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Was Kanye West banned from Yu-Gi-Oh? Viral tweet sparks rumors Konami/YouTube: NickCannonA viral post on Twitter claims that Kanye West has been banned from the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game, but is it real? Over the last week or so, Kanye West has been under scrutiny over his comments levied towards the Jewish community. He’s been banned from Instagram and Twitter, dropped by Adidas, kicked out of the Sketchers HQ, and prompted comments from ex-wife Kim Kardashian and YouTuber Casey Neistat. Now, a screenshot from the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG banned players list has sparked rumors that the 808s & Heartbreak’s rapper has been banned from the game — but is it real? Viral tweet sparks Kanye West Yu-Gi-Oh ban rumors On October 26, A Twitter user named ‘Francisxwolf’ posted a picture of the Yu-Gi-Oh ‘Suspended Persons List.’ It reads: “Kanye West has been suspended from Yu-Gi-Oh!” The picture shows the name ‘West, Ye’ with a ban date of October 25, 2022, for “Unsporting Conduct – severe.” However, if you look at the website that the screenshot is from, you won’t be able to find any mention of Kanye’s name — proving that the screenshot is in fact fake and the rapper can play as much Yu-Gi-Oh that he wants. Fans react to Kanye West Yu-Gi-Oh ban screenshot As the post went viral, fans took to the replies with their thoughts. “Cancel culture is just getting started,” one user replied. Another user said: “I want this to be real :(.” While others complimented Francis on his work: “A+ work Franky, You’re a genius. a man of infinite wisdom, unsurpassed by none.” It’s clear that Kanye has in fact not been banned from Yu-Gi-Oh’s popular TCG, but the viral tweet made for a nice laugh for thousands of fans across the internet.

Was Charli D’Amelio’s TikTok banned? Star’s account randomly wiped before coming back TikTok/Charli D’AmelioTikTok fans were left scratching their heads on March 27 when it appeared that the platform’s most-followed creator – dancer Charli D’Amelio – had been removed. However, her account was back just an hour or so later. Update: Following on from Charli D’Amelio’s ban on March 27 2021, April 13 2022 saw Charli, Addison Rae, Bella Poarch and a host of other mammoth TikTok stars get their accounts perma-banned. These ‘perma’ bans ranged from a few minutes to a few hours, and TikTok have yet to release any kind of statement explaining the situation. Original story continues below. When it comes to TikTok, there are quite literally no bigger names than Charli D’Amelio. Despite being just 16 years of age, the American dancer has amassed an incredible following on the social media app, sitting at 110 million followers as of the publication of this article. Her incredible following is what led so many TikTok fans to scratch their head when, on March 27, her account became totally unavailable. What made the situation even stranger was that the account reappeared roughly an hour later, with no explanation provided by the platform or D’Amelio for its short disappearance. Fans started to notice the account was down on the morning of March 27, with many users being met with the message that TikTok ‘couldn’t find this account’ when trying to reach Charli’s profile. Read More: What does Sykkuno’s name mean? – The message is typically displayed when an account has been removed or banned, so many fans naturally assumed this was the case. However, the account soon resurfaced in all its glory, with its full video profile and follower count still intact. Was Charli banned? There were a few theories as to why D’Amelio’s account was temporarily unavailable. As one Twitter user pointed out, TikTok have been known to mistakenly ban some users recently, restoring their accounts when they realise the mistakes. Others suggested that D’Amelio herself deleted the account, following some comments she has made about toxicity and negativity on the app. At just 16, it’s not surprising she has encountered some issues with a following of over 100 million people. Whatever the cause, D’Amelio’s account is now back up and running as normal.

Was Dream in Bella Poarch’s new music video? Cryptic tweets spark rumors Instagram: bellapoarch / dreamwastakenFans are scrambling to try and spot Minecraft YouTuber Dream in Bella Poarch’s latest music video for INFERNO, after the stars posted cryptic tweets implying that he made an appearance. Bella Poarch is hugely popular on TikTok, and that popularity has definitely transferred over to her music career as well, with her debut song ‘Build a B*tch’ at over 270 million views on YouTube. She surprised fans by including cameos from other creators like streamer Valkyrae in the video for the track, and she decided to carry that same idea forward to her latest single with artist Sub Urban, INFERNO. The video released on August 13, and featured popular stars like TommyInnit, Ludwig, Adin Ross, and many more. But after fans thought they had spotted everyone, Sub Urban tweeted: “What if I told you Dream was in the INFERNO music video.” Fans weren’t sure what to believe at first, but their confusion was intensified when Bella added, “should we tell them @Dream,” and Dream replied, “you just did.” Dream has never shown his face on screen, and that means even the smallest glimpse of what he looks like in real life can be a big deal to some fans. People immediately got to work trying to figure out whether he is actually in the video, posting snippets from the video itself or behind-the-scenes clips that they suspected could potentially be Dream. Don’t ask me how I know…but that’s dream pic.twitter.com/zXZOhUhZXK — Amaloa🌸🌧🌱Bonnie day (@amaloaaaa) August 13, 2021 DREAM IM CONVINCED THIS IS U pic.twitter.com/N4XzmPWQxE — nikocados daughter (@burpingkitty) August 13, 2021 However, it’s still not totally clear whether the YouTuber actually played some part in the video, or whether they all agreed to play along with the joke in order to tease fans. Dream has previously explained that he does plan on doing a full face reveal at some point due to the restrictions of being a ‘faceless’ content creator, but it’s not entirely certain when that will be.

Warzone streamer waxed off her eyebrow for a bet and it’s not growing back TikTok/AvoriContent creator and streamer, Avori, waxed off her eyebrow as a bet when she lost a game of Warzone. And, as if that loss wasn’t enough, she’s discovered her eyebrow isn’t growing back yet. Twitch streamer Avori Henderson is well known amongst the CoD community thanks to her Warzone streams. Recently, she shocked viewers when she decided to bet the fate of her eyebrow on her ability to win a round. Appearing in a TikTok alongside her husband, Avori told viewers, “David’s going to wax my eyebrow if we don’t win this game.” Unfortunately for the streamer, she didn’t make it to the end of the round. “You did so well,” her husband said, before ripping the wax strip off her face, taking her eyebrow with it. Initially, some viewers weren’t convinced the stunt was real, however, Avori’s been adamant everyone see the proof of her failure. In a video posted days after the fact, the streamer highlights one naysayer’s claim. “I think it’s covered up by makeup,” the comment appearing at the top of the video says. Avori then filmed herself using a makeup wipe to vigorously rub her face, removing it to reveal that, no, it’s not makeup camouflage. Her eyebrow really is bare. Some further unlucky news for the streamer. On average, eyebrows can take up to four months to grow back. It looks like Avori’s going to be rocking her new single-brow style for at least a little while.

Was Bryce Hall really caught cheating on Addison Rae with Loren Gray? Instagram: loren / brycehallAfter TikTok star Bryce Hall was ‘caught’ holding hands with Loren Gray by paparazzi, some thought he could have cheated on partner Addison Rae – but many are convinced it’s actually a prank. Bryce Hall and Addison Rae have been a hugely popular TikTok couple since they made things official last year, and they each have a large following of loyal fans who are rooting for their relationship every step of the way. He’s not afraid to get Addison involved in his chaos-causing prank content, and in November he even pretended that paparazzi had found their way into her gated community, getting them to follow her into the house. Things seem to have been going great for the couple recently, so it’s safe to say that ‘Braddison’ fans were shocked to see videos emerging of Bryce and fellow TikToker Loren Gray – who has over 50 million followers – together in public, especially so close to Valentines Day. Photographer Kevin Wong uploaded a video to his YouTube channel on February 13, that showed Loren and Bryce sitting together at a table outside. The pair are seen talking and laughing, and they even at one point hold hands across the table. The camera later captures them walking down the street hand-in-hand. Some fans in the comments were heartbroken at the thought that this could be the end for Bryce and Addison, with one person saying: “I’m about to cry because I just saw them holding hands,” and another writing: “I-i really thought he was loyal… let’s see how he’s gonna explain now.” However, the general consensus from viewers was that Bryce was more than likely filming a prank video. “Guys Loren has a boyfriend, knowing Bryce it’s probably a prank for his video trying to troll the internet,” someone explained. “If they were both cheating they wouldn’t be dumb enough to show it in public people.” Some keen-eyed viewers even spotted what appeared to be a mic on Bryce’s shirt, further convincing people of the fact that this scenario was all a setup. kevin wong posted a video of bryce and loren together at some place and then holding hands w the caption “bryce hall cheated on addison rae w loren” but we all think its a prank and then theres this pic where u can see a mic pic.twitter.com/487XqgrJ5b — Ale x🇵🇪 DICKSEA IS BACK (@BruhGriffin_) February 13, 2021 Fans are now awaiting a video showing the behind-the-scenes of the pair’s time together, and will no doubt be keeping their eyes peeled in the future for any more pranks Bryce might try to pull.

Warzone streamer Nadia hits back at critics after joining Fanhouse: “Stay mad” Instagram: nadiakamineWarzone streamer Nadia Amine, who went viral after a litany of unproven cheating allegations throughout 2022, has fired back at critics annoyed at her for taking a different route and creating more private content on OnlyFans competitor Fanhouse. With the rise of creator-led adult content through services such as OnlyFans, many creators have been able to make money they once could only have imagined. For example, influencer Corinna Kopf reportedly makes $2m a month from her OF, while in July 2022, Amouranth claimed she had already made around $33m on the platform. On June 27, Nadia announced that she had “finally made one” in a post on Twitter, with a link in her bio to her Fanhouse page. Two days later, on June 29, Nadia had received a lot of criticism about her new avenue of content, and addressed the hate she had been getting. “Stay mad,” she said, reeling off quotes that she’s been hit with from critics since joining Fanhouse, such as “of course she went this route” or “go back to COD.” Nadia isn’t the first streamer to take this route and she certainly won’t be the last, especially considering the incredible amounts of money that can be made. From her experience with the constant cheating allegations, Nadia is no stranger to intense scrutiny. She frequently had her fun dropping hints that she could be cheating in Warzone, to rile up the conspiracy theorists, though she rarely plays the Call of Duty battle royale anymore, instead usually being found in the Just Chatting section of Twitch.

Warzone streamer Nadia apologizes after Twitch ban for doxxing viewer YouTube: NadiaTwitch streamer Nadia Amine came under fire on December 15 for doxxing a donor’s full name as retaliation for his hateful messages. She has now posted an apology explaining the full situation. Nadia’s 2022 could not be any more eventful than it currently is. She garnered a sizeable audience on Twitch with her Warzone streams. But not all of the attention was strictly due to her playstyle or commentary. Some users of Twitch started “hate-watching” Nadia after she was accused of cheating by other content creators despite the overwhelming lack of evidence. After months of being in the spotlight, she was temporarily banned from Twitch on December 15 for violating community guidelines. The specific reason for the ban was the fact that Nadia read out loud a full legal name of a donor who donated just to accuse her of cheating. Nadia apologizes for her “moment of weakness” The original ban was supposed to last for 14 days, but Twitch cut it short. The female Warzone content creator took to her live stream to explain the situation and apologize. “When you get a donation, on your phone, the name of the person pops up,” she explained in her apology video. “So I said the person’s first and last name. But looking back at it and having the time to reflect, I realize that wasn’t the best way to combat the hate.” Nadia then calls her behavior a “moment of weakness,” before explaining that 2022 has been a nonstop rollercoaster of emotions ever since she exploded into mainstream Twitch. Timestamp: 1:08 The response to this apology has been mixed, with some Twitter and Twitch users claiming this was “another Nadia W.” Other users called it the “biggest non apology” they have ever seen. Even other content creators are splitting into camps opposing and supporting Nadia. Seth ‘Scump’ Abner called her a “genius” for the way she handled all the attention earlier in the year. For this incident in particular, though, Asmongold said that there is no excuse for revealing the private information of donors, calling for her permanent removal from Twitch. Nadia by accident became part of an even bigger debate about the state of Twitch, for years now bigger names like Asmongold or xQc argued that Twitch staff hand out very inconsistent bans for various reasons.

Warzone streamer goes viral on TikTok thanks to hilarious musical stream sniper TikTok, LoochyTVStream snipers have run rampant on Warzone over the last couple of years, constantly ruining games. Luckily for XSET creator Loochy, he found himself in the crosshairs of a friendly one. Many big creators like NICKMERCS and TimTheTatman have dealt with players watching their stream in an effort to join the same game lobby as them to either sabotage their game or try to play with them. TimTheTatman has been one of the most affected which has led to him even offering to buy one a car, just to get them to stop. However, Loochy’s situation is a bit different, as he doesn’t have a ‘friend’ that wants to fight against him or ask the creator for something. Instead, they found a way into his lobby to play music through their microphone. Loochy’s musical Stream Sniper In a TikTok clip from one of his Twitch streams, Loochy stated: “I have a stream sniper that randomly joins my Warzone lobbies and plays me songs on his recorder. You can’t make this up.” He then showed that a player by the name of ‘EPICDOE’ has joined his party and the music begins. A few seconds after, the XSET creator came to a realization — Epic is playing Katy Perry songs. Having posted the clip across his social media platforms, reactions to the stream sniper are pretty positive across the board. Epic is an absolute gem and I love when he does this to me… makes nights that are frustrating into pure joy — Kevin Miller (@hoperemaiins) September 17, 2021 “Epic is an absolute gem and I love when he does this to me… makes nights that are frustrating into pure joy,” stated hoperemaiins on Twitter in a reply. It seems like he isn’t exactly new to stream sniping creators with his incredible recorder playing. “His name is Lucas, but we call him ‘flute boi,’” said FreebsTV. Ya he’s the homie I paid off his school books because he does the peoples work — XSET GodKu The VIBEDEALER (@GodkuTV) September 17, 2021 It also appears fellow XSET creator GodKu has had a couple of run-ins with Epic while playing Warzone as well: “Ya, he’s the homie. I paid off his school books because he does the people’s work.” According to the positivity of the replies to Loochy’s clip, EPICDOE can be considered one of the few welcome stream snipers in the community. However, we’re left to wonder what other songs he has up his sleeves.

