Then there's also the fact that they used Astarion in the bear video. The character with that backstory. The guy who tells you in game that he doesn't want to be seen as a sex object.
They'd already done the OnlyFangs thing, which I'd argue is worse.
It sure didn't age well.
That has been obvious from the start. E.g. Astarion has a scene with Gandrel early on, where his racist comment - which are very similar to anti-Romani racism - went without a reaction from the player, and I think only after player feedback they added one line where you can call him out on that. They still kept the violent outcome.
I am not sure what the message behind that is supposed be.
That's not a message, just an insight into his past and how resentful he is at that point.
