Mario Kart 8 Deluxe patch edits out obscene gesture

An update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — version 1.1 — is now live on Nintendo Switch, consisting of a few minor tweaks to the game. Most notable on the update’s patch notes is an adjustment to one of Inkling Girl’s animations — which, it turns out, was originally pretty offensive to players from certain regions.

As Twitter users pointed out shortly after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s launch, Inkling Girl often taunts racers she breezes past by placing her hand on a flexed bicep, pumping her first into the air.

To many players, that doesn’t have much significance beyond signaling that this girl likes to brag about how fast she is; it also recalls the iconic Rosie the Riveter, a inspirational wartime icon. But that specific gesture is actually known as the bras d’honneur, or “arm of honor,” in parts of Europe and Latin America. When someone bends their arm and grips their bicep in your direction, it means you’ve gone and pissed them off — they’re effectively saying to you, “Up yours.”

That’s a little too blue by Nintendo’s standards, which explains why the animation has been revised. Now, Inkling Girl just fist pumps into her air, without any bicep-grabbing involved.

Neitelo/NeoGAF

The rest of the update fixes issues with online matches. The whole list is on Nintendo of America’s support page.