Rachell "Valkyrae" Hofstetter's fanbase has long-forgotten her unfortunate and short stint in the beauty industry — but it's still on the YouTuber's mind. 

Valkyrae has blown up over the past few years. She announced she was co-owner of 100 Thieves and was crowned the Queen of YouTube thanks to her incredible record-breaking viewership. But Valkyrae made a huge blunder when she tweeted that she was now a partial creator of RFLCT, a skincare line focused on reducing "harmful" blue light from screens. 

The esports community was quick to call her out, stating that blue light damaging your skin is not even proven. With millions of impressionable young fans, it was seen as very manipulative for Valkyrae to all-but brainwash her following to purchase the most likely useless RFLCT products. 

At the time of the drama last year, Valkyrae claimed the company had promised proof to her. "Leaked" conversations between Valkyrae and other well-known streamers showed that Valkyrae felt trapped in the partnership and regretted getting involved after the company couldn't produce the proof behind the claims. 

Eventually, Valkyrae was able to escape RFLCT and the skincare line was shut down. But since then, Valkyrae hasn't felt the same. She admitted in the past that she's struggled with her mental health since the drama. On the surface, it seems as though Valkyrae has been forgiven. But there is no denying that the initial judgement has felt like a dark mark on Valkyrae's otherwise positive and bubbly career. 

Two weeks after RFLCT was shut down, Valkyrae said: "I became very depressed. I have depression. 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." 

Valkyrae added at the time that she had to "give herself time" to recover from the trauma. 

And maybe it still hasn't been long enough. Valkyrae recently opened up about the situation once again, saying she regrets ever getting involved with RFLCT. In a recent stream, Valkyrae said it has taken longer to move on than she was hoping and she wishes she could "go back and change everything." 

Luckily, she has a strong support system that has kept her going. 

She said while playing VALORANT:  “My friends are such a blessing. I have been helped mentally through the s--t I’ve been through. My friends have helped me get through it. Sometimes friends give you a perspective that you just can't see, and sometimes you know that you understand but you're still stuck in your habit." 

It's clearly been a tough journey for Valkyrae, proving that popularity and viewership isn't everything. She currently has over 3.6 million subscribers on YouTube, with her most recent videos sporting 600K to over 1 million views. This shows that fans have stuck by Valkyrae despite the blunder, helping her move on from the situation.