Popular streamers may deal with a lot of different drama, including hate raids, trolling, and even stalking. Another thing that seems to get on many streamers’ nerves is “shipping,” something that Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter recently discussed on stream.
Shipping is fantasizing about people, fiction or real, becoming romantically involved. Fandoms often ship their favorite characters together from anime, movies, or television shows, creating art of them together. But sometimes fans will also ship real people together, something that Valkyrae has recently experienced.
Many fans noticed that the
YouTube Queen
was not playing
GTA RP
as often as she used to. Valkyrae decided to explain her reasoning behind avoiding the popular game — shipping.
Valkyrae asks fans to stop shipping her with male friends
In a recent tweet, Valkyrae told her fans to stop shipping her with her male friends. On her personal Twitter account, Valkyrae explained that it makes her uncomfortable and she finds the concept “creepy.”
Valkyrae continued to open up about the behavior. She said that she avoids playing GTA RP in order to not interact with certain people due to the assumptions fans make about them. While she is still friends with these individuals, she doesn’t want the friendships to be “affected” by the shipping, which she feels has become “psychotic” recently.
“I’m not in the mood to play GTA because I don’t like the community when I play GTA. That’s the honest truth,” Valkyrae said. “That’s why I’ve kind of been avoiding it. I don’t like all the shipping. It’s different when it’s characters, but people are shipping in person, and it’s honestly creepy.”
Valkyrae has discussed her disdain for shipping in the past. In 2021, Valkyrae was being shipped with Minecraft YouTuber Dream. At the time, Valkyrae noted that she was around 30 years old, calling the situation “terrible.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXHi_cBmSow
Other streamers have also dealt with shipping, including Imane “Pokimane” Anys getting paired with Ludwig due to some recent collaborations. Pokimane has also called the behavior “creepy,” explaining to fans why they should stop shipping her with various streamers.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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