Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter has been visiting a therapist over trauma and “mental damage” sparked from her RFLCT skincare controversy, the 100 Thieves co-owner revealed in her return to YouTube streaming on November 2, which she nearly couldn’t do.
The whole RFLCT saga, from the launch backlash to ongoing questions about Valkyrae’s integrity and character have taken their toll on the YouTuber.
On October 19, stream-queen Valkyrae lifted the lid on her long-hyped two-year project: RFLCT, a skincare brand designed to “protect gamers from blue light glare.” Only, the online world wasn’t as excited — the product came under fire immediately, with many dubbing it a “snake oil” scam.
Valkyrae went dark — outside one “tell-all” stream she now regrets — and RFLCT’s powerbrokers stuck to their guns for nearly two weeks. In the end, however, the skincare brand eventually shut its doors on October 29.
Now, a fortnight after the whole affair, Hofstetter has returned to streaming and since revealed to her YouTube fans just how badly the controversy affected her.
The biggest fallout for Valkyrae, she revealed in her November 2 return, was struggling with “trauma.” The 100 Thieves owner feared, for a time, that her career was all but over, and her image damaged beyond repair.
She admitted: “I’m going to therapy… I’ve got a lot of trauma.
“[After the RFLCT controversy], I became very depressed. I have depression,” the star continued. “I’ve really been having a bad time… I do think I have mental damage from all of this, for sure. I got very lucky in that there wasn’t a lawsuit [for the break] or anything, but I’m still in a terrible mental place.
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“I know it’s only been two weeks and it will get better… but it was a big mistake, and it’s really left me in a terrible place. I have to give myself time.”
Related segment begins at 17:14 in Valkyrae’s stream below.
Valkyrae also confirmed that RFLCT had shut its doors on October 30, as reported by Dexerto at the time. According to the 100 Thieves owner, the skincare brand has “started to pull their products out of more than 400 stores.”
The biggest victory for Valkyrae, she revealed, was that it was a “clean break,” with her lawyers and RFLCT management setting on a split rather than a lawsuit.
“I’m not perfect,” she admitted, “and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I was incredibly naive [to get involved with RFLCT], and it’s been a big learning lesson. I’m going to be more careful with everything moving on now, that’s for sure. I’m naive, impulsive, and too trusting. Toast told me the last one.
“It’s crazy figuring out just how dumb and naive you are, how naive you can be,” she added. “I can’t trust myself anymore. I just can’t do that anymore.”
