Popular YouTube Gaming personality Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter has shared a bombshell that has the whole of the streaming world buzzing. The popular YouTube Gaming star opened up in a candid moment on exactly how alienated and disgusted she feels regarding the current state of Twitch.
“I don’t even wanna be a streamer anymore,” she confessed, her voice thick with frustration. “Streaming just feels so gross. Like, I feel gross just being around it, being associated with it, being in the eyes of some crazy people.”
Stalkers, Weirdos, and the Creeps Lurking
Valkyrae didn’t sugarcoat her take on why the streaming world, led by Twitch, has become rotten. The increase in stalkers, harassment on direct messages, as well as the cycle of fan drama from one streaming personality’s circle to another, was identified by her.
“Even just some of the creeps, like the weirdos that are on this platform, or even the viewers, like the stalkers,” she said. “I don’t think you guys understand how common stalkers are, not even just to streamers, but even to the viewers.”
The scary thing? Rae wasn’t kidding. From harassment tweets directed at viewers to full-blown stalking incidents involving streamers on the platform, Twitch has become a hotbed of cyberbullying. And Rae is sick of it.
Valkyrae Might Return to YouTube
As Valkyrae vented, she admitted that she seriously thinks of quitting Twitch altogether and going back on YouTube. “A part of me feels like I kinda wanna quit streaming on Twitch and just only be on YouTube again,” Valkyrae admitted.
This is not the first time Rae has threatened to leave her purple platform. From the very beginning, she swore that YouTube gives her more flexibility, which is now, it seems, overshadowed by the dark side of her streaming experiences on Twitch.
Kiso the Legend, and Why Being a “Single Player Andy” Slaps
As always with Valkyrae, there was a perfect blend of humor and authenticity in her rant. While ranting, Valkyrae appreciated the “right idea” shared by another streamer named Kiso, who chose to remain a “single player Andy” by not becoming entangled in the toxicity of online drama. “Kiso was perfect,” Valkyrae joked. “If anything happens to this guy, it’s all over for me.”
It’s not an insignificant indicator of what’s going on in Rae’s head that he is pining for a simpler, safer, more controlled environment that doesn’t revolve around drama, harassment, or chaos.
@afkhighlights96 Valkyrae opens up about quitting streaming because of all the recent events 😢 #valkyrae #twitch #streamer #youtubers #caseoh
♬ Everything In Its Right Place – SAD
If Valkyrae is Grossed Out, What Hope is Left for Twitch?
The frustration of Valkyrae reflects an overall problem within the world of live streaming. The likes of Twitch.com have grown hugely popular, though this rise has been matched by an increasingly disturbing side of parasocial obsession, harassment, and failures of protection.
If someone as popular as Valkyrae, the most-watched female streaming personality in the world, finds themselves grossed out by the mere act of streaming itself, there’s an overall question of whether live streaming can be sustainable from a mental standpoint. For now, Valkyrae hasn’t made any official decisions. But her message is loud and clear: Twitch feels toxic, and unless something changes, one of gaming’s brightest stars may walk away from live streaming altogether.
