Valkyrae begs her fans to stop sexualizing her online: “It’s so messed up”
YouTube: ValkyraeRachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter is fed up with “creepy” YouTube viewers sexualizing everything she does online, from gym workouts to IRL streams, and has begged them to stop so she can branch out her broadcasts.
The queen of YouTube has a request for a specific group of fans: stop “sexualizing [her] online,” because it’s stopping her from doing non-gaming videos.
Hofstetter’s plea came after one of her regular YouTube viewers asked her when she was going to do another workout stream. The star admitted she is hesitant to do anything beyond gaming streams because some “creepy” fans turn everything she does into “inappropriate content” via posts and videos.
“I did a charity stream like two years ago, and I threw my back out a little bit. Just a little bit, and I was in a onesie, and it didn’t matter [to these viewers]. They took it to disgusting forums anyway,” Valkyrae revealed.
“So I avoid it. I don’t want them making it something gross.”
“I wish it wasn’t like that, but it is what it is I guess,” she said. “Yeah, I wish they weren’t like that. I just want them to stop so that I can do these things again.”
YouTube: Valkyrae“Honestly, it’s not that bad, it’s whatever,” the YouTuber continued. “But it does stop me from doing things. I struggled with it for a long time. It took me a really, really, really long time to get over that there’s some really creepy people out there.”
In one case, Valkyrae uncovered a subreddit — a specific forum page on Reddit — where viewers were collecting her workout photos posted on Instagram.
“They turned it into something foul,” she explained.
“It’s disgusting. It’s a small negative, because it’s just impractical. I just want to be able to share my health and workouts, use [my platform] to influence others to do the same. But then there’s this, these people, and I wish it wasn’t like that. It’s a small part of the internet, but it’s gross.
“I know I shouldn’t let it affect me. It’s just an inconvenience. But it sucks, all my girlfriends and streamer friends get it too. I’ve seen it all! It’s so messed up.”
“Honestly, everything has its pros and cons. I know that. It just feels like this is a really major con to a streaming career,” she added. “But there’s a lot of pros to streaming too, and I just try to look past all that. I do wish they’d stop, but that’s easier said than done, which I know.”
“This is the downside to the internet,” Valkyrae said in May.
“You’re exposed to crazy people. A lot of my friends have stalkers. It’s unfortunate how common it is. There’s no internet police, you know? It’s crazy. It’s scary.”
Valkyrae also said she felt sorry for fellow 100 Thieves star Brooke, who has been struggling with an “even worse situation” with a stalker for two years.