A number of Twitch streamers have responded to Valkyrae’s latest update on her involvement with controversial skincare line RFLCT. The products are designed to prevent blue light-related skin damage. The catch, however, is that there is conflicting evidence surrounding RFLCT’s claims.
In a deleted stream from yesterday, Valkyrae explained how her partnership with RFLCT came to life. According to the 100 Thieves co-founder, Ideavation Labs approached her and asked if she was interested in collaborating on skincare products. The company conducted their own research on the effects of blue light, but last week, Valkyrae was told that their research “can’t be publicized.”
XQc, Hasan Piker, and Mizkif shared their thoughts on the situation.
XQc
“If there’s a problem with the product, and the fact-checking, that’s kinda like her job,” said xQc, the highest-earning solo streamer on Twitch.
“When you’re with [an org/brand], it’s ride or die,” he added after Valkyrae removed a mention to 100 Thieves from her Twitter bio. “If somebody chooses to endorse you, and you make a mistake or whatever, they go down with the ship…when you sign with them, they sign with you,” he said.
XQc also said what he’d do if we were in Valkyrae’s shoes. “When something like this happens, in my opinion…it’s either throw everybody under the bus…or endorse and double down. I don’t think when something like this happens you can go in the middle. There’s no gray area, really,” he said.
Hasan Piker
Hasan Piker addressed RFLCT’s claims again on his Twitch stream today. “The data available on blue light is questionable at best,” he emphasized.
Hasan reminded his community that when a product manufacturer conducts research that’s in their own financial interests, it’s a conflict of interest by definition. “You want to justify your new marketing gimmick by pumping out empirical evidence that’s not peer-reviewed,” he said.
Mizkif
When Valkyrae started reading comments about the RFLCT controversy on Reddit while streaming, Mizkif called her and begged her to stop.
“If I were you, I would just walk away. Do not respond to this at all. Anything you say is going to get clipped and you’re going to get shit on,” Mizkif said. He advised Valkyrae to either stop streaming and responding to comments or to release a brief, put-together response on the issue.
Valkyrae and the RFLCT controversy
Initially, the response to RFLCT was positive. When RFLCT was launched on Oct. 19, streamers and influencers congratulated Valkyrae on branching out into the business world. Creators like Hasan Piker, FaZe’s Kalei, 100 Thieves’ BrookeAB, QuarterJade, and more initially expressed their excitement to try the RFLCT products. But it didn’t take long before many started questioning RFLCT’s claims about the effects of artificial blue light.
As more raised concerns about RFLCT’s allegedly misleading products, streamers began clarifying their positions on this issue. Hasan Piker emphasized that he didn’t believe blue light damaged skin and that RFLCT’s products are “just fucking soap.”
On Oct. 21, Valkyrae responded to the controversy via a now-deleted Twitter voice message, agreeing that “All of the hate and the doubt and the concerns and the criticisms are all warranted and valid.”
Yesterday, Valkyrae spoke on stream in a now-deleted video about her involvement with RFLCT. As to why she deleted the stream’s video, Valkyrae later told Mizkif, “I had to delete my other VOD because of legal. I might have actually fucked up.”
When she first met with Ideavation Labs, Valkyrae expressed curiosity about the topic of blue light and asked if there was any research surrounding its effects on the skin. Ideavation Labs proceeded to conduct their own studies for six months and showed Valkyrae their findings.
“I saw their research, I loved it,” she said.
But Valkyrae did not have any third party examine the research and proceeded to move forward with product development. She also admitted that she has never been to Ideavation Labs in person.
“This whole time, I was under the impression that all of that research and everything that I saw was going to be on the website…but there was nothing but a WebMD link. I was confused,” Valkyrae said.
Valkyrae also clarified the extent of her involvement with RFLCT. She helped out with product packaging and design, providing feedback on the color, scent, and texture of the products.
“My original title was ‘Creative Collaborator’ for RFLCT…I actually asked if there was something shorter so it would look prettier in my bio, and they said, ‘You can put ‘Co-Founder’ if you want,'” Valkyrae explained.
Regarding her position going forward, Valkyrae said, “It’s really hard to want to be involved in something where, you know, you can’t show what they’ve done.”