Warzone pro FaZe Santana reveals mission to set “example” for Hispanic creators FaZe / SantanaDante ‘FaZe Santana’ Santana has become one of the most popular Warzone streamers on Twitch over the last couple of years. In an exclusive Dexerto interview to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month, he told us more about his rise in content creation. When it comes to FPS gaming in the online streaming sphere, two things come to the mind of most fans. Call of Duty, and FaZe Clan — with many gamers dreaming of joining the now-publicly traded organization. In the case of TheBoiSantana, he was able to make his dream a reality. After creating his Twitch channel in 2019 and hooking up in-game with well-established member FaZe Swagg, the Puerto Rican began seeing his rise to fame thanks to a group of friends now known worldwide as the “Nuke Squad.” The streamer joined FaZe Clan in March 2021 alongside Swagg, Booya, and Jsmooth after being surprised with their own announcement video during a stream. He shares his Hispanic heritage with nearly 500,000 fans across all of his platforms, noting that the most important thing to him is setting a positive example for fans of all ages. FaZe Santana on carving a path for Hispanics When he created his Twitch channel three years ago, Dante realized that he was going to have to work hard to make a name for himself in the industry. For most, it’s easy to see the long nights of streaming and video editing and give up. But for the 24-year-old, that was precisely what helped him realize he was passionate about making a name for himself in the space. “I think I first realized that I was passionate about content creating when I realized I didn’t mind barely getting any sleep even though I had work and college to try and stream and create videos,” he told Dexerto. Opening up a pathway for more Hispanic creators to follow in his footsteps and improve representation is the mission he has set himself, too. “I think it’s super cool that I have the love and backing of the Hispanic community I’m just trying to give them someone they can look up to and say ‘I wanna be like him when I’m older’. The most important thing for me is to set a positive example for all ages because people who look up to you will follow your example.” He also wanted to pass on a piece of advice to budding streamers, too. Santana said: “Might sound pretty cliche but don’t give up and follow your dreams but always have a backup plan just in case things don’t work out.” The biggest challenge he had to overcome It’s those long hours that FaZe Santana says have been the biggest thing he’s had to overcome as a result of his recent popularity. “The biggest hurdle would have to be facing the fact that I wouldn’t have a lot of time to spend with my family,” he revealed. Santana’s content has gotten bigger and better since he joined FaZe. Over the last year, Dante has uploaded vlogs while in Los Angeles, California with other FaZe Clan members and even other videos featuring NBA star Devon Booker – helping take esports to the mainstream. Who FaZe Santana wants to collab with next Big opportunities to work with mainstream personalities can arise for the most well-connected streamers, as we have seen in the past. Ninja has played Fortnite with Drake and Neymar Jr. in the past, for example – but who would Santana really like to team up with? They said: “I would love to collaborate with Seth Rogan, I think the video would just be us hanging out playing some video games and reaching new ‘levels’.” Over the last few years, more and more influencers have decided to hop in the ring to fight against other influencers. It’s popular throughout FaZe Clan as well, with co-founder Thomas “Temperrr” Oliveira putting his gloves on multiple times over the last year. Dexerto asked Santana who he would choose to go up against should he find his way into a boxing match, and the answer happened to be one of his own. “[I’d box] FaZe Swagg, ’cause he got no hands,” he told us. Whether or not Santana will step into a boxing ring in the future remains to be seen, but his inspirational career is only going one way these days – and that is up.

Warzone star Jukeyz fractures wrist after attempted Rolex robbery at house party Twitch, @JukeyzCall of Duty: Warzone star Jukeyz will be forced to miss upcoming tournaments after fracturing his wrist. Reports indicate it was due to an attempted Rolex robbery at a house party in Liverpool. Jukeyz has already given up his spot in June 28’s $100K Toronto Ultra Warzone tournament, citing “personal reasons.” After going to the hospital, he jumped on Twitch for a quick stream to explain what those reasons were. According to the streamer, there was an attempted robbery at an event he was attending that resulted in injuries to him and a friend. In his words, “at the moment, people in Liverpool don’t like to see people with nice things.” This incident has been tied to reporting from ECHO’s Tom Duffy and Marcus Banks, who spoke to Liverpool police about the attempted robbery. On stream, Jukeyz explained that he’s, above all else, thankful for his friend who intervened and ensured things didn’t get worse than a wrist injury. As Jukeyz elaborates, nothing ended up being stolen and there were around three instigators. Additionally, his Twitch chat now has a “!wrist” command with some more details about his injury and recovery timeline: “Liam has fractured his scaphoid due to personal reasons and won’t be able to play Warzone for two weeks.” As the ECHO report goes, two men were injured in the attempted Rolex robbery — one whose arms were slashed and one with an undisclosed injury. None of these injuries are believed to be life-threatening. The report further discloses that the incident was over a Rolex and occurred around 5 a.m. at a “house party” in south Liverpool. The assailants have yet to be found, as they allegedly fled in a taxi. As far as Jukeyz, he explained that the incident was a ‘learning lesson’ for him, that he was grateful for his friend, and that he will continue streaming despite being unable to play for the next two weeks.

Walmart’s Deli Hot Bar becomes TikTok sensation: “Stop giving these fast food places your money” TikTok: waynedangThe deli hot bar at Walmart is trending on TikTok, with many users claiming that it rivals popular fast food establishments. Until recently, Walmart’s deli hot bar wasn’t considered anything spectacular. In fact, when compared to Costco’s illustrious food court, some might say it was at the bottom of their list. But, things are changing, and with fast food prices escalating a stunning 13%, people are now flooding Walmart’s hot bar. One TikTok user, @samantha420gonzalez, urged people to “Stop giving these fast food places your money”, showcasing a container packed to the brim with chicken wings, potato wedges, and mac and cheese. At Walmart, an 8-piece wing combo will only cost you $5.97, whereas in KFC, the establishment charges a whopping $9. Similarly, an 8-piece wing combo at Wingstop will cost anywhere between $12.89, and $15.99. Is Walmart’s Deli Hot Bar really that good? Those who are considering stopping off at Walmart for their next meal might wonder if it’s really all that good. This is a contentious topic that has many TikTok users divided. Popular fast food TikToker Wayne Dang had nothing but praise for the establishment, claiming that their mashed potato was “ever so flavorful”, and the mac and cheese was “cheddar-licious” Some in the comments section though, had different opinions. One claimed “the mac and cheese looks like play-dough”, while another said the food was “never hot” at their local Walmart. But, with the opportunity to save over $5, it’s certainly a winner for most people.

Walmart worker goes viral revealing he was fired for telling customer to “Google it” TikTok: funny..bone..956A Walmart employee has gone viral after filming himself being fired after allegedly telling a customer to “Google it”. When it comes to working retail, having good customer service is an essential requirement for the job. Whether it’s helping customers with a product or maintaining a light and friendly conversation, retail workers are expected to maintain a certain level of professionalism. One Walmart employee found this out the hard way after being “let go” following an incident in which he allegedly told a customer to “Google” the answer to her question. The employee, Christian, decided to film himself being called in for a conversation with a higher-up — capturing the moment he was fired from the job. The inciting incident took place while Christian was busy with a line of customers and a woman approached him with a question. Feeling “a lot of pressure”, he was allegedly rude and told her to “Google” the answer herself. Despite Christian’s attempts to defend himself, he was ultimately shut down after telling his boss, “Why didn’t you help her? You’re the free one… you can do all these things.” “We’re going to stop you right there,” She replied. “Because number one, you dont know what my job entails… number two, that’s your area and we’re all responsible for the same thing — taking care of our customers. And so, based on the situation and the outcome of it and the fact we’ve had numerous encounters like this before, I am letting you go.” The clip, reposted by ‘funny..bone..956’ on TikTok, has since gone viral with many viewers split over the decision to fire Christian. “She [is] actually really good at communication,” one person wrote, praising Christian’s boss for her handling of the situation. However, another said, “I think a termination is extreme.” Be sure to check out all the latest entertainment news on our page here.

Walmart workers fight over manager who slept with both of them in viral TikTok TIKTOK: damnkeairaTwo Walmart employees went viral on TikTok after fighting over a manager who was allegedly sleeping with both of them. TikToker and Walmart customer Keaira shared two videos of the altercation, with the first gaining over 2.1 million views and the second getting over 185,000. In the first clip, which has a text overlay that reads, “Part 1 of Walmart shenanigans,” a red-haired Walmart employee is shown being escorted by another worker as she’s screaming and gesturing wildly. Then, another employee with black hair gets brought out and taken in the other direction. She appears to be gesturing and yelling, but can’t be heard. According to Keaira, an aunt who was also watching the shouting match at Walmart said: “the manager sleeping with the employees.” Click here if TikTok doesn’t load In the second video, more details about the situation were revealed. “She wasn’t done, she had to let the whole store know about Wayne,” Keaira captioned the video. In the clip, the black-haired employee can be seen coming back into the store, yelling “Wayne… from OGP,” referring to the store’s online grocery pickup department. She then gets on the store’s intercom system to expose her coworker and manager. “Attention all Walmart associates,” she said. “Wayne… from OGP has been having a constant affair… They’ve been trying to hide it. That’s why she wear a mask.” The Walmart employee claimed that Wayne tried to sleep with her as well, and that’s how the situation escalated. “What you stand for, is what you stand for, you know better but you continue to stand for it,” the woman said. Another Walmart employee then comes over and takes the intercom away from her. “F**k all y’all,” the woman said as she left. Click here if TikTok doesn’t load TikTok react to Walmart workers fighting over manager TikTok users were highly entertained by the drama at Walmart, and many local customers recognized the fighting employees. “Damn how I seen both of them before working too. I always miss the entertainment at Walmart,” one user claimed. “Its crazy cus i see her everytime i go to Walmart in morrow no lie,” another commented. “Entertainment while shopping,” a third shared. “Only at Walmart,” someone else wrote. Others were cracking jokes about the Walmart manager, Wayne. “So he wasn’t just fulfilling them online orders,” one user quipped. “Rumor has it that Wayne has a baby at every Walmart and he named them all Walmart,” another joked.

Walmart “Thunderdome” goes viral as brawl breaks out at self-checkout X/MrgunsngearAn outrageous all-out Walmart fight is going viral after multiple women started brawling at the self-checkout. If you’re tired of paying full price for UFC and boxing pay-per-views and don’t have a Waffle House nearby, Walmart could be your next best option for all your gratuitous violence needs. Over the years, Walmart has experienced numerous instances of wild brawls breaking out. From insane 25-person battle royales to chairs being thrown at people, there’s hardly ever a shortage of chaos. This week, an ugly brawl at a Walmart in the United States started to circulate online after clips surfaced customers started beating up each other and it’s pretty gnarly. Walmart customers brawl in self-checkout melee Uploaded by ‘Mrgunsngear’ on X, formerly known as Twitter, the clip begins with a couple of customers getting heated about something before everyone in the store decides to throw down. In the blink of an eye, all hell breaks loose, with three separate fights happening all over around the self-checkout. At one point, a woman who appears to have been wearing a head scarf, throws it off and demands another foe to “bring it” before kicking someone else while they were down. A bit later, after multiple bodies were on top of each other in an outrageous dog pile, the brawl finally began to die down, and the combatants went their separate ways. “The safety of our associates and customers is our top priority. Violence in our stores is never tolerated,” Walmart told Newsweek when addressing the fight clip. Numerous users were impressed and disgusted by the viral brawl, which has since been viewed nearly 2 million times. “Walmart should be renamed Thunder Dome,” one remarked. “Where else can you find wholesome entertainment?” someone else joked. “They don’t charge to watch the fights, yet, so…” said another, hopefully not giving Walmart any ideas. It’s not clear when or where this brawl took place or if any of the participants were arrested for their role in this slobber knocker.

Walmart worker goes on storewide rampage after they fired her before Christmas TikTok: @skyej.withtheslayA customer recorded a video of a Walmart employee who went on a storewide rampage after they said she’d been fired before the holidays. In a viral TikTok clip, a user named Skye took to the platform to share a clip that read: “POV: Employee fired before the holidays (extended).” In the video, the employee in question can be seen wearing her blue Walmart uniform, moving through the store, and throwing items to the ground. There are items scattered across several aisles, as she can be seen flippantly tossing from shelves. At one point, we can hear several glass items shatter, followed by whispers among customers to “be careful.” TikTok weigh in on Walmart worker’s rampage The video, which has gained over 6.1 million views since being uploaded, also shows the now ex-employee being followed around by Walmart security as she continues things off the shelves. Though, they don’t step in for a while. Naturally, the video gained a hoard of comments, causing a debate among viewers. One wrote that she was angry at the Walmart employee: “No consideration for her coworkers who’ll have to clean all that up and restock.” “It’s not worth it. I understand her frustration, but the outcome behind this will only make matters worse,” another reasoned. However, many were on the employee’s side, sympathizing: “As someone with past experiences of Walmart they don’t address termination with any compassion.” “I mean I genuinely feel for her it’s the holidays and it’s rough out here,” another wrote. The store, who aim to promote an atmosphere “free of inappropriate conduct including obscene, profane, gross, violent, discriminatory, bullying, or similarly offensive language, gestures, or conduct,” have yet to publicly respond to the video.

Walmart shopper accused of using self-checkout hack to steal over $1500 worth of items TaurusEmerald, WikimediaAn Iowa Walmart shopper has been accused of stealing over $1,500 worth of items from the store by taking advantage of a self-checkout hack. As our lives are becoming more digital, so is society. From voice-activated bidets to a wide variety of home robots to help with your everyday needs, it’s become hard to stay away from this societal change. Over the past few years, Walmart has been rolling out the use of self-scanning checkouts in their store, which allows customers to scan their shopping by themselves. Self-checkout, first tested in supermarkets in the late 1980s, gained momentum 20 years ago. But grocers ramped it up even more three years ago to address the pandemic-induced severe labor shortages. However, the recent increase of self-checkouts has also made it easier for people to steal from the stores. This was the case for an Iowa shopper who managed to steal over $1,500 worth of products by taking advantage of self-checkouts. Walmart shopper charged with second-degree theft Samantha Renee Perry, 33, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree theft on December 23, 2023, in Waterloo, Iowa. Perry reportedly stole $1,496 worth of products from Walmart on October 16, 2023, and returned almost two months later on December 14, stealing $196 worth of items. Perry has been released pending a trial. According to court records, Perry allegedly used the store’s self-checkout machine and canceled the transaction before leaving the store with the goods. A second-degree theft conviction is a class D felony in Iowa that’s punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500. Walmart employees also check customers’ receipts as they leave the store, which has become a hotly debated area of discussion. In November 2023, a woman went viral on TikTok after sharing that a Walmart employee refused to let her leave after a faulty self-checkout machine had failed to give her a receipt.

Walmart shopper says they were “arrested” for purchasing $0.03 clothing TikTok: @couponwithkayla.fan_0764A woman posted a video of a shopper who said she was arrested at Walmart for trying to purchase an item for three cents. Commenters weighed in. In a video that’s gone viral on TikTok, a woman shows a clip at the beginning, with the caption reading, “Arrested in Walmart for trying to purchase the items for $0.03.” “Here’s what’s going on with Walmart,” she begins. “Walmart, like other stores, have a system where when something goes out of season, they try to mark it down on clearance… usually when it hits 90% off it’s so cheap, people clear the racks, then once the racks are cleared, they replace them with whatever is currently in season.” She says like many other influencers, she shared the information with her viewers, and told them that items were being sold for three cents, “Because my job is telling people how to save money.” She then explains, however, that “the store had so many items left over, that they had corporate tell all the stores, don’t sell these items, we’re going to donate them.” And so she claims that whenever people try to buy these items, they’re being stopped by employees, even sparking heated debates, leading to the situation where one was apparently “arrested, or detained.” Customers weigh in on Walmart situation People were quick to respond to the woman’s claims, stating: “As someone who works at Walmart this happens so much it’s ridiculous. I’m a cashier and I let them have it bc that’s the price it says.” Some took issue with the store, “I got an air purifier in Walmart’s clearance aisle. an employee saw it in my cart and said it had the wrong sticker on it, thanks! that’s not my problem.” However, many said that it wasn’t just an issue at Walmart, saying “This happened to me at a Dollar Tree where I found items that were ringing up at 4 cents each. They argued with me and I wasn’t allowed to buy them.” Walmart have yet to publicly respond to the situation.

