Last fall, popular Twitch streamer Ironmouse broke Kai Cenat’s subathon record with over 314,146 subscribers signing up, and many of the proceeds went to the Immune Deficiency Foundation. But nine months later, the Vtuber says the talent agency that reps her, VShojo, has failed to pay more than half a million dollars to the charity. “This entire situation has broken me,” she said in a new YouTube video posted on Tuesday.
Titled “Why I left VShojo,” the video (via GameSpot) details how the Vtuber came to be represented by VShojo and the events since last October that led her to now cut ties with the agency. Signing up in 2020, she said the relationship was ideal since it allowed her to maintain her privacy and focus on streaming as Ironmouse while the agency handled the business side of things. That seemed to go fine until recently, when VShojo allegedly stopped paying out funds it owed to the Vtuber and the charities she had supported.
“I believe that I am owed a significant amount of funds which I have not been paid,” Ironmouse said. “And most importantly, the Immune Deficiency Foundation is owed over half a million dollars from VShojo. I really wish that I could tell you more, but right now I have been advised to wait for legal proceedings. As of right now, I am an independent VTuber.”
The Vtuber suffers from an immunodeficiency disorder called CVID (Common Variable Immunodeficiency) and has frequently spoken about the importance of the support provided by the Immune Deficiency Foundation. Ironmouse said she’s helped raise over $4 million for the organization over the years, with last year’s subathon expected to donate an additional $515,000 in money paid directly by fans through Twitch. While that money has allegedly never been paid out, a new Tiltify campaign with a goal of $1 million for the foundation has already raised over $850,000.
VShojo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ironmouse isn’t the only Vtuber currently speaking out against the agency. “I have been lied to from the company a lot about the situation,” Vtuber Kson recently said. “My payments stopped last September. I was asking what’s going on for a long time, multiple times. All they said was, ‘It’s going to be paid,’ and it was never paid, and I think it will never be.”
Vtuber Kuro also announced she’s leaving VShojo yesterday. “I didn’t want to say anything until its finalized but since people keep making assumptions, no I am not staying here I’ve already submitted a leave contract and had that meeting 11 days ago,” she wrote on X. “The only reason I still have the VShojo brand logo on here still is because they have to remove it themselves, as an associate u can not remove it yourself (same with everyone other member) in any case I’m just waiting for the contract to be all fulfilled and done but I guess I’m an indie now LOL.”
Of the 13 Vtubers listed on VShojo’s website, the majority have all posted messages announcing they’re taking breaks from streaming or explaining that they are cutting ties with the talent agency. It’s unclear how much of it is a show of solidarity with Ironmouse or is happening because of widespread payment issues. VShojo CEO Justin “TheGunrun” Ignacio gave no indication that anything was amiss in an interview with Rolling Stone last week about the rise of Vtubers in the U.S.
“We know what we’re good at, and we know what we want to get better at, and we want to lean into that while making sure our creators, our talents, are able to communicate what success looks like for them and are we aligned to build that out,” he said. Apparently for many of them, success no longer looks like working with VShojo.
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