Earlier this week, popular VTuber Ironmouse accused talent agency VShojo of failing to pay out money she was owed, including over $500,000 for charity as part of a record-breaking Twitch subathon last fall. Now, VShojo has revealed it’s shutting down after failing to raise more investment funds and the CEO has even admitted to spending some of the charity money on trying to keep the business afloat.
“I acknowledge that some of the money spent by the company was raised in connection with talent activity, which I later learned was intended for a charitable initiative,” Justin “Gunrun” Ignacio wrote in a statement on X. “At the time, we were working hard to raise additional investment capital to cover our costs, and I firmly believed, based on the information available to us,. that we would be able to do so and cover all expenses. We were unsuccessful in our fundraising efforts. I made the decision to pursue funding, and I own its consequences.”
He said VShojo had raised $11 million a few years ago and the money had been poured into trying to grow the agency amid the growing popularity of VTubers in the U.S. This included various fan events like concerts and splashy branded collaborations, like bringing skins and voice performances from its signed VTuber personalities to games such as Smite. But Ignacio says the “business failed to generate the revenue we needed to sustain that model.”
Ironmouse, who did not reveal the details of her breakup with VShojo, which she said would involve legal action, was not the only Vtuber to cut ties with the agency this week. On July 22, every member of its roster said they were either going independent or taking a break from streaming for a while. Some of the VTubers said they hadn’t been paid in months. It remains unclear how much money VShojo owes them and whether that money will ever be paid.
While the agency is now shutting down, and the $515,000 it was supposed to pay to the Immune Deficiency Foundation may never materialize, a fresh fundraiser Ironmouse recently announced has already raised over $1 million more for the organization. Her only response so far to Ignacio’s public apology has been a broken heart emoji.
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