Walmart employee who exposed store for selling frozen cupcakes gets ridiculed by TikTok TikTok: alexander_rexxAfter uploading a video to TikTok exposing Walmart for its frozen cupcakes, viewers have been quick to defend the department store while simultaneously ridiculing the poster. Though not all Walmarts offer both groceries and its typical products like smart TVs, craft supplies, and clothing, there are also Walmart Supercenters that sell produce, meat, and pre-made cakes and cupcakes. Walmart is known for offering cheaper alternatives to brands, and at the end of the day, they offer quality items and exceptional food options. So when an employee of Walmart took to TikTok to expose the store for selling frozen and not-fresh cupcakes, viewers were especially quick to defend Walmart and their “bomb” petite cakes. Tiktokers defend Walmart for their frozen cupcakes To some, it may come as a surprise that Walmart employees assemble the store’s cupcakes after the cake part arrives. First, the cupcakes are shipped to the Walmart location, and then employees ice each one with a variety of colored frosting. But for one employee of Walmart, the store’s process of making cupcakes wasn’t up to their standard. In a now-viral TikTok video, that same Walmart employee recorded the assembling methods used for cupcakes, saying that they are “not fresh.” The employee also wrote a text overlay on their video saying, “Walmart cupcakes come in frozen — then dozens are iced at once — then put back in the freezer until the sales floor runs low.” After exposing the widely accepted large corporation, viewers jumped at the opportunity to defend Walmart, as one said, “I thought everything from Walmart bakery was made from Great Value products. I’ve told my husband that for years.” As well as, “They taste better than a lot of other places and are much cheaper, so I really don’t care — truth be heard.” While another said, “Most grocery stores do this. If they were made all from scratch, no one would pay the price.” One viewer who claimed to be a baker themselves also wrote, “As a former baker, you’d be surprised to know that many bakeries freeze their cakes. If demand is high, it’s impossible to completely bake fresh.” Though the Walmart employee sparked quite the debate, with essentially everyone being in favor of the pre-made cupcakes, the worker has not commented to their viewers giving any indication that they will change their mind on not approving of the store’s processing methods.

Walmart customer “wasn’t allowed to leave” after self-checkout machine didn’t print receipt tateandmary/TikTokA Walmart shopper revealed she was refused to to leave the store for over 20 minutes after a greeter had requested to see her receipt which she never got due to a faulty self-checkout machine. A woman has gone viral on TikTok after claiming Walmart staff refused to let her leave the store after the self-checkout machine didn’t print a receipt for her. Mary from TikTok profile tateandmary went onto the platform to share her story of what happened to her when she visited her local Walmart and how she wasn’t allowed to leave. The video, which received 496.600 views in just a couple of days, starts with Mary looking into the camera and telling the viewers: “OK, so I was just at Walmart, and they have someone who’s standing by the door to check receipts and stuff, right?” Click here if TikTok doesn’t load “Normally, they don’t even ask,” she continued. “Like, you can just leave, and they’re not worried about it. But this time, I was standing at the self-checkout so close to the guy who checks receipts. He’s watching me, right? There’s a lady there also watching me. And I pay for everything, everything’s bagged, put it in the cart. I’m walking past them, and they’re like ‘Ma’am, I need to see your receipt.’” However, Mary told the Walmart greeter that the self-scanning machine had not printed her a receipt. This made the Walmart employees tell Mary that she would not be able to leave the store without a receipt. “I said, ‘OK, can you give me a receipt?’” Mary relayed. “And she said no,” leading Mary to respond, “Well, you can’t just keep me in the store. You just watched me pay for all my stuff.” The employee then told Mary, “Ma’am, why are you being so difficult?” Mary told viewers she was held at the store for 20 minutes but did not reveal what allowed her to finally leave. She instead concluded, “I’m literally—I’m not going back there. I don’t care how cheap it is.” Click here if TikTok doesn’t load In a follow-up video, Mary explained that she was able to use the card she paid with to prove she’d bought the items she was trying to take out of the store. Viewers confused with Walmart staff for not letting woman leave People quickly took to the comments to discuss Mary’s situation, and how weird it was that she wasn’t allowed to leave. One person wrote: “At our Walmart, if you do self-checkout, you can even choose to not have a receipt printed for you. So what are they going to do then?” Another TikTok user said: “I rate my visit as 1 [star] every time I have to use self-checkout because they don’t have cashiers. It’s my silent protest haha.” “Just ignore them and keep walking,” a third person said.

Walmart customers create “beautiful moment” singing Christmas carols in viral video TikTok: walmart, kansascitydiscoverWalmart customers gathered in the store and sang Christmas carols in a video that went viral. A Walmart in Kansas City, Kansas turned its produce aisle into a moment full of holiday cheer for a brief moment this season. As customers shopped for their items, they heard a small group singing Christmas carols. Deciding to join in, the few people soon turned into a large gathering of customers singing Christmas carols together. Walmart customers sing “O Come Let Us Adore Him” in middle of store As someone’s voice led the group in the middle of Walmart, customers joined in to sing Christmas carols together. The video has now gone viral on TikTok where people are calling it “heartwarming” and a “beautiful moment.” As they sang “O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord” from the song “O Come Let Us Adore Him” by Hillsong Worship, the customers held their arms up in praise. Viewers of the cheerful moment have commented on how nice it was to see people coming together, saying, “Chills! Beautiful. All people worshiping together.” And, “Proof that our voices might not sound great solo. But together, we sound strong. Amazing!” The moment even pulled on the heartstrings of a self-proclaimed “Grinch,” as they commented, “I am not a religious woman and I am known to be a bit of a Grinch at this time of year but this made me cry like a baby! Must have needed it.” Though unplanned, the presence of the holiday season was strong among people who had never met. The gathered group even cheered loudly once they finished. To read a similar article where Christmas carolers sang rather surprising songs in an Ulta store, check our page out here.

Walmart customer shocked to find makeup products locked up: “They not playing” TikTok: thereal.sherriiiA Walmart customer was shocked to find that every single makeup product was locked up after having just been to the store days prior. Shopping in stores these days has looked a little different, as places all over the country have frequently been ransacked for their merchandise. Due to the increase in theft, many stores have had to change the dynamic in which they sell their products. However, Walmart customer Sherri was still shocked to see that all of their makeup items had been locked up. Viewers compare locked makeup aisles to frozen food section Sherri had just been to Walmart, so she was taken aback when she went back days later to find that everything in the makeup aisles had been locked behind firm cases. Though she may have anticipated buying some new products, Sherri would have had to wait for a store associate to open the door to the selected items. Instead, she recorded what the aisles now looked like, saying, “Y’all it was not like this last week.” Her friends were also in the background voicing their opinions, saying that just the day before, the makeup had been free to browse without help. Still recording, Sherri continued to express her disbelief, saying, “Y’all, Walmart is standing on business — they not playing. They standin’ on big business.” Since uploading her video to TikTok, plenty of viewers have responded saying that they thought Sherri was recording in the frozen aisle because the protection from theft looked identical to what the doors look like to the frozen foods. Others agreed that Walmart should have designated store associates that solely unlock the doors to the makeup just so customers don’t have to wait an excessive amount of time. One viewer even mentioned that they thought Walmart’s sales would decrease because most people like to test the products before buying them. Though Sherri was clearly shocked, it’s unknown if she’ll boycott Walmart altogether. However, plenty of viewers did iterate that they would likely not wait for an employee to help and instead, they’d go elsewhere.

Walmart customer shocks viewers with first drone delivery to their front door WalmartA Walmart customer went viral, after they decided to record their first-ever drone delivery from the store, leaving viewers excited. Many might be unaware that Walmart are utilizing a brand-new, futuristic delivery service to ensure that customers get their orders delivered on time. A TikToker went viral on the platform after she recorded an item to be delivered to her home via drone. It can be seen soaring through the sky, straight to Brii’s door. “We are outside waiting on our Walmart drone delivery. How freaking extra, and here it comes, my son thought it was a plane it is a rather large drone,” Brii narrates. “It’s about to stop and start lowering down, the Walmart that we ordered this from was maybe a 10-minute drive and from time of order to time of delivery took maybe 10 to 15 minutes.” So what was in the package? A package of Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies, as well as a water bottle she believes was used to balance the drone. TikTok excited over first-ever Walmart drone delivery Walmart’s drone delivery service isn’t widely available, and is only used in a few select locations. This subsequently left viewers shocked when they saw this brand-new delivery method. “All of this money spent on a drone and I have to find someone to unlock the cosmetics section,” one lamented. “Wow I literally can’t believe that I have lived long enough to transition from black and white TVs to this, God I’m old,” another wrote. Some thought it was silly to employ a drone to deliver something as menial as cookies: “I would only do this for an emergency order like medicine definitely not cookies lol.” “This would be great for medicine when sick & can’t get out of bed to go to the store,” another concurred. Walmart first introduced drone deliveries during 2022, in select markets in Texas, Arizona and Florida.

Walmart customer says he was ‘held hostage’ by worker after paying for his items TIKTOK: travisleeraganA Walmart customer went viral on TikTok after he was detained by a Walmart employee even though he paid for all his items. TikToker Travis Lee Ragan recorded himself telling a Walmart greeter to get out of his way and not push his cart back into him, claiming it was assault. In the video, which has amassed a staggering 28.4 million views, Travis tried to leave the store but the employee blocked his way until the customer said: “Go get your manager.” The greeter told Travis to “go get him,” to which the TikToker responded that he’s not going to do that, as the worker is the one stopping him from exiting. “Now you’re holding me hostage against my will,” Travis told the worker, who then yelled at another employee, “Yo can you go get the manager?” He then shrugged his shoulders at the TikToker, as he said, “We can stand here all day.” Travis told the worker that he “cannot stop” him or “hold [him] against his will” because “it is illegal.” Travis then began pushing his cart through the store, and the employee started walking alongside his cart to the exit. The customer invited the Walmart greeter to follow him to his car, but the greeter continued to prevent him from exiting the store. Travis tried to back out of the store while repeating that the worker’s actions are illegal. He then told the employee that he can’t wait to “post it online” to which the greeter said, “post it.” A manager then approached both of them. Travis handed the manager his receipt and told him that the store workers cannot physically block him from leaving the store. “He cannot do that legally it is against the law,” he told the manager, who sent the greeter away. After checking Travis’ receipt and seeing that all items were paid for, the manager handed back to him and then followed the customer out to his car. In the comments, TikTok users sided with the customer, with many saying it’s against the law to block the exit at any business. According to Aisle of Shame, it’s illegal for store greeters to stop you, and customers are allowed to walk past them if they do so. The outlet states: “You can ignore the greeter and walk on if you want to. If the greeter stops you or forces you to show the receipt, they may violate your rights.”

Walmart customer doesn’t understand why cashiers were working in the self-checkout line TikTok: miraclehandzA Walmart customer took to TikTok to share how displeased they were with the store having cashiers in the self-checkout line. Self-checkout in stores is one of the small perks of needing to get in and out of the store quickly. Whether you have a cart full of groceries or a few items, dodging the lines and doing it yourself is sometimes the fastest option. Though it’s uncommon for cashiers to work the self-checkout line, one Walmart customer recently took to TikTok to show just the opposite. In her viral video, the customer was fed up with the new Walmart regulations, causing TikTokers to share their similar opinions. TikTokers agree that cashiers shouldn’t work in the self-checkout line When the Walmart customer who goes by the name of “miraclehandz” uploaded her explainer video to TikTok, she captioned it saying, “Like what is the point of self-checkout if I can’t scan one take on, just kidding.” Though she may have anticipated stealing from her cart full of groceries like ramen noodles, bottled water, and juice, she was unable to do so, as a cashier scanned every single item. Despite the self-checkout line usually consisting of customers scanning their own items and placing them in bags, ‘miraclehandz’ had no other option than to wait until her cashier was done. After TikTok saw her video, they took to her comments section to agree that having cashiers in the self-checkout line was bogus, saying, “Does this not defeat the purpose of self-checkout?“ Others shared their similar experiences in various stores, saying, “Our Walmart in San Diego, CA started that and I hate it!! It makes me nervous having someone just standing there staring at me” As well as, “My Costco does this! It drives me mad.” Some viewers even joked about not being able to steal with cashiers right by their sides, saying, “They wanted us to be our own cashiers but not get the discount.” Another also poked fun at stores not having cashiers at the register in the first place, saying, “They do literally everything but put cashiers at the actual registers…” Though ‘miraclehandz’ was displeased with her recent Walmart experience, it’s unknown if she’s chosen to not go back to the store after cashiers took over the self-checkout line. For a similar story where a Walmart customer walked out of the store without paying for their TV, check here.

Walmart customer asks employee if they can come to Xmas party after scanning items & bagging own groceries TikTok: @phenicks67A TikToker went viral after they had to check themselves out and bag all their own groceries. They then proceeded to approach an employee and ask for the Walmart Xmas party details. A TikToker named Phoenix was disappointed after a recent trip to Walmart, where she says the customer service was subpar. As a result, she was made to check out her own items at the store, as well as bagging all of the things she’d bought. Gaining over 50,000 views, we can see Phoenix approach a Walmart worker, before proceeding to ask her: “So when is the Christmas, uh, party? Cause I wanna come and I check myself out… I’m an employee. So when… when is the Christmas party?” The employee, clearly amused by the woman’s line of questioning, responds: “You know, they haven’t told me about it yet either.” TikTok amused by Walmart Christmas party exchange After the video was posted on TikTok, it gained a ton of comments super quickly, with many being amused by the interaction between the customer and the employee. “Loooovvee the matched energy!!” one wrote, while another commented that “her response was unexpected but so hilarious.” Some, however, were divided by the exchange, claiming that Phoenixs’ expectations were out of whack: “I pump my own gas. Does that mean I work at the gas station? I clean my own car at the carwash.” Some commented on their own experiences of Walmart Xmas parties: “I worked at Walmart forever ago. They put some deli food in the break room… that’s the party.” In other Walmart news, Gail Lewis’ vest reached over $400K on Ebay, with people eager to bid on the coveted item.

Walmart customer divides viewers after demanding cashier bag her groceries TIKTOK: kingkongzoeA Walmart customer has left viewers divided on TikTok, after repeatedly asking her cashier to bag her groceries. In a viral clip with 1.6 million views, a customer at Walmart asked the employee to bag her groceries, which included eggs, a bottle of dish soap, a bottle of barbecue sauce and boxes of cereal and noodles. The Walmart cashier placed some of the items in a bag before returning to her register, which the customer was not happy about. “The stuff that you put down here needs to be in bags,” she said, gesturing to the rest of the groceries. While bagging the remaining items, the employee shoved a box of cereal into a bag. “You just damaged my cereal. I don’t even want it,” the upset customer told her. After repeatedly stating that she didn’t want it anymore, the cashier quickly moved to take the box of cereal off her receipt. “You don’t want to be here today? Because that is not customer service, the way you’re acting,” the woman told the worker. She then asked the cashier to bag her eggs, and warned her to not break them. The Walmart employee complied and put the carton of eggs in the bottom of a bag, before handing her a receipt. Many TikTok users in the comments defended the employee, and wondered if an argument had occurred before the customer started filming. “The customer’s attitude is probably the reason the cashier had an attitude,” one user said. “She’s just having a bad day at work. I always help put my stuff in the bags,” another wrote. “I feel like there is more to this video,” a third shared. There were a few, however, that sided with the customer. “Oh hell no. I’d want a refund. Prices are too damn high to be treated like this,” one user commented. “Wow! I wouldn’t pay for anything I would have just walked away,” another added. For more entertainment news and other viral stories, head over to check out our coverage.

