ensures the humor quotient in their videos. In the 2020 video, Matt had said that they got the idea of creating the channel while he was playing 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' and Shelby was watching.

"When Matt got Breath of The Wild, I didn't see him in a while. He was in Hyrule (location in the game map)," Shelby can be heard saying in the video. "We got the idea from the map sound because I would open it probably every 30 seconds...and it started to drive Shelby crazy. I think we both had the idea at the exact same moment where what if we reviewed Breath of the Wild from the perspective of a girlfriend who has to listen to it all day," Matt, who has been editing videos from when he was about 16, said.  

What happened during Girlfriend Reviews' 'Hogwarts Legacy' Twitch stream?

"We will be playing Hogwarts Legacy early today thanks to a code we got cuz we're real big-time reviewers," the couple had announced on Twitter on Monday, February 6, providing a link to their Twitch stream. However, with the ongoing controversy surrounding Rowling, several fans had requested them to distance themselves from the upcoming game. "In the broad context of what's happening with LGBT+ folk, especially trans people, this isn't really it. Me and my partner love your channel and will continue to support, but please do reconsider this one," a user commented on their post. "Please do not play a game that is harmful to the trans community. Thank you," wrote another user. "There are some games you shouldn’t review. This is one of them," wrote a third. 

During their Twitch stream, the couple was bombarded with rude comments from several users online, to a point where the high-spirited, humor-filled Shelby's voice was heard cracking up a little as if she was on the verge of tears. A few minutes into the stream, Matt says, "I’m almost thinking of just going offline. I’m barely into the second combat here and every time I look at chat, the conversation is just bothering me.” 

“Maybe we can do a quick be right back, or a little break or something,” Shelby cuts in to which Matt tells her to take a break if she wants. "I’ll just stop talking and go fight and do the combat,” he says. Soon Shelby goes offline, with Matt telling his viewers, “Y’all done did it now,” and ended the live stream on a negative note.

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