A Texas content creator says his beloved “I ♥ YAOI” personalised licence plate has been restored after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles reportedly tried to cancel it for being “indecent”.
The creator, who goes by aSpicyCow online and is known as Amber, first shared the unusual dispute in a video posted on 10 July.
In the clip, Amber held up what appeared to be a letter from the Texas DMV stating that somebody had complained about his vanity plate.
According to the notice shown, officials reviewed the complaint, deemed the message indecent and gave Amber 30 days before the plate would be cancelled.
“Texas is stripping us of our rights!” he joked while displaying the letter and his customised Toyota GR Supra.
What Does “Yaoi” Mean?
Yaoi is a term commonly associated with Japanese manga, anime and other media depicting romantic or sexual relationships between male characters.
Although its meaning and usage have evolved, the word is widely recognised among fans of boys’ love media — making Amber’s plate a declaration of enthusiasm for the genre rather than an immediately obvious obscenity.
Texas allows personalised plates to include letters, numbers and selected symbols, including hearts. However, every proposed message must be approved by the Texas DMV before it is issued.
Amber argued that this made the later complaint and second review particularly unusual.
“What’s crazy is the plate has to be manually approved, then someone has to go through a long process to file a complaint about my specific plate, then make it undergo a second review, and then they deem if you lose it or not,” he wrote.
He also said he intended to appeal the decision.
“I Always Come Back Stronger”
Amber did not allow the apparent cancellation to end his personalised-plate era.
“Whatever Karen filed a complaint, just know I always come back and I come back stronger,” he said in the video.
He then revealed a new hot-pink plate reading “BOY ♥ KISR”, ensuring that his Toyota remained anything but subtle.
Texas rejects large numbers of personalised-plate requests each year under rules governing messages officials consider vulgar, indecent, derogatory or otherwise objectionable.
The state rejected 1,951 proposed combinations during 2025 alone.
However, “I ♥ YAOI” had already passed the original approval process and been issued, meaning its reported cancellation followed a later complaint rather than an initial rejection.
The Yaoi Plate Returns
The story appears to have reached a happy ending.
On 27 July, Amber posted that he had regained the “I ♥ YAOI” plate, suggesting either his appeal was successful or the proposed cancellation was reversed.
At the time the story first circulated, neither the authenticity of the original letter nor the reason for the apparent reversal had been independently confirmed. The Texas DMV had also not publicly explained its decision, and requests for comment from Amber and the department were reportedly pending.
For now, Texas roads may once again be graced by one of the state’s most passionately nerdy personalised plates.
The victory also means Amber has two highly memorable options for his Supra: “I ♥ YAOI” and its hot-pink successor, “BOY ♥ KISR”.
