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Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, a prominent figure in the streaming community, has been in the middle of multiple controversies during her career.
Popular live streamer and content creator Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter has been embroiled in several controversies throughout her career. Valkyrae, who is 32 years old, co-owns the 100 Thieves organization. She recently founded a media and animation company called HiHi studios.
She currently boasts over 4.08M subscribers on YouTube, 1.1M followers on Twitch, and over 2.9M followers on X. Rae recently announced her return to Twitch, the platform where she initially gained popularity, after streaming exclusively on YouTube for over 4 years.
Valkyrae is one of the most-watched female streamers in the world. She was also featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2022. However, despite all the accolades, she has found herself in hot water from time to time.
Valkyrae’s Biggest Controversies
RFLCT
In October 2021, Valkyrae announced her skin-care line RFLCT. The brand claimed to protect users from the blue light emitted by screens and displays. RFLCT was aimed at gamers and those who frequently use screens for work.
However, many critics and dermatologists slammed the product for not providing any scientific research proving the product’s claims. After receiving significant backlash over the product’s claims Rae decided to step back from the company. RFLCT ended up shutting down its operations and pulling its products off the shelves.
Adoption Controversy
In March 2023, Valkyrae announced that she was planning to adopt a child with her mother. Rae stated that her mother would be raising the child and Rae would be bearing all the financial responsibilities. Rae also mentioned that the idea of having a sibling felt unreal.
Although the streamer intended it to be a light-hearted announcement, many criticized her decision as one made solely for content.
My mom and I are considering adopting a baby! She will be the one raising them and I would be financially caring for them; the idea of having another little sibling feels unreal. does anybody reading this have experience with adoption/been adopted? what was the experience like?
— RAE (@Valkyrae) March 6, 2023
Several adoptees shared their positive experiences, while some were vocal against the idea. After receiving significant backlash over the announcement, Rae decided to keep the adoption process confidential. She mentioned that she would only provide updates if necessary. While addressing the situation she stated:
“I was foolish about tweeting a real-life thing. To sum up, I’m not gonna talk about it anymore, it’s definitely going to stay private forever. My heart was definitely broken yesterday by the replies.”
Wearing Balenciaga on Stream
In December 2022, Valkyrae was under fire for wearing a Fortnite x Balenciaga hoodie on stream. For those unaware, Balenciaga became embroiled in controversy when the brand released an advertisement supposedly sexualizing minors. Many viewers were vocal about the controversy and called out Rae for her choice of fashion. Rae stated that if she wore it under a jacket no one would notice. However, viewers ended up seeing the jumper under her jacket and called the streamer out.
After Rae saw the backlash, she addressed the situation stating:
“I already own it! It’s not like I’m gonna go buy more. It’s just, I have this, it’s a Fortnite x Balenciaga collab, they were canceled, they had a really bad promo, thing, I actually don’t know the full story, but it was a bad thing, I just saw, oops, Balenciaga, that’s bad!”
Valkyrae Faces Allegations of Cultural Appropriation
In October 2022, Valkyrae once again made headlines for using the African American Vernacular English or AAVE. In a now deleted stream, Valkyrae was seen saying:
“No cap, on a stack fr fr.”
Valkyrae was subject to a lot of backlash due to her words and was accused of cultural appropriation. However, some members of the African American community did not find the statement offensive and voiced their opinions. Streamer ImDontai showed support for Rae and called out the critics.
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