VShojo Shuts Down Suddenly After Talent Exodus and Scandals

VShojo shuts down unexpectedly after a wave of controversy, unpaid wages, and talent walkouts. The closure was confirmed in an official post on the company’s X (formerly Twitter) account, where CEO Justin “TheGunrun” Ignacio took full responsibility for the agency’s collapse.

Why Did VShojo Shut Down?

The downfall of VShojo began when its top VTuber, Ironmouse, announced she was leaving the agency. According to her, she had not received payments she was owed, was misled about the company’s finances, and was shocked to discover that a $500,000 donation to the Immune Deficiency Foundation — raised through her own streams — had not been transferred.

Ironmouse’s statement quickly went viral, sparking public outrage. Within days, 12 out of 13 VShojo talents announced their departure from the agency. Several of them also cited unpaid wages and other financial concerns as reasons for leaving.

Fans were stunned as their favorite VTubers left one after another, until none remained. With no talent left to represent, VShojo had no choice but to officially shut down operations.

In a detailed statement, CEO Justin Ignacio explained that the company had raised around $11 million in funding to support a creator-first model — investing in talent debuts, concerts, infrastructure, and allowing talents to retain the rights to their IPs. However, the business failed to generate enough revenue to sustain itself, and the money eventually ran out.

Ignacio also admitted that some of the money spent by the company had been raised during talent-led activities and was meant for charity — a fact he claimed to have only discovered later. He said he had been trying to secure new funding to cover the company’s expenses, but those efforts failed.

“I take full responsibility for the decisions and consequences,” wrote Ignacio. “I am deeply sorry to all the talents, staff, and community members who believed in this brand.”

However, not everyone accepted his apology. A community note on the VShojo shutdown post pointed out that Ignacio had previously congratulated Ironmouse on the donation campaign — contradicting his claim that he was unaware of the money’s intended purpose.

VShojo Shuts Down and Ironmouse Raises Over $1 Million

Despite the fallout, Ironmouse has since launched a new fundraiser for the Immune Deficiency Foundation. As of the time of this writing, her campaign has raised over $1.2 million, surpassing her original goal and gaining widespread support from the VTuber community.