What is Walker Hayes’ ‘Fancy Like’ dance that’s going viral on TikTok? TikTok: walkerhayesofficialCountry artist Walker Hayes continues to go viral on TikTok thanks to his song ‘Fancy Like’ and the corresponding dance he choreographed with his daughter. If there’s one thing TikTok is known for, it’s dancing. For several years now users have been creating short and snappy dances to some of the most popular hits in the charts, as well as older songs that get a new lease of life through the social media platform. Dances like the ‘Renegade’ and ‘Savage’ are recognizable to many, both on TikTok and off TikTok, and new dances are being created all the time as new singles gain popularity on the platform. Country singer Walker Hayes felt the benefit of TikTok’s power after he posted a video of him dancing with his daughter to his song ‘Fancy Like’ back in June. Click here if TikTok doesn’t load Walker Hayes viral TikTok dance The fun video of the pair dancing together went on to get over 20 million views and nearly 2.5 million likes, with people loving the combination of the catchy tune and the well-suited dance. Hayes has now spent sixteen weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with the hit and twenty weeks on the chart in total, which just goes to show how much influence TikTok can have over the charts when the right video goes viral. And although it’s been many months since the song was first released, it continues to be used widely across TikTok and is a track still loved by many. In August, the track even inspired Applebee’s to bring back their popular Oreo Shake after it was mentioned in the lyrics. Walker has previously had a successful hit with his song ‘You Broke Up With Me’ in 2017, with the song currently at over 36 million views on YouTube. But his latest hit definitely seems to have found its home on TikTok, with thousands of people using the sound as a backing track for their own video, or even to try out the popular dance. Walker has since gone on to do the dance with various different other people and has been duetting those who are trying their hand at the moves, earning millions of likes in the process.

Wakey Wines charges insane prices for MrBeast Feastables after Prime sale backlash YouTube: Curiosity Stream / TikTok: Wakey WinesWakey Wines is selling MrBeast’s Feastables chocolate bars for an over-the-top price after recently coming under fire for selling PRIME Energy cans for similarly outrageous amounts. TikTok-famous convenience store ‘Wakey Wines’ is once again charging exorbitant prices for influencer products — and this time, their target is YouTube star MrBeast. Wakey Wines is a popular convenience store in the UK that’s gone viral on social media several times, usually for pricing its products at jaw-dropping amounts. Most recently, Wakey Wines came under fire for charging £100 ($127) per can of PRIME Energy, a beverage line created by YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul. KSI made his stance on the matter clear, calling out the store in a heated video saying, “He can’t keep getting away with this!” Wakey Wines selling MrBeast Feastables bars for eye-popping prices Now, Wakey Wines is garnering attention once again after selling MrBeast’s ‘Feastables’ chocolate bars for an eye-popping price. MrBeast first launched his chocolate bar line in 2022, which has since expanded to include major collaborations with other influencers and several new flavors (including one actually called ‘Deez Nuts’). Recently, the bars were spotted at Wakey Wines being sold for £12.99 ($17) each — and the internet was left confused and outraged. “Someone needs to Wakey him tf up,” one user said of the store’s owner. “No one is paying 13 pounds for a chocolate bar.” Someone needs to Wakey him tf up. No one is paying 13 pounds for a chocolate bar — UhohitsRenaud – I make videos (@Uhohitsrenaud04) August 4, 2023 “Isn’t that $14 or $15 USD?” another asked. “Man, that’s wild.” “That’s cheap, from him,” yet another joked. This pricing could be explained, however, by the UK currently experiencing some issues being able to buy Feastables bars. The YouTuber addressed the issue on July 18 after fans had issues buying the treat as it flew off stores shelves due to its popularity. MrBeast assured fans that he would fix the stock issues soon — something that’s also happened in the UK with PRIME Hydration in the past.

Wakey Wines owner wants to fight KSI after getting special edition Prime bottle YouTube: KSI/TikTok: WakeyWinesOfficialThe owner of UK convenience store Wakey Wines has challenged KSI to a boxing match, but he has to get ahold of the special edition LA Dodgers Prime Hydration first. Back in January 2023, just after the release of Prime Energy, the owner of Wakey Wines went viral selling cans of the drink for over $100 each. KSI blasted the convenience store owner, stating in a video that he “can’t keep getting away with this.” Prime recently revealed a special edition of LA Dodgers Prime Hydration that is only available in Los Angeles, California, and KSI was quick to say that there “ain’t no way” Wakey Wines could get ahold of the bottle. The store owner has accepted the challenge of getting the drink, and he wants to fight KSI in a boxing match if he succeeds. Wakey Wines owner challenges KSI to boxing match In a TikTok video, the owner of Wakey Wines issued his challenge to KSI. “I accept your challenge, pal. Your challenge to me is to get this bottle,” he said. “You have to accept my challenge. “When I get this drink in, I want to jump in the ring with you and have a boxing match with you.” The video quickly went viral, and viewers have shared their thoughts about the challenge in the comments of the clip. “This man willing to get knocked out for the biggest promotion of his shop. This man’s a genius!” one user said. Another commented: “Shop is going dead now is what he’s saying.” KSI has yet to respond to the challenge at the time of writing, likely because he’s getting ready for his October fight against Tommy Fury. We’ll update you if he does, though. In the meantime, you can head over to our entertainment section to check out more coverage.

Waitress sparks debate on TikTok after pigtail hairstyle gets her more tips TikTok: B_WoodardA waitress by the name of b_woodard has sparked a debate between viewers on TikTok after revealing that putting her hair up into pigtail braids got her more tips at work. Bella, a waitress that goes by the username b_woodard on TikTok, has gone viral on the app after uploading a video that has received over 3.8 million views. In the video, she explains that she saw another creator that went to work as a waitress after putting her hair into pigtail braids and received more tips than usual during her shift, so Bella decided to try it herself. “I’m just gonna say, it’s so weird and gross but I’m down for more tips,” she explained. At the end of the video, she revealed that someone gave her a $135 tip from one customer during her shift. Waitress’ video sparks debate between viewers Bella’s video sparked a debate among viewers, with some thinking it was a good idea and others being grossed out by it. One user took to the comments to agree with Bella: “Works every time, I used to call them my tiptails.” A second user also agreed, saying: “omg yes I get so many compliments from my tables when I do pigtails.” (Click here if TikTok doesn’t load) A third viewer also mentioned that Bella might get better tips because she’s a blonde: “Yay I’m glad it worked! I think the blonde also helps. When I was blonde I got better tips than as a brunette.” However, other people contributed the extra tips to the fact that she looks “young and vulnerable.” This lines up with Bella’s initial thoughts of it being creepy. A viewer replied: “It’s because we look more young and vulnerable.” While another user echoed the same thought: “Do y’all think it’s bc hair like that makes girls look young?”

Waitress uses pheromone perfume to increase tips at work TikTok: alexxajohnsonn / Pure InstinctA waitress has taken to using a pheromone perfume to increase her tips at work, sharing how the experiment went on TikTok. Many hospitality workers rely on tips for a large part of their income, so it’s no surprise that they are trying out new ways to increase their gratuities while on the job. Now one food server believes she has found an easy way to up her profits, testing out her theory and sharing the results on TikTok. Alexa Johnson, who goes by ‘alexxajohnsonn’ on the platform, posted a video in which she used a pheromone perfume before work, which claims to trigger arousal and attraction. Pheromones are chemical substances naturally produced and secreted by the body. They send signals from one person to another and can stimulate sexual arousal, desire, and hormone levels. Manufacturers now claim to have figured out how to make pheromone perfumes, and also claim a range of benefits such as improved confidence and increased attraction. Johnson, however, has found another use for the perfume, applying it before her shift in hopes that customers might be more willing to leave a hefty tip. “So let’s see if my pheromones being released with the perfume made any difference,” she said, showing viewers her tips at the end of her shift. And it seems the perfume didn’t disappoint, with Johnson’s tables all tipping 20% or more resulting in a total of $231.80. With over 800,000 views on the video so far, many took to sharing their own experiences using the perfume, mostly positive. “I’ve been using this for two years….It was a game-changer!” one person commented. Another also approved of the product, saying “I bought it and can’t even stop smelling myself.” For more viral stories, check out our coverage.

Waitress humiliates customers for writing “racist” message instead of tipping TikTok/being.amiraA waitress is going viral on TikTok after she exposed a couple of customers for writing a “racist” message on their receipt instead of tipping her. Waitresses have to deal with a lot of drama at their jobs. From overly-demanding customers to brawls breaking out in restaurants, there’s no shortage of shenanigans. Considering everything that happens at a busy dining spot, the last thing TikToker and waitress Amira Donahue wanted to deal with was racial abuse and decided to take matters into her own hands when it happened to her. In a viral video, the waitress revealed that some of her teen customers had written “black” on the gratuity line of their bill instead of tipping… so she confronted him to see what their problem was. Waitress confronts teens over “racist” note on receipt Immediately after asking the teens why they wrote “black” on their receipt, the duo tried to weasel their way out by claiming they didn’t know what the word meant. Clearly embarrassed about being on video, the teens tried to give Amira a tip, but she refused, instead demanding answers about why they wrote the note. “That’s what he told me to write,” one deflected the blame onto his friend. “Can I tip you?” Eventually, the waitress walked away without accepting any cash before uploading the TikTok to her account where it went viral, leaving viewers over the moon that she stood up for herself. “I love that you embarrassed them,” commented one viewer, while others remarked how the teens were left shaking in their crocs. However, in another clip, she explained that she didn’t want to expose their names, stating that confronting them was “karma.” “Whatever guilt is eating them up is probably good enough for me,” she laughed. This is hardly the first viral tip video we’ve seen recently. Earlier this week, a DoorDash driver didn’t handle a situation as well as Amira and insulted a customer over a measly $5 tip.

Waitress sparks backlash for asking customer if he’s drinking & driving TikTok: v3nusb4byyA waitress is coming under fire on TikTok for claiming she was given a low tip from a customer who was angry that she’d asked him if he was driving after being served large amounts of alcohol. TikTok is home to a slew of viral videos, some of which have kicked off heated debates among commenters that leaked onto other social platforms. For instance, a woman sparked a major conversation across the internet after yelling at a stranger who was thirty feet away from her in a parking lot, claiming she was worried he may have had ulterior motives. The latest debate taking over TikTok comes as a result of a server claiming she received a shockingly low tip from a customer who was upset that she’d asked him if he would be driving after being served several alcoholic drinks. Waitress under fire for asking customer if he was driving after drinking TikTok user and waitress Karina is lighting up comment sections online after uploading a video detailing her experience with a customer at her place of employment on April 8. In her video, Karina claims she was given a mere $2 tip on a $230 order. When she asked how she could improve her service after noticing the low amount, Karina says the paying customer claimed she “made him feel like an alcoholic when he ordered two more shots of vodka, and I obviously asked if he was driving because he already had two other shots of vodka, a shot of tequila, and a bottle of Stella.” In the clip’s caption, Karina says she didn’t actually care about the tip amount — instead, she says she was just doing her job and looking out for her customer’s safety, and didn’t expect his reaction. Karina’s short video has gone viral, racking up 1.5 million views… in no small part thanks to the huge debate that’s started in its comment section. Many viewers sided with the angry customer, telling Karina that they “come for a drink, not a condescending lecture.” “He tipped you about two dollars too many,” another said. “I mean, if I order a drink, I want a drink, I don’t want a lesson on how to get home safe,” another user argued. “I’d still tip 20% and ask you to bring the drink.” However, Karina — and a slew of other servers in the comments — have pointed out that, in many areas, wait staff are legally held liable if a customer is overserved and ends up getting into an accident. These laws are called “dram shop laws,” and can sometimes hold bartenders or wait staff into account if “an intoxicated customer injures or kills another person,” as told by TotalFood. In California, “every person” who sells alcohol to an “obviously intoxicated person” is guilty of a misdemeanor, per two California Business & Professions Codes. For Karina, she was just following the law… but it’s clear that many commenters felt judged by her question. This is just the latest debate to take over TikTok after a woman held up her local drive-thru when she let her kid make their own order.

Waitress goes viral on TikTok claiming lying to customers makes job “more fun” TikTok: Billy0420A waitress on TikTok has gone viral on the platform after claiming that lying to customers while working makes the job “way more fun,” prompting hundreds of other servers and customers to agree with her. No matter what size the business you work in is, being a server is no easy task. Dealing with rude, angry customers, and chefs making mistakes on food are just two of the dozens of responsibilities a server is tasked with. Bailey Schaffer, who goes by the name billy0420 on TikTok, uploaded a stitched video on August 13 talking about what it’s like being a server. She went on to explain that she thinks lying to customers makes the job “way more fun,” and hundreds of people in her comments seem to agree. Waitress says lying to customers makes job “way more fun” Shortly after posting, Bailey’s video went viral — gaining almost a million views and thousands of likes. Starting off the video, she said: “I love lying to my tables. It makes the job way more fun.” The TikToker went on to give an example of a recent situation where she had to lie to customers. “So a couple of weeks ago, I got a table, got a six top. Food is taking a very long time, I’m saying like an hour ticket time. And [the customers] are just angry, like, the kitchen’s just backed up,” she explained. “I don’t know what’s going on. So I run outside and I’m like ‘Oh my god, guys, I’m so sorry to tell you this, but the guy, our fry guy, his glasses just fell into the fryer, and his initial reaction was to just reach in and grab it.” Viewers quickly took to Bailey’s comments to share their own thoughts on the idea of lying to customers. “This is my FAVORITE I always push the lies further and further… low key addictive,” one user commented. Another waitress added their own idea to the conversation on TikTok: “Forget about a table? Wrap a band-aid around your finger, “omg I am so sorry! I was slicing lemons and got my finger” gets them every time”

Waitress goes viral after turning a 1-star review into work shirt TikTok: dandanthexanmanA waitress has gone viral after making the most of a 1-star review by transforming it into a t-shirt for work. Working in hospitality and customer service may at times mean you encounter customers displeased by your service, sometimes enough so to leave a bad review. However, one waitress has taken things to the next level after turning a 1-star review critiquing her service into a work shirt instead. Dani, who goes by ‘dandanthexanman‘ on TikTok, took to the social media platform to show off her “iconic” idea, quickly going viral as viewers dubbed the shirt “the funniest thing” all year. A close-up of the shirt revealed the review: “We will never be back! At this restaurant the staff made us feel so uncomfortable. A waitress named Dani suggested the manager to seat us outside [in] the cold when our baby cried because she had a headache, she didn’t bother to hide her discomfort and looked at us like we were rubbish. We obviously left the restaurant straight away. Very not family-friendly atmosphere in there, don’t bother to go with kids.” In a separate storytime TikTok, Dani explained how exactly the review came about. She revealed she had been feeling unwell but couldn’t take the day off as three other staff members had already called in sick. “It’s so busy… and I’m there getting sicker and sicker… but I’m putting on a show, because that’s what they pay me to do,” Dani began. “Then we’ve got this absolutely beautiful family come in, yay slay. The only problem is their baby starts crying… we actually do have an outside bit of the restaurant which a lot of parents will take their toddlers [to], just to calm down — sometimes a restaurant can be overwhelming to a toddler, I can understand that.” Struggling with her headache and the child’s crying, Dani suggested to her manager that the family go outside; “It was insane for me that day, I’ve never dealt with that kind of migraine and that kind of noise combo — that was pretty wild.” The family, however, was not happy with the suggestion and chose to leave instead, making sure to grab Dani’s name beforehand. Upset to discover she had been named in the family’s bad review, Dani ultimately decided to “laugh” about the unfortunate matter and turn it into a work shirt. Despite her hilarious response to the review, Dani did admit she felt bad for making the family uncomfortable; “I am really sorry, you are right. If you ever see this video, you are right… I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I was just having my own sh** that day. That’s actually not your problem, you’ve come in here to eat food with your family.”

