Valkyrae is not yet free from the RFLCT skincare controversy. The new skincare brand by Ideavation Labs is under fire after it made dubious claims surrounding the effects of artificial blue light on skin. Variety streamer Atrioc accidentally leaked private DMs between Valkyrae and Twitch personality Ludwig yesterday.
Atrioc was using Ludwig’s computer during a Twitch Rivals stream and revealed Ludwig’s Discord app, which showed messages between Ludwig and Valkyrae. When the leak occurred, Ludwig was hosting a Fall Guys tournament with a $50,000 prize pool. A number of top streamers participated, including xQc, Sykkuno, BrookeAB, and MoistCr1TiKaL.
The leaked DMs between Valkyrae and Ludwig were only on screen for a second, but enough was shown to reveal Valkyrae’s thoughts on the ongoing controversy. Valkyrae told Ludwig that she trusted her team and believed the research she had been shown, a sentiment she also expressed emphatically during her YouTube stream on Oct. 23. Ludwig expressed empathy for Valkyrae’s situation and shared his thoughts on RFLCT manufacturer Ideavation Labs.
“I feel like they’re playing the long game and don’t want to show any studies, but do want to use your reputation to still be able to sell product in the short term, which is just shitty for you,” Ludwig said.
Ideavation Labs has refused to make its research public, leading many to believe said research may be untrustworthy or inadequate.
Valkyrae revealed that major U.S. beauty distributor ULTA invested $4 million into carrying the RFLCT line in their stores across the country. She argued that ULTA must believe in Ideavation Labs’ secret research if it was willing to invest in the brand. Understandably, Valkyrae is still frustrated by RFLCT.
“This RUINS my brand if the research isn’t public,” she told Ludwig. “I really needed it to be public… I should have asked more questions, I just thought it was obvious it would be there.”
Valkyrae proceeds to beat herself up in the messages, saying she’s going to “embrace the scammer life.” But she didn’t scam her audience, at least not intentionally. Given her genuine belief in the secret research, it seems that she may have been a victim herself.
Going forward, Valkyrae wants to abandon her partnership with RFLCT and leave her contract.
“They hate me for leaving the contract,” she said. “But it’s looking like it’s possible so I’m hopeful.” Valkyrae revealed that she may have not signed one of her contracts in the RFLCT deal, so she may be able to exit without major ramifications.
Valkyrae had been planning to make a statement but revealed that the PR and legal teams involved in the brand deal are asking her to say things she doesn’t agree with. She cited an example statement: “While I will still be using RFLCT products, I hope nothing but the best for this passionate team.”
“LOLOL that’s psychopathic,” Ludwig replied.
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