I had a phase where I tried being a VTuber.

It never really went anywhere (shoutout to the 12 people who watched my streams at 5 a.m. their time, you guys know who you are!), but I genuinely had fun. Made some great friends too. People I still talk to now and people I’ve even met offline, in other countries.

Quick explainer for the normies: VTubers, short for Virtual YouTubers, are content creators who use animated avatars (usually anime-style) to livestream, make videos, and interact with their audience. Think Twitch streamers, but with motion-tracked anime faces. It’s a whole vibrant subculture, and some VTubers are massive stars with millions (of income) of fans.

So when this bit of VTuber news dropped, I had to sit up.

Ironmouse leaves VShojo and drops bombs

Ironmouse (yes, that Ironmouse) the literal poster child of VShojo is officially out. And it’s not just a quiet exit. She released a YouTube video titled “Why I Left VShojo,” and it came with serious allegations and not-so-subtle receipts.

The allegations: Unpaid funds and broken trust

According to Ironmouse, VShojo owes more than $500,000 in charity funds raised during one of her subathons. That money was meant for the Immune Deficiency Foundation, an organization very close to her heart since she lives with a rare immune disorder.

She also mentioned that her own earnings have been delayed or unpaid, and that when she first considered leaving, she was told doing so would “hurt others,” which she now feels was manipulative. Oh, and she hinted at safety concerns too, specifically, possible doxxing.

Wait, she didn’t own VShojo?

Honestly? I thought she owned VShojo by now. That’s how closely tied she’s been to the brand from the beginning. Turns out, even their most iconic talent didn’t have as much control as many of us assumed.

What happens now?

For now, Ironmouse says she can’t reveal everything due to legal reasons. But she is planning a new charity stream soon to support the Immune Deficiency Foundation directly. Meanwhile, the ripple effects are already being felt. Several fellow VTubers, including Amalee, Michi, and Kuro, have quietly removed “VShojo” from their bios.

So yeah, this might just be the tip of the iceberg.

The tea is hot, and the drama is real

This is one of the biggest shakeups the VTuber scene has seen in a while. You don’t need to be deep in VTuber lore to see that this drama’s worth a watch.

The tea? Officially spilled. Let’s see what happens next.