Waitress goes viral for quitting job during mid-shift meltdown TIKTOK: skunkprincess23A frustrated waitress went viral on TikTok for quitting her job mid-shift, after she had to handle 24 tables and deal with several other issues. TikToker skunkprincess23 shared her ‘freakout’ in a viral video, which was filmed by her roommate on the day she decided to quit her serving job. In the clip, the content creator expressed her frustration about being the only server on the staff, having to manage more than 20 tables, and dealing with impatient customers. “I am never coming back here,” she declared at the end of her meltdown. “I’m standing on business, b*tch! I’m done!” In the caption, the former server added that “The entire staff has quit if you were wondering.” The video amassed a whopping 8.4 million views, with thousands of TikTok users sharing their sympathies in the comments. “Did you actually quit? I felt this with my soul,” one person wrote, to which the OP replied, “Yes mid shift.” Another added, “This is completely justified and relatable.” In a follow-up clip, the TikToker offered an explanation of why she and her co-workers quit. They described how the Korean restaurant they worked at had gotten new ownership overnight without the knowledge of the staff. They also recounted alleged physical altercations, the restaurant running out of all ingredients, several cleanliness issues, and difficulties involving a language barrier among the kitchen staff. The content creator later shared another update video, in which she revealed that she’s been doing fine since leaving the restaurant. “Everyone’s been asking me, ‘Oh, what have you been doing? What have you been doing? Have you found a new job yet?’” she mentioned. “You want to know what I’ve been doing? I’ve just been playing the saxophone in my closet. I’m hiding from the situation, you know?” skunkprincess23 said, before showing herself playing the instrument. “Now what am I supposed to do now that all you guys are here?” she asked her new followers in the caption.

Waffle House refuses to serve customers using viral ‘TikTok hacks’ Instagram: WaffleHouseOfficialWaffle House employees have taken a stand against multiple “secret menu” videos going viral on TikTok, refusing to take orders for anything that is not specified in their menu. For those unaware, In-N-Out fast food restaurants offer “secret menu” items that cannot be found on their menu cards. Ever since this became widespread knowledge thanks to the social media, fast food enjoyers and content creators started searching for secret menus in other restaurants. One Waffle House seemingly did not take kindly to the waves of customers who wanted to order from the secret menu as instructed by TikTok content creators. TikTok user @officialgodbodycash uploaded a video showing a sign at the cash register that reads: “We are not making anything you saw on TikTok.” TikTok hacks and other secret menu-related media have become quite a nuisance for many fast-food places lately so it’s no wonder some restaurants might have gotten fed up with overly customized orders. Some time ago a story about someone trying to order a frappuccino for 5 cents was revealed by a Starbucks barista. And while they just canceled the order, it’s still probably incredibly annoying to have to be on a constant lookout for people trying to “hack” the menu in such a busy workplace. Some comments under the TikTok wholly support the employees. “The employees [are] SICK of the TikTok specials,” one person comments. Another similar comment reads: “waffle house not gon play w y’all.” But there’s another side to this debate, arguing that not having a secret menu is bad press on their part. “Waffle house don’t even answer the phone y’all thought they was doing a secret menu,” proclaims one comment criticizing this behavior. And another user agrees with the sentiment: “That literally was an opportunity for growth.. they fumbled.” Waffle House has not made any official statements about its “secret menu” or the trends surrounding it.

Waitress destroys customers in viral “Chinese Waffle House” brawl Twitter/stillgrayA woman is going viral for beating up a couple of customers at a restaurant in a melee that’s being compared to the Waffle House Avenger brawl. Restaurants are notorious in the world of viral fights with many of the best battles being fought over a cup of coffee and a medium-rare steak. Over the years we’ve seen countless restaurant rumbles with girls pistol-whipping men, fighters pulling raccoons out of their jackets during scaps at the world’s worst McDonald’s, and of course, Waffle House wars. In a new altercation going viral on Twitter, a woman channeled her inner Waffle House Wendy to fight a pair of customers and even ended up catching a chair in the process. Waitress catches chair and fights customers at “Chinese Waffle House” In the viral post that was uploaded by ‘stillgray’ On Twitter, security camera footage shows the moment where a man put his hands on a waitress who then took swift action. First, she retaliated with a snappy fist to the throat and followed that up with some rapid punches and a kick to knock him down. Next, the other customer at the table stood up, but she was quick to send him right back down with a fast kick before dodging one of his blows. A moment later, the man returned with a chair and threw it at her, but the waitress caught it and landed one more kick for good measure, ending the fight with a flawless victory. Many viewers were impressed with her ability to handle the situation with some even comparing her to Chun Li from Street Fighter. Others said the brouhaha put American Waffle Houses to shame. It’s not clear when the fight took place or if the waitress ended up getting in trouble, but if she’s out of a job, the UFC may want to consider giving her a call.

Waffle House goes viral as Florida man noticed for brave decision during Hurricane Idalia TikTok: riverrodsA Waffle House location is going viral for being the only eatery open while hurricane Idalia struck Southeast states. When in doubt, we order out! But what about when a natural disaster has struck down in your hometown? Well, one TikToker who braved hurricane Idalia was able to fulfill his hunger during the storm that struck the Southeast, as he made his way to the only open restaurant in his town — a Waffle House. What’s more, Americans apparently have a ‘Waffle House Index’ where they determine if the storm is too strong for a Waffle House to be closed or not. Can you say dedication? TikToker notices an open Waffle House during Hurricane Idalia On August 30th, Hurricane Idalia struck Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The torrential downpour and striking winds lasted for about 24 hours and ceased the following day. Cars were flipped, roofs were torn, trees toppled, and land flooded. Not only did Hurricane Idalia cause initial damage, but the residual effect of the rain is still occurring, continuing to make its way into the homes of Southeast inhabitants. Though one may assume that both restaurants and stores will be closed amid natural disasters like Hurricane Idalia, a secluded Waffle House proved to be in a league of its own when it came to braving the storm. In a now-viral video posted to TikTok, a man in Florida went for a walk and noticed that his local Waffle House was opened after the greater part of Idalia’s rampage. In fact, there is actually a ‘Waffle House Index’ that assesses the severity of a storm. If it’s open, then all is well. However, if your local Waffle House is closed, then one best stay inside and hunker down until told otherwise. The ‘Waffle House Index’ has been around for at least 20 years, originating in 2004 after Hurricane Charley when the Florida Emergency Management director Craig Fugate coined the concept. Though the ‘Waffle House Index’ may come as a surprise to some, commenters on the now-viral video of the open eatery were at ease seeing that one was open during the storm, saying, “Check out the ‘Waffle House Index.’ Literally, emergency services use it as a marker as to how bad a storm will be.” While another jokingly uttered, “If your local Waffle House is ever closed get the f—k out of there, it’s the end of the world.” Though hurricane Idalia struck quite hard on the southeast coast, the storm has since tamed after its August 30th arrival. However, Bermuda residents should take caution, as the storm may hit further into the Atlantic this weekend.

Waffle House brawl takes wild twist as girls scrap in parking lot Reddit/WikimediaA ridiculous new Waffle House melee is making rounds on social media as the fight wasn’t your typical restaurant rumble. The Waffle House seems to be better known for its fights than its coffee, with countless brawl videos taking place inside the chain. We’ve seen all-out battles and on-on-ones in the Waffle House before, but two ladies took things to another level in a new clip by settling their differences not inside, not outside. Posted to Reddit and then on Twitter/X, two women started scrapping in the Waffle House parking lot while another woman watched on while wielding a knife. Women wage war in Waffle House parking lot In the clip, two women started beefing with each other in the Waffle House parking lot as a man stood between them serving as a referee of sorts. After the man instructed one of the combatants to “put down the knife if you want to fight,” she handed the weapon to another woman and all hell broke loose. Despite the desire to throw down, it was clear the woman in the black shirt had too much of a size advantage as the smaller fighter took countless shots before being slammed into a car and kicked in the face. Unfortunately, that’s where the video ends, but viewers were quite surprised by the battle and the decision to fight outdoors. “At least it was outside this time…” someone remarked. “Is this an audition fight to see if they’ll be let in to Waffle House? Cuz that a pretty weak performance I don’t think they’re ready for the Waffle House leagues,” another joked. This latest brawl comes just weeks after Waffle House employees petitioned for safer working conditions, insisting that they’re “not MMA fighters” and are tired of showing up in fight compilation videos.

Waffle House employees tired of brawling customers: “We’re not MMA fighters” X/GAFollowers/YouTubeWaffle House employees are sick of getting into viral fights with violent customers and are demanding safer working conditions with better wages. The Waffle House is one of America’s biggest fast-food chains with nearly 2,000 locations across the country, but if there’s one thing the diner is known for more than its pancakes, it’s wild fight videos. Throughout the years there have been numerous viral brawls at the restaurants including one melee that exploded in popularity last year when an employee dubbed Waffle House Wendy caught a chair during a massive fight. However, despite the numerous incidents involving fisticuffs, Waffle House employees have had enough. 13,000 workers have signed a petition demanding safety at work, a $25 an hour minimum wage, and more. Waffle House employees insist they’re not MMA fighters In a video posted to social media on November 8, Waffle House employees claimed they delivered 13,000 signs petitions to the restaurant’s HQ in Atlanta, but things didn’t go according to plan. The employees alleged that the corporate office threatened to call the police on the workers and even threw the petitions in the trash when they were dropped off. The signed petitions demand that Waffle House hire 24/7 security, end its mandatory meal deduction policy and pay all workers $25 an hour instead of their current “poverty wages.” Waffle House cook Gerald Green told the Independent that staff are sick of having a reputation for fighting untruly customers in late-night restaurant brouhahas. “I know the joke is that everybody’s an MMA fighter, but no one actually is an MMA fighter,” he said. “We don’t want that stuff. Stop trying to be on your cousin’s fight compilation video. We’re just trying to get your food and send you on your way.” Green said that violent incidents at the restaurants led him and others to take action. In 2017, a friend of his was shot and killed during a robbery while on shift. Green was forced to work his own shift despite his friend only being dead for a couple of hours. “Y’all called me in just a couple of hours after someone died. That’s messed up,” he said.

Waffle House “Avenger” claims she was blacklisted by company following viral chair video rbaylor_74 | Twitter/HalieThe Waffle House “Avenger,” a woman whose skillful chair deflection in a restaurant brawl has gone viral, revealed that she’s been blacklisted by the company and “can’t work at Waffle House ever again.” Few videos in 2022 have had a viral impact that can rival that of the Waffle House brawl, an event that saw the Waffle House “Avenger” deflect a chair while restaurant patrons threw anything they could get their hands on at her. The woman, named Halie, recorded a 20-minute video telling her side of the story and recounting the events of that evening in detail, giving people an idea of what happened before, during, and after the fight. With an in-depth description of what exactly happened that night, Haile revealed that she’s been blacklisted by Waffle House and “can’t work at Waffle House ever again.” Waffle House “Avenger” blacklisted following viral brawl With quick reaction time and dexterity gained through thousands upon thousands of hours working at Waffle House over her 4-year stay with the company, the Waffle House Avenger managed to deflect a chair thrown at her by a patron. The pure chaos of the original video clip combined with Halie’s big moment has made her chair parry go viral, with many comparing her level of skill to that of the Avengers and elevating her as a Marvel superhero. According to Halie, they were very busy that night. She was trying her best to keep up with orders despite being understaffed. Still, due to insufficient resources to keep up with the restaurant at full capacity, a section was closed off to keep things running as smoothly as possible. Halie claims that the people who fought her tried to sit in this closed-off despite being asked not to. “We tell them, ‘Hey, that section’s closed, if you could wait for a table?’ They’re like, ‘Nah, we’re good. We’ll sit here.’” Halie says she ignored them and tried focusing on the restaurant’s other customers. After a few minutes, these customers got up and started crowding around the counter. She refused them service, something they didn’t take too well. “I was telling them I was gonna kick ’em out ’cause they were being rude. I ain’t gonna cook your food, you’re being rude to me.” Things went off the rails when patrons started climbing over the counter and into her kitchen. “We can do anything we can, legally, in our means, whatever means necessary, to remove you or ensure our safety. Whether that means taking one of the cast iron pans and hitting you upside the f***ing head with it or beating the f*** out of you when you fall over. If you touch my floor, it’s on.” This led to the moment that made Halie go viral as the Waffle House Avenger, Waffle House Wendy, The Last Chairbender, and a variety of other nicknames. Enough so that artists started making renditions of the moment and the internet got to work making the best meme edits they could. Halie recounted the events of the evening, including her chair deflection and some details of the fight. She even revealed that, at one point, she tried to make sure one of the people throwing things at her didn’t lose their wallet. “I’m looking up after the fight, and I see a wallet. I grab it, and I’m like, ‘Real talk, is this your wallet? Deadass, I don’t want anybody to lose their s***. So I was like, ‘Is this your wallet right here?’ And she was like, ‘Nah’, and then flung another plate at me.” The Waffle House location had to be closed down for a few hours to handle the police and get the place cleaned up. Halie was reprimanded for throwing a sugar shaker at one of the customers, but she didn’t get fired. She continued to work at this Waffle House location for a bit before leaving, citing that she felt “uneasy” working there. According to Halie’s retelling, the brawl took place much before the video went viral. In the video, she said she hadn’t even eaten Waffle House in “around 8 months”, meaning the viral video could have been months old by the time it caught on. She did note, however, that Waffle House is “a great company, they take care of their employees.” Despite being told she was “always welcome” after leaving that store, Halie discovered that she was blacklisted by the company when trying to apply at another location. “I can’t ever work for a Waffle House again. I tried working for another one sometime earlier this year, and I had found out that I was blacklisted.” However, she said that it’s possible the original location she worked at may still hire her. Halie made it clear she still loves the company she spent four years working with despite how things ended.

