VShojo CEO Justin TheGunrun Ignacio released a statement on the groups official social media page, apologizing while at the same time claiming ignorance of the worst offenses.
In his apology, Ignacio claims that the company was attempting to fundraise in order to center their talent first approach to VTubing. This is something they have admittedly lived up to, with allowing talents to keep their IPs.
However the recent revelation that money earmarked for charity had been taken for operational costs at VShojo undermined the companys reputation. As a result, almost every single talent has distanced themselves from the company, while also sharing stories about contractors not being paid, or talents not being paid. Notably, Ironmouse who is the face of the company says hundreds of thousands had been taken from the Immune Deficiency Foundation by VShojo.
Furthermore, Ignacios statement attempts to claim ignorance about the diverted charity funds, saying that he later learned [the money] was intended for a charitable initiative , creating the implication that the money had been taken without his knowledge or approval.
Its difficult to say whether or not thats true, but fans are unhappy with the timid response from VShojo and what appears to be an attempt to avoid accountability. He also avoids talking about the money that contractors and talents werent paid. While the charity funds were the largest issue, they were far from the only issue at VShojo.
Heres the full statement from Ignacio:
VShojo has failed, and Ive mismanaged the company into the situation youre all witnessing.
So today I am sharing the difficult news that VShojo is shutting down, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us to this point.
Ive been doing everything I can to fundraise and right the ship these past few months, but despite my efforts, we are in a worse position, and those I care about are now paying the price.
Over the past few years, we raised around $11 million to pursue a bold, talent-first approach in VTubing, prioritizing creators and community over short-term profits, to achieve long-term sustainability. Our funding went directly to our creators through generous splits, debut investments, infrastructure, concerts, events, and staffing, all designed to support them. We also wanted talent to own their IP, which we knew was a unique creator-first approach for an agency. However, despite all our efforts, the business failed to generate the revenue we needed to sustain that model, and eventually, we ran out of money.
Additionally, 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. 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.
I am deeply sorry to all the talents, staff, friends, and community members who believed in our brand. You did not deserve this.
Justin (Gunrun)