Waffle House “Avenger” reveals why she didn’t press charges after viral chair fight Fox News/TwitterThe Waffle House “Avenger” who went viral for catching a chair mid-air during a restaurant brawl has revealed why she refused to press charges against the customers who attacked her. Former Waffle House employee Halie Booth has become an internet sensation after a video of her fighting rowdy customers surfaced online in late December. During the fight, a customer threw a chair at Booth’s face, but the Waffle House employee was able to catch it in epic fashion, earning the respect of millions for her lightning-quick reflexes. Since going viral, Booth has since started her own YouTube channel to explain the incident and even appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson to discuss the frantic melee. Waffle House fighter tells Tucker Carlson why she didn’t press charges After answering some questions about the brawl and how she ended up being blacklisted by the company following the brouhaha, Waffle House Wendy chimed in about her attackers potentially going to jail. “I hope they all went to prison,” Carlson commented. “I bet they didn’t.” According to the former Waffle House worker, she didn’t want those involved to get in trouble and even refused to get the police involved. “I didn’t want to press charges. I felt that the situation had been resolved and everyone could go on their way,” she replied, which made Carlson grin. “You’re a nice person,” he said to end the segment, to which Booth shrugged. Waffle House fighter “intimidated” by Fox News Tucker Carlson segment Speaking to Rolling Stone after her appearance on Fox News, Booth called the segment “intimidating” and felt like she was “trying to be pulled into something political.” However, she also appreciated him for having her on the show and getting the chance to talk about the fight and everything that’s happened since. Speaking of which, Booth also revealed that she and her boyfriend drove down to the restaurant where the fight happened just a week ago to sit down with customers. This time, a fight didn’t break out. It’s not clear what’s next for the Waffle House fighter, but she’s since said that she would be interested in learning how to fight and get some “real training.” With any luck, we might see her compete in an influencer boxing match sometime in the future.

How VTubing helps trans creators explore gender identity safely Twitch: Dandyfloss / Twitch: Minty YukimeVTubing is a way to express one’s self online, but for trans creators, it’s more than a play thing. The virtual world is a real tool to help with gender identity, exploration, and affirming their sense of self. When asked about her exploration of her gender identity, Minty Yukime called it a “funny experience”. The fox VTuber started her journey in 2016 like most other transgender people — trying to figure things out, categorize their experiences into distinct ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ boxes, and taking it step by step. She described her father, who she lived with at the time, as a “transphobe”. But once she found safety physically, she was able to explore solace within her. She was able to change out her wardrobe, and then get into a viable position to medically transition a few years down the line. Instead of “stealthing” though, the fair practice of transitioning and then trying to blend back into the background without drawing attention, Minty decided to be very public with her journey. A video of her detailing her voice feminization surgery, and the changes that brought, went viral. She celebrated with her community after getting approved for ‘bottom surgery’, a type of gender-affirming care. With tens of thousands of followers on social media, and limited trans resources out there, Minty saw her platform as a chance to address the questions she wanted answered when she was diving into the deep end. “The nice thing about documenting this process is there are a decent amount of documented cases of trans people… but there aren’t that many examples of trans people who are open in public about their types of journeys,” she told Dexerto. However she only truly felt the comfort and freedom to really speak up about this thanks to VTubing. Previously just a run of the mill streamer, Minty just started creating content because she loved games and “wanted to be able to incorporate that into my livelihood and my hobbies and my life at large. “I already knew I was trans, but VTubing was still really helpful for me because it gave me the opportunity to have this perfect anime girl avatar and start to feel better about myself, then start to work on my voice more, then I could think about my mannerisms and my behavior,” she said. “Instead of being so worried or defeatist about my looks, not thinking I ‘passed’, I could instead focus on being who I want to be. That’s really helped me a lot in becoming who I am today and learning to grow as a person, as a streamer, as a woman.” Minty’s story is not unique. Dexerto spoke to more than a dozen trans VTubers with different lived experiences — transmasculine, transfeminine, genderfluid, or otherwise. While every journey is varied, all of them shared one point: VTubing liberated them, and gave them the freedom to truly express who they were. Exploring gender identity virtually Many of the trans VTubers Dexerto spoke to started their gender exploration well before the medium came into prevalence. Usually there’s questions asked at a younger age about interests being ‘different’ from the gendered norms, but don’t really get analyzed until the teenage years. It can be daunting, if not dangerous, to explore these notions in real life. Some can be surrounded by households or cultures that aren’t accepting of trans identities. For many, there’s plenty of restrictions that make transitioning beyond something ‘superficial’ like changing how you dress nearly impossible. For someone like Cambionkami, a transmasc VTuber from Australia, it was easier to “ignore” his trans identity than try to tackle it: “For two to three years, I was basically in full denial because I was afraid,” he told Dexerto. An avid VRChat player since 2017, virtual reality more broadly opened up that door — not just VTubing — and he could finally live out that ideal reality come later years: “One day it started off as a joke of like ‘I know sign, I have models with pens, so I can be a mute’, and my idea was I’d wear the opposite gender model and start it as a joke and see how many people would believe I was a guy. “Through people being like ‘you’re a guy’, I weirdly found mental peace, gender euphoria, in a sense. All the pain and trouble inside my head when I realized I might just be a boy inside a girl’s body, it all made sense. This might be who I’m supposed to be.” VTubing does open up some avenues to safely and effectively explore gender identity virtually. All the creators we spoke to mentioned how important their avatar design was to being able to feel safe online, and conform to their ideal identity — no matter the approach. “I wanted to take this perfect anime character, this cute girl character who everyone loves and she’s helpful and excitable and cute,” Minty described. “I thought to myself I am going to play that character, and maybe eventually, over time, those will become my mannerisms and speech things. I faked it until I made it, and it integrated into who I am.” That doesn’t mean your online identity and your offline one have to perfectly align, transmasc VTuber Riyuu stated: “There’s still a world of difference in how I present myself online as a streamer, as well as in real life. It’s not so much that the people around me in real life wouldn’t be accepting, but I don’t want to dive into anything in real life.” But visual dysphoria, one of the most prominent sensations felt by trans people whose appearances don’t align with their identity in real life as much as they’d like, can be mostly alleviated. “VTubing is a useful tool because you can get your personality across, but you don’t have to deal with the visual stuff that comes with it,” transfem VTuber Mira told Dexerto. “People’s dysphoria varies. Some people don’t have it as much, for others it’s more specific [to a sense]. But with this you have something to represent yourself — no matter whether it’s fantastical or an idealized version. You can represent yourself more accurately and it takes a lot of the anxiety away.” For Mavis DeLuna, this feeling was doubled in a sense. Identifying as genderfluid, they use masculine, feminine, and more androgynous designs. Being able to flick between them has helped mitigate dysphoria. Not feeling male at a specific time? They can swap to something more affirming. “I discovered I don’t like being strictly feminine or masculine,” they said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m neither. Having a model gave me the freedom to express myself the way that I wanted and change on a whim and be like ‘today I’m masculine, today I’m feminine.’ “Even mid-stream, if I felt a flux, I would switch. It was a nice thing to have up my sleeve in case gender dysphoria hit or I felt a need to change. VTubing allows accessibility and flexibility. It’s inherently a trans concept because you can present yourself as whoever you want to be.” What matters is having a community that is accepting of that journey, and ready to ride along in the passenger seat. Captain Dandyfloss, a transfem VTuber widely regarded as one of the leading voices in the space, is very set on her identity. But she’s helped facilitate the journey for others to find the best moniker to represent themselves, in a way that makes them feel comfortable. “You find something else that is good for you,” she said. “Whether you end up fully transitioning to become a man or a woman, that’s okay. You might be non-binary, or you might like being a feminine man or a masculine woman. There are whole scales of this. “It’s wonderful seeing people being able to experiment with these kinds of presentations, and it’s really nice.” This is something genderfluid content creators like Nethyr are especially cognizant of. While they mostly present as masculine online, they feel pressured to present feminine offline. But that act of “technically switching between forms” can be somewhat affirming. Even though they’ve been exploring their identity for years previously, and two years virtually, the presentation is always changing. “I realized if I could be my ideal self online, then I could be my ideal self offline too,” they said. “I’m planning on making changes to myself — my wardrobe, my hairstyle — in the future so I can better fit how I feel. “There’s a stereotype that you have to stick with the gender you came out to be. The thing is, you can transition out of it as well. I can be genderfluid right now, but maybe down the line I’m actually a man because I explored myself more. That’s okay — as long as it makes me happy.” Tackling one dysphoric feeling, amplifying another While VTubing has helped creators with visual dysphoria by aligning more closely with their ideal selves, some other aspects are much harder to come by. Vocal dysphoria was highlighted as a major issue that something the virtual world cannot easily absolve. To some VTubers, like Larkspur Cygnus, the wider community’s expectation plays a part: “People expect a certain voice or presentation when it comes to VTubers.” While the high fantasy-style transmasc creator is grateful for their “lower register” to have a more “passing” masculine voice, others have to go through intense vocal training or surgery, like Minty Yukime’s. There are shortcuts with voice changers, but they’re artificial and don’t really solve the problem. “This is less in VTubing spaces and more in other online spaces, but I have been asked whether I was a boy or a girl while playing Valorant. I would always dodge the question like Neo in The Matrix like ‘does it matter? As long as you can hear my comms.’” It is especially amplified in streaming, where someone can leave a remark in chat that can trigger the dysphoria: “If someone is tuning into your stream to relax while doing something, your voice is a major deal,” Mira said. “If you don’t have a voice that they vibe to, they will point it out. It can hurt your confidence a lot and that causes a negative feedback loop.” Misgendering is a common problem because of this. Even if creators have their pronouns easily visible, it’s easy to play off of assumptions — you hear a feminine voice, your automatic assumption is the person is a woman. The reactions to this in the trans community vary: some creators are very strict about people using the right pronouns, but others are more lax. There’s generally been a societal shift to acceptance though, something transmasc VTuber Xipher is welcoming of: “I understand it’s not the most natural thing to presume my voice matching the male gender. People slip up. As long as people are trying it doesn’t matter. “You want to be seen as [masculine], but you’re held back by this one limitation. You can replace your looks with a VTuber model, but you can never get rid of your voice unless you use things like VoiceMod and then that doesn’t sound natural and also has technology limitations. That’s part of the struggle, but people are understanding thankfully. “When I first started transitioning five years ago, it was very hard for people to wrap their head around it. It took some shifting, but I found the VTuber community is amazingly open minded, and a lot of people in the world are shifting towards being more open minded about it too.” Beyond this, some creators have taken their voices and empowered them. Vega, a transmasc creator, admits his voice “wasn’t where I wanted it to be because I never had access to testosterone or voice training.” This led to them altering their design to be more androgynous than masculine just to avoid the questioning. But as time goes on, Vega has realized the struggle itself is a uniting force. It’s a collective thing trans VTubers have to face together, and it adds extra bonding to the sense of community that exists in the space. “With the hours and hours I’ve spent streaming, I’ve grown more comfortable with my voice in that it’s not exactly where I want it to be, it is my voice and I’ve been able to use it more,” he said. “We all get that feeling sometimes where you’re trying to listen to your VODs or any kind of recording and you get a creeping feeling of ‘uh oh, this isn’t how I want to sound’ but it’s a little unifying. It feels better to have that shared experience than to face it alone, which was what was happening in real life. “It’s a little cheesy, but listening to my friends who also struggle with how their voices sound… they don’t care if my voice doesn’t exactly sound the way I think it should. It’s the voice of someone they care about, and that’s the most important thing.” Building a trans-positive community What can help alleviate those issues, and others trans creators face in the online space disproportionately to their cis counterparts, is having inclusive communities around them. Many of these trans VTubers didn’t just say the community was positive. Some outwardly called the medium, and its many supporters, life savers. “VTubing has been really great for my gender identity and my mental health,” Vega said. “Joining the VTuber community was really great for me because it finally gave me a place where I could safely express my gender identity because I could not do that in person. “Being able to express that online was a lifeline. I don’t know… it’s just so good for my mental health to have somewhere to put that where it’s safe and I don’t have to worry as much about it.” Most VTubers Dexerto spoke to have opened up Discord servers and communities with specific resources for fellow trans people to use. Having an open, constructive discourse about gender identity in a safe space lets people freely explore themselves without prejudice. That safe space is so important to many. Mavis DeLuna started one called Pride Prism. Focusing on trans VTubers, but also more broadly catering to LGBTQIA+ creators, Mavis tries “to uplift everyone equally while being aware of their individual needs based on their gender identity. “If we have transfem people who need specific resources, we need to make sure we find those resources. Same goes for transmasc, we cater to their needs. It’s important to keep everything in mind while being aware of individual needs.” That distinction is important. Within the trans community there are many subsets with different lived experiences, having a community with a similar journey does help. Vega, who is part of all-transmasc VTuber group DREAM*E, attested to that. “Being able to see people in various different spots in their VTuber journey was eye opening for me and helped me prepare myself,” he said. “No matter whether you’re fully transitioned and you’re living as your desired gender identity in real life, or if you’re completely in the closet without any outward support in your real life — no matter where you are on that spectrum, you’re still welcome there and seen as just as valid as anybody else.” It’s not just on this wider community level though. Even for individual creators, just making sure their streams are comfortable and welcoming spaces, and fostering a viewership that pushes out toxicity without prompting, is a must. Transitioning is already hard enough without having to share the experience online, so having that support structure is immensely beneficial. “There have been a couple of times where I’ve been very defeated by the trans journey because there have been a lot of road bumps and lows,” Minty admitted. “There was a month-long period after I had given up on surgeries a year and a half ago roughly that I tried considering making a side character that would be a femboy because I didn’t want to deal with being a trans woman. “It was through [my community] I was able to come back to terms with it and my avatar as a VTuber, and my identity as a VTuber. People were very kind to me.” Just having a community that recognizes you, for you who want to be, is enough: “I wouldn’t say I’m particularly feminine in person, but being seen how I want to be seen feels wonderful,” Dandy added. “It’s something I feel that once people experience it, they really feel that in themselves. I have a lot of friends who say their voices don’t pass… but their communities treat them as such because that’s how they want to be seen. The viewers respect that person enough to say ‘these are your pronouns, this is how you want to be seen, we will treat you as such.’” Breaking through cultural barriers All this internal support doesn’t distract from the fact there are definite cultural barriers stopping full acceptance. The wider anime fandom, which VTubing exists in, has been criticized by some for not being accepting of people from marginalized backgrounds — trans people included. This is reflected in how people engage with the content of trans people, VTuber manager Tessa Villaverde, who is also trans, said: “The people who are front and center with their gender identity tend to not do as well as people who have it as a side fact. There is a visibility problem, statistically. You take a trans creator, and you see their numbers dip when they talk about their identity, unless they already have a highly loyal community that hypes them anyways.” Tessa was quick to point out trans VTubers are not in a bubble. Much like every other VTuber or content creator, they are just there to entertain. They suffer from the same sets of issues others do — burnout, disenfranchisement, the oversaturated creator market — regardless of identity or orientation. Where the struggle lies is getting equal opportunity, as well as equal respect for their work, which unfortunately still mirrors how trans people are subconsciously treated in real life. “You’re dealing with a lot of implicit biases that are cultural. It comes as it is, and it’s not related to VTubing. It’s just the general societal prejudices. All that snowballs into their daily interactions. That’s all stuff that’s really hard to avoid. They have to work harder to overcome those implicit biases, and have the confidence to plow through them.” This is not to say the VTubing community is perfect. Every trans creator we spoke to had at least one negative experience to point towards. “There were hate raids going around a while ago, and that definitely hit a lot of people very hard,” Mira said. “I ended up getting hit by three raids of people shouting out slurs and all that stuff. They go for the tags you use. “The worst thing you can do is panic when it happens. If you show that when it happens, they smell blood.” Trans creators feel the need to be extra conscious about their identity online, even if VTubing is treated by some as an anonymous haven: “I’ve had actual nightmares where I wake up, dreaming of being doxxed,” Dandy said. Platforms like Twitch have implemented some safety measures to keep all creators safe. New features like Shield Mode are a huge plus, and have been praised by many minority communities. There’s also increased awareness and visibility on the space, especially during Pride Month. But support for the community cannot be isolated to just 30 days of the year. It has to be all year round, and involve the creators who are facing the vitriol and harassment themselves. “If you are going to run a platform and preach things like safety and inclusion, you need to stick to those values and enforce those boundaries,” Mavis stated. “I feel like a lot of platforms have a problem with not addressing those boundaries. “I see trans creators, even non-VTubers, deal with hate raids or mass attacks or disgusting transphobia. Sometimes they’ll get reported but [platforms] won’t follow up on it.” All the trans creators are accepting of the fact, sadly, this is their existence on the internet. There will always be harassment around the corner. There’s no one right approach to tackling it, but at least online there’s ways of working around it and curating a safer space. “It’s honestly just about finding the right audience, and knowing not to accept everything that gets thrown your way,” transfem VTuber Nile Pereira told Dexerto. “There’s bound to be bigots wherever you go. People will be transphobic or homophobic, they won’t like you. “Online you have the tools to combat that. You have people who will be supportive. With any online space, it’s about making friends, finding the right people, making connections, and having a general support structure. You can explore gender identity safely in this community, and if anyone gives you some trouble, you have the tools to get around that.” Fighting for wider acceptance The goal of a trans person isn’t to be a ‘trans’ person. They want to transition and become the most ideal version of themselves, whatever gender that is, in whatever way possible. “The thing about anything that relates to representation is there can be a thing as forced or too much,” Xipher said. “It’s absolutely valuable, but the reason people are transitioning is to be seen as that gender. If you are seeing someone as naturally being that gender, does it really matter if they’re trans or not?” “Me, as a trans woman, my goal isn’t to be a trans woman,” Minty added, “it’s to be a woman. Not to say trans women aren’t women, but that’s a very key thing people misunderstand sometimes. They don’t realize a lot of trans women don’t have pride. They aren’t proud of themselves being a trans woman. They just want to be accepted as a woman flatly.” What VTubing adds to that journey as a trans person is a medium to more accurately represent yourself, safely explore your gender identity, and be okay with experimenting. People are accepting of who you are, for what you want to be known as. “You want people to say ‘I’m okay with you being yourself,’” Dandy added. “You don’t need people to know you’re trans. VTubing helps that because regardless of where you are in your transition, it’s what you want people to see you as.” All of the trans creators Dexerto spoke to are somewhere along this journey. Some are fully medically transitioned, others are only just starting the process. Some can’t access those surgeries. But that doesn’t make one VTuber more valid than another. There are still many issues facing trans creators. The level of harassment they face is some of the highest among those online. Even for the bigger creators like Minty and Dandy, there’s a deep down fear of growing a bigger presence online because of the extra eyeballs and comments that come with that. For trans VTubing, and the creators behind it, to become more accepted, it requires a seismic shift in society akin to one the anime community reckoned with: “Getting VTubing to be more mainstream like anime is what it will take,” Tessa said, “but that comes with all sorts of problems. “For trans VTubers to find the spotlight, we would have to be equally front and center with our cis counterparts.” What matters in the interim is getting positive representation and meaningful visibility, and bridge the gaps in the community. Even something as simple as saying “trans rights are human rights” can mean so much — and that’s where the wider space can start. “I’m very pleasantly surprised whenever I see a big creator, even one who is not a VTuber, say something like that,” Minty stated. “That’s how you bridge those gaps. “You have to have responsible creators who are big, willing to accept that and have those opinions and say them out loud, because that’s how you convert your audiences into being trans-accepting people. “It will come down to a lot of luck, a lot of time, and a lot of people struggling and giving up and not making it or continuing to grind at a wall with their content. But with time it’ll happen.”

W by Jake Paul hands on: Smells like victory DexertoJake Paul released his men’s care line, ‘W by Jake Paul,’ to the world on June 12, 2024, and I quickly headed to Walmart to get ahold of the product. It’s not very often that influencers release a product that’s readily available for purchase, so when Jake Paul said in his reveal tweet that it was in-stock at Walmart, I was excited. The website showed that all products and scents were available, so I went to check it out. I expected to find the products sitting on a shelf with the rest of the bodywash and deodorant, but instead, Jake managed to come out with a bang. My store featured a giant black and yellow cardboard end-cap with a picture of Jake Paul holding a trophy with an American flag draped across his shoulders. Below the photo was the product, with each item neatly separated by scent. I grabbed one of each product to try out for myself and made sure to get one of each scent: Deep Woods body wash, ‘W original’ Body Spray and Fresh Ice deodorant. All three scents are basic fragrances aimed at men, but there’s no reason women can’t use these products, too. Deep Woods has a wonderful, light, earthy sandalwood smell, while Fresh Ice is citrussy – W says its scent is orange and lemon, among a few other things – and ‘W Original’ is a mix of lemon, green apple, and mint. None of the fragrances are too strong, but they’re not weak, by any means. You can smell nearly every ingredient in waves. One whiff of W Original may give you heavy mint vibes, while another brings out the Lemon and Green Apple. W’s deodorant stick is your typical white antiperspirant and deodorant combo, which goes on easily. After wearing it for a couple of days, I can confidently say that it hasn’t stained my clothes at all, and I did notice a difference in my sweat during my hour-long karate class. The body spray is also pretty great, simply because its non-aerosol design doesn’t give off that same overwhelming, asthma-inducing scent you get from many other brands in its category. It’s not something I’m going to find myself wanting to use every day, but it’s the type of product that’s super valuable to have in your gym bag. I picked up the body wash in W’s deep woods scent and absolutely love it. The fragrance is just right, and the formula that Jake’s company used for it left my skin hydrated and feeling good. Jake Paul managed to launch this brand with fairly accessible prices, as well. The stick of deodorant and body spray is available for just $6.97, while the body wash is a dollar more at $7.97. This comes right at the same price as the Dove I’ve been buying for years, and is several dollars cheaper than the likes of Dr Squatch and even Barstool Sports’ brand ‘Would.’ The influencer says he plans on expanding the line to include shampoo and conditioner, bar soap, face wash, and more in the near future – and I’m excited to check it out when that happens. After trying out W for a few days, I’m confident that Jake’s new brand is going to be wildly successful as it continues to catch on with his fan base and curious buyers who come across the product.

VTubers break into Twitch’s top 5 as tag goes viral across 2022 Twitch: IronmouseThe VTuber uprising is continuing, with the medium posting its biggest numbers to date across 2022. On Twitch, the “VTuber” tag broke into the top 5 on the platform — although it wasn’t all clean play. If you thought VTubing would just be a quarantine fad, think again. After the medium broke out into mainstream consciousness across 2020, its rise has continued solidly on all platforms — Twitch and YouTube especially. YouTube’s Culture and Trends Insight Lead, Earnest Pettie, highlighted in early December how VTuber content got more than 1.5 billion views per month on the platform. Four years ago in 2018, that was 400 million views per year — a 45-fold difference. Now Twitch is demonstrating the reach of VTubers with its own stats in Twitch Recap 2022. With over 789 million hours of content streamed across the year, with 1 million unique tags, VTubing stood among the top five of those identifiers in 2022. It came in fifth, behind Multiplayer, LGBTQIA+, PvP, and Playing With Viewers. While the exact number of broadcasters using the VTuber tag wasn’t disclosed by the Amazon-owned platform, it’s as big an indication of its growth as it is of its power. By streaming with the VTuber tag, you are likely to get discovered. That came to a head earlier in 2022 after many non-VTubers, such as Twitch’s biggest name in Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel, were using the tag to drive engagement. He would constantly appear at the top of VTuber searches on the platform, despite not using a virtual model. Amouranth and Mizkif were also spotted using the tag, among other big names. Twitch didn’t shut down the practice despite an uproar from the VTuber community, with an admin stating they “do not feel Twitch should be the judge of Creators’ personal or creative identity.” Despite this hiccup, VTubers were some of Twitch’s most prominent content creators in 2022. VShojo star Ironmouse made history by shattering the subscriber record for a female streamer with her mega subathon in February 2022. Yuki Chihiro of NIJISANJI also made waves by breaking into the top 10 female streamers worldwide thanks to her Twitch growth. As 2023 approaches, the VTuber uprising doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. With new debuts every day, the hype is only building in the virtual world.

VTubers get #StarsforLilly trending to pay respects to late artist Lilly Twitter: @aikotoriiIn light of the recent passing of artist Lilly, VTubers and other members of the community are sharing their condolences on social media via the tag #StarsforLilly and highlighting some of the beautiful artwork she created. Artist Lilly, who went by ‘riri_zuran’ on Twitter, was popular in the VTuber community, having worked on projects for a number of Hololive and other stars. However, the VTuber community is now in mourning after news of her passing circulated on June 18. The news was announced by close friend Kyu. In the tweet, Kyu expressed their sadness at the news and also stated that any further details on the tragic loss will remain private. “To those that are close friends with Lilly and were unable to get in contact, I’m sorry for bearing the news like this. I hope for your understanding and thank you for those that had enjoyed her works for so long,” Kyu said. With her family’s permission, it is with great sadness to announce that Lilly (@riri_zuran, @stawwien) suddenly passed away on June 11, 2022. In respect for the family there will not be a detailed report of the passing that will be publicized. (cont.)— Kyu (@Okyurita) June 18, 2022 Lilly was best known for creating amazing artwork for her favorite VTubers. She had worked with many well known talents, especially across Hololive. Her work admired and appreciated by so many in the community. In particular, she developed a great range of artwork for HOLOSTARS member Astel Leda, someone who she loved and admired greatly. On multiple occasions Astel has used her work and was grateful for her support. As a tribute to Lilly, Astel held a singing stream on June 20 including Lilly’s favourite songs and titling the video: “Dear Lilly, you are forever important to me.” The video used one of Lilly’s artworks of Astel. Earlier in the year, Lilly also drew the image used for Indonesian Hololive member Anya Melfissa’s cover of Schema. After hearing of the news, Anya Melfissa wrote how saddened to hear of Lilly’s passing and expressing gratitude for having known and worked with her. “She was an amazing person to work with — very capable and talented with good work ethics — and I couldn’t ask for a better illustrator for my project. My deepest condolences, and may she rest in peace.” Fellow Hololive ID member Kureiji Ollie also extended her sympathies: “I didn’t get to make a proper tweet… but she’s in my thoughts and prayers. May she rest in peace and shine bright on the other side as well.” Very devastated to hear the passing of Lilly. She was an amazing person to work with – very capable and talented with good work ethics – and I couldn’t ask for a better illustrator for my project. My deepest condolences, and may she rest in peace. 🙏 #StarsforLilly https://t.co/vTVVklZMaj — Anya Melfissa(アーニャ)🍂@ホロライブID | シェーマ歌ってみたよ (@anyamelfissa) June 19, 2022 VTubers, artists and all those who knew her have taken to social media to pay their respects, share their memories of her, and express their gratitude for the impact she had in their lives. In doing so, they got the #StarsforLilly hashtag trending as a way for others to share Lilly’s work and to bring those grieving together. “I never would’ve picked up drawing if it wasn’t for Lilly’s beautiful artwork,” Twitter user ‘aikotorii’ said. “Her illustrations were, and continue to be my biggest inspiration. I wish I could’ve had the chance to tell her thank you.” (Editor’s Note: Aikotorii drew the header used for this article.) For those wanting to share an illustration or message in honor of Lilly’s memory, her friends encourage people to do so and use #StarsforLilly.

VTubers are taking down ASMR videos on YouTube due to alleged policy change YouTube: Asuka Hina / YouTube: Yukishiro MahiroAfter NIJISANJI VTuber Mashiro had his YouTube channel terminated, there’s been a wave of fellow talents being extra cautious with their content — namely privating their ASMR videos. The reason is due to an alleged policy change on the platform. One of NIJISANJI’s veteran VTubers, Mashiro, has had their YouTube account terminated due to “violating YouTube’s community guidelines”. While there has been a number of suspensions in the VTuber community due to sexual content, Mashiro’s situation was different. Boasting nearly 370,000 subscribers at the time of takedown, his ban has sparked a wave of other VTubers being extra cautious regarding their content. While not confirmed, a number of fellow VTubers have taken down their ASMR videos in what looks to be a preventative measure following Mashiro’s ban. ましろチャンネルBANされました…… 只今運営が対応してくださってるので皆様お待ちください…..！！ pic.twitter.com/CekeamUbIe— ましろ爻 (@mashiro2434) June 8, 2022 The ASMR subgenre is very popular in VTuber circles, with many stars holding weekly streams with hushed tones. Creators have blamed a YouTube policy change as a reason for the pre-emptive privating of ASMR content. However, the exact policy change is unknown. “The ASMR archive has been temporarily removed due to a change in YouTube’s rules. We don’t know how long it’ll be removed for, but please understand it,” NIJISANJI’s Yukishiro Mahiro said on June 6. “[My] channel may be affected by a change in YouTube’s rules, so all ASMR videos will be made private,” fellow liver Asuka Hina added. YouTubeの規約改定の関係でチャンネルに影響があるかもしれないとのことで、運営さんの指示で一旦ASMR動画を非公開対応することになりました。また続報があればお知らせします！ — 飛鳥ひな🐤 (@hina__asuka) June 7, 2022 Some have pointed out YouTube’s Child Safety policy, which prohibits “activities that could draw undesired attention to the minor, such as performing body contortions or ASMR.” This policy has been visible on the YouTube website since September 2020. In a statement to Dexerto, a YouTube spokesperson said there was no recent change in policy to force the takedown of ASMR videos. “We have a long standing policy that disallows content that involves sexualization of minors. This is not a new policy,” they said. However, the platform does remove videos and channels that sexualize minors, even if they are animated like VTubers. This policy is applied across all videos. Mashiro is working with NIJISANJI management and YouTube to try and get his channel reinstated. However, with the exact reason unknown, many other VTubers using the platform are watching closely to see whether the reported policy update will affect them further. June 12 update: This piece has been updated with comments from a YouTube spokesperson.

VTubers pull out from NIJISANJI Fes 2022 just days ahead of event YouTube: Finana Ryugu / YouTube: Vox AkumaSome of NIJISANJI’s biggest VTubers like Rosemi Lovelock, Finana Ryugu, Pomu Rainpuff, and Vox Akuma have been forced to pull out of NIJISANJI Fes 2022 just days before the event. The agency cited “unforeseen circumstances”. NIJISANJI Fes 2022 is going to be a celebration of all the agency’s talents, with more than 100 VTubers in attendance at the three-day festival. However a number of stars have been forced to pull out with just a day’s notice, with NIJISANJI breaking the news to fans on September 29. “Despite the best effort by our staff and the Livers until the last minute, we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, the Open Stage appearances by some of the Indonesian & Korean Livers, VirtuaReal, and NIJISANJI EN have been canceled,” the agency said. The Open Stage, which was meant to be streamed for free to fans on NIJISANJI’s YouTube channel, is the only part of the event affected. VTubers missing out include English stars Vox Akuma, Rosemi Lovelock, Pomu Rainpuff, Finana Ryugu, Millie Parfait, and Enna Alouette. It has also hindered some big announcements at the event. Sunday’s Daylight Dimension Dive 3D was meant to be the 3D debut for LazuLight as a core, however, now only Elira Pendora will be taking part. One event has been canceled entirely: the MESHITERO-3SetBBQ between genmates ZEA Cornelia, Taka Radjiman, and Hana Macchia of NIJISANJI’s Indonesian branch. Some VTubers will be taking on extra responsibilities and performances in the place of these missing Livers, however. Selen Tatsuki is taking over from Vox Akuma in Saturday’s Mix Japan Quiz, for example, while Shu Yamino and Petra Gurin have been added to Anisong Time on Sunday. Many of the NIJISANJI Livers have apologized to fans on Twitter for the late change: “Sorry guys,” Rosemi Lovelock said after the announcement. “I’ve been feeling really down over this to be honest, but at least now you guys know.” “I was really looking forward to this, but unfortunately, I cannot participate this time and even if I could, it wouldn’t be the same without all of LazuLight together and I would not like to participate without them,” Finana Ryugu added. “I hope everyone still enjoys the festival though!” It comes after the agency warned fans earlier a week ago some appearances “may be canceled last minute”. While the agency has not given an official reason beyond “unforeseen circumstances”, it is likely due to Typhoon Nanmadol hitting Japan on September 19, complicating air travel and preparation for the event. NIJISANJI Fes 2022 is set to kick off on September 30 and run until October 2, 2022, with tickets still available for streaming online.

VTubers redefine the music industry as virtual concerts and idols rise up YouTube: Nana Asteria / YouTube: Bao The WhaleVTubing is an inherently creative field, so too music. With the two art forms colliding, influences from both sides are transforming their respective mediums as virtual idols come into prominence and new-age stars find innovative ways to express themselves. Music has always been a big part of Nana Asteria’s life. Growing up she was “the good Asian kid,” she laughed, going to classes and doing all the extra-curriculars attached to that. There was one problem: she was tone deaf. “I was not a good singer,” she told Dexerto. “My mum was like ‘God why did you give me a daughter who was tone deaf?’ “Even though my mum knew I was tone-deaf she never put me down. She never outright said ‘oh God, you suck’, so I’m very grateful for that.” Music wasn’t something Nana thought she could make a career out of. Putting her face out there as an artist wasn’t something she was comfortable with. What music was to her was therapy, “something that healed the soul”. But then VTubing came around, and everything changed. Nana Asteria is one of many talented VSingers — short for virtual singers — in the VTubing space. The Australian was inspired, and frankly “peer pressured” as she put it, into tipping her toes in the field after seeing her close friends give the medium a try. So she became the song of the galaxy reincarnate, finding a way to channel her passion for music and share it with the world. It’s important to note VTubing itself arguably evolved from a world of musical performance. Kizuna AI, the mother of the medium, was a virtual performer known for her big pre-produced productions. Covers and karaoke are in the blood of early VTubers, and that has only grown as agencies and independent talents forged their own ecosystem in the musical world. Milky Queen, a virtual idol herself, has seen that evolution firsthand. Part of the Mai Princess project — a three-girl group in Japan that debuted in 2018 — they were pioneers in the field. Milky had no idea what VTubing was originally, but had always been passionate about music. “I always wanted to be an actress or a singer,” she explained. “I remember drawing pictures of myself on the red carpet, and this is a type of that right? You’re entertaining people, making music, and I feel like it’s the kind of work I’ve always dreamed of doing. “I don’t think I took music that seriously until I got really into Japanese music and singing different things, then learning the language so I could sing better. When I started singing in Japanese, I was like ‘I really enjoy doing this, I want to try and make a career out of this.’” Many might see VTubing as just streaming nowadays with the rise of the medium on Twitch and YouTube. Big agencies like Hololive, NIJISANJI, and VShojo, while they do musical numbers and have talented performers on their books, are streaming-first. It wasn’t always that way though, with short pre-produced videos being the norm originally. “When it first started out [VTubing] wasn’t streaming,” she explained. “It was more short-form video content and streaming became the main thing VTubers do in 2019-2020. When I started we were making skit videos, like mini anime videos. It’s interesting how it’s evolved.” As technology evolved though, not only did it level up the live VTubing experience, but also what a virtual idol could feasibly look like beyond the computerized Hatsune Miku. Soon there were music videos, then there were concerts in real life venues accommodating thousands of fans, watching VTubers perform on stage via screen or hologram. VTuber music, not just VSinging, isn’t some niche insular community either. It’s breaking into the mainstream conscience as idols take over concert halls in Japan and worldwide and record deals are struck — most notably Hololive’s Mori Calliope signing with Universal Music. It’s also more vast than just that front performer. There are producers and mixers working on these tracks. Background music for streams is a must, and some have positioned themselves as experts at that in particular, curating soft tunes to add ambiance to a broadcast. Music videos involve animation and editing work. The crossover between VTubers and the music field is immense, but it exists for a reason. The medium opens up a world of expression never before seen, and now everyone is taking notice. Using music and VTubing as a means of expression No matter who you speak to in the VTuber music space, the latter always came first in their life. “Growing up I would struggle a lot with expressing myself — something I don’t struggle with anymore but it’s definitely thanks to music,” Sugi Aoki, a woodland dragon VSinger, said. “I found it a lot easier to say the things I wanted to say through song. That really gave me the tools to communicate in every single sense. That’s how I learned to speak English and how to convey emotions a lot better.” Both are a means of communication and expression. Music is a very traditional art form, passed down through centuries with each generation — and even within a generation — adding some personal twist to it. It’s used to tell stories, evoke emotion, and as an artistic joy everyone can take part in. It gives you the liberty to be yourself, and VTubing affords a very similar ability. It can enhance the musical experience for some creators, who might not be confident showing their face on stage, or even in a video. Hardly anyone has experienced that euphoric feeling more than Bao, a popular whale VTuber known for their music work. Previously under the moniker Hikaru Station, they found success in the mid-2010s YouTube cover era along with plenty of original work, but VTubing leveled up the creativity. “I think VTubing has opened so many doors for me in terms of creative expression,” she said. “Before I was just a voice online, someone you recognized in a song. But now I’m a personality and that in itself allowed me to fully connect with my base in a way I never could before. Sometimes a song can’t capture everything, so that’s where streaming comes into play.” “I think the cool thing about VTubing is that it meshes with so many kinds of communities on the internet. The medium itself becoming so accessible allowed a lot of creative people online to fully flesh out their online personas in a way that we’ve never been able to before. Integrating that with content creation as a whole made people realize how limitless VTubing is.” Everyone has their own perspective on what this creativity can look like. It can be a story-building exercise, and you can bend the rules of reality a little bit like Nana Asteria: “VTubing expanded my horizons far more than I could ever do as an IRL person. It allows me to have a sense of anonymity — and this is breaking the fourth wall here — but it allows me to be something that I’m not. I’m a song of the galaxy!” It builds on what was possible in real life, and allows creators to show a different side of themselves: “It’s the most successful people who are the shyest,” Sugi Aoki mused. “It’s great we get to show our full potential because even if I’m shy, I know there’s potential. Before VTubing I would always try a way to do it but it would never be good enough.” And ultimately there are so many avenues of expression, Milky Queen added, that it’s not just musicians who can take part because of all the moving cogs in this new age industry that fosters previously unimaginable creative expression. “It’s similar to someone who loves writing — you can write a story, but you can put in so many creative elements. You’re making music, artwork, videos of your character. There’s so many different areas. People who are good at a very specific thing, or those good at lots of different things, can utilize all those skills. I think that’s one of the reasons why it draws a creative crowd.” How VTuber music differs from traditional forms VTuber music isn’t necessarily a genre, but it has its roots and influences. Some come from Western spaces, branching out into the animated realm. Others are idol fanatics, living out their dreams of being part of a group — just virtually. The vocaloid and utaite scenes of online Japanese music culture have also played their part, coalescing into one massive amalgamation of talent from various backgrounds, all feeding into a diverse industry. Within it though, you still have creators making music from every genre under the song, from your pop to your metal and even some EDM thrown into the mix. In that way, VTuber music isn’t so different from what we traditionally know music as. But the sheer diversity of backgrounds, interacting in a homogenous space, makes it special. wasi is a music producer who works in the VTuber space. While not a virtual idol himself, he has collaborated with big talents working on the production side, and even handcrafted a few stream background tunes too. He has seen people transition from the vocaloid and utaite spaces into this new one. Previously, wasi has existed in a very underground scene. People do it for the joy of music, not to really make a living. That commercial viability is now within scope though because of the appreciation of all sides of creative that VTubing spurred on. “With their team members behind them, VTubers have been able to bring their content to the next level,” he said. “In turn, creators get much-deserved recognition and compensation for their services. Many creatives have been able to turn their hobby into a living through the VTuber community. “It’s a symbiotic, interdependent, and reciprocal relationship. But with the level of fervor and dedication I see in the community, it’s never purely transactional. So much heart in each and every project, always striving for the highest — the spirit of VTubing is unquestionably built on the passion and the love for the art.” The virtual side of things does throw some interesting curveballs into the mix. For starters, it becomes a bit more difficult to hold a physical concert. That’s slowly changing though as idols start creating virtual and real-life sets for themselves to hold live shows in. You don’t have to book out a stadium, but you can invite people onto a VR stream with a manicured stage and your model there, front and center. If you have the budget, you can do a full-blown stadium production with holograms and the like. Mostly only major VTuber agencies like Hololive have been able to fully realize this yet, but it is the future — one that Milky Queen has lived out, performing at a virtual concert in Yokohama, Japan. They had a holographic stage setup at a VR theater, being on stage as a virtual performer: “The holographic stuff was so cool, and you could combine real people with it. Everyone was standing together. It was an amazing experience to be a part of. “I’ve always enjoyed watching VTuber concerts where you can see everyone with their glow sticks in the real space, but then you have the virtual space with the holographic stuff so we can be together there with the audience. It’s a nice combination.” It’s not just the concerts and lives differentiating VTuber music from other fields. There’s smaller things in just how the community has built itself. The amalgamation of backgrounds and influences affords it the space to collaborate on a truly global scale, but not have to worry about the logistics of being in the studio at the same time. “I collab with people all over the world and it’s so nice to make friends from all these different places,” Milky Queen continued. “Sometimes I don’t know anyone from a specific country but now I know a VTuber from there! That sharing of cultures is a fun thing, VTubing is so fun from that aspect.” Ultimately though, it’s music at the end of the day. It’s meant to unite people, and the only major difference — and it doesn’t even matter too much — is that it involves a 2D persona. “VSinging and regular music creation is really only separated by whether or not a persona is involved and if the persona is actually representing a singer or the producer or both,” Bao stated. “I think a lot of people [like utaite on NicoNicoDouga or YouTube] were technically VSingers before the term became popularized.” The future of VTuber music For as glorified as the VTuber music space can be, especially when you see big names on big stages, it’s a cutthroat industry. Creatively, people can find their own goals and succeed. But if you want to make a living, it’s a lot more difficult than it looks — much like any form of content creation. Indie creators have it even harder without agency backing. “As an indie, we have part-time jobs or full-time jobs, university, a household to take care of,” Nana Asteria said. “Once you’re under a big corporation it could be considered a full-time job. You have benefits, resources, professional assistance. “For indies it’s about time management, knowing the right people to commission for mixes, instrumentals, animators, and sometimes you don’t know. If you’re really shy, it’s hard to reach out. For companies, you have a manager who can help you find these people and make a decision. It’s a lot easier, but it’s not impossible as an indie. I’ve done it, and you just really need to step out of your comfort zone, be willing to make mistakes, and ask for help.” However the space is only going to keep growing as people outside of the VTuber circle latch onto its potential: “The anime figure, the face, the brand brings it a lot of attention,” she continued. “If done with the right marketing and the huge backing of existing music companies like Universal and Sony, there is huge potential. Companies love that.” “People are going to realize there is huge potential in entertainers and what they’re doing and it could become something more. There’s a huge cross-cultural market between games, anime, singing, and VTubing which I think is really amazing.” And as much as singers get the majority of praise in the space, it needs those other helpers behind the scenes like producers and other creatives. That’s a “budding community” right now, wasi says, and it’s only going to get bigger as the projects scale up. “I get especially excited when they play instruments or produce music on stream,” he said. “I’m also seeing VTubers gradually getting involved in multimedia projects, such as in collaborations with games, anime, and 3D traditional live streamers.” There are the usual barriers to cross over. There’s the hurdle of getting people to recognize and accept VTubing — something which is easy to do in the online realm but gets progressively harder the more ‘mainstream’ it becomes. The aforementioned resource struggle is another. Like it or not though, the VTuber music community is only going to expand as people use the medium as this enhanced form of expression. And truthfully, people don’t get into VTubing or music for the money. It’s all about the art form and bringing joy to others, and that’s all these virtual idols want to do. “I want to help people feel the way I feel about music,” Sugi Aoki stated. “I remember a couple of months ago talking to someone and they said music didn’t make them feel anything. That was crazy to me. I’ve lived this life, and the way I feel about music I’ve felt that my entire life. “But I also want to have a space that’s safe for people. Life is tough and there’s plenty to worry about, so I want a space where people can go and vibe to some music and have fun. It sounds a bit basic, but it’s really all I want. I don’t care for numbers or anything like that. I just care about having a positive space, and everything else will come when I achieve that.”

VTuber stars Ironmouse, Shylily crest top 10 female Twitch streamer list for 2022 Twitch: Ironmouse / YouTube: ShylilySome of VTubing’s biggest names, VShojo’s Ironmouse and indie star Shylily, have made waves in 2022, cresting Twitch’s top 10 female streamer list for 2022 according to Streams Charts . It comes after a mega year of growth for the duo, and the medium as a whole. The accolades keep rolling in for VTubers in the streaming world, as the medium continues to increase its presence in the wider space. While YouTube is the historic home of the virtual creators, in 2022, Amazon-owned rival Twitch saw a surge in popularity for VTubers. That’s now been reflected in cold hard numbers, with Ironmouse and Shylily being named some of the biggest female streamers on the platform. According to Streams Charts, Ironmouse was the second most popular female creator on Twitch, gathering 20.51 million hours watched across 2022. Shylily was ninth, with 11.27 million hours. The two of them had some of the highest streaming hours on the site too, with 2,050 and 2,233 hours respectively. They also both experienced significant individual growth. Shylily only debuted her current VTuber model in January 2022, catapulting from around 20,000 followers to nearly 1 million in the 12 months. Ironmouse became the most-followed VTuber on the platform after her subathon, ending the year at around 1.4 million followers. She also still holds the record for the most concurrent subscribers for a female content creator of more than 170,000. Ironmouse and Shylily are not the only two VTubers to find success on Twitch. In fact, the medium as a whole has been thriving, with the VTuber tag being listed as one of the top five on the platform across 2022. There are already big plans in place for 2023 too. Mousey has just revealed her first 3D concert will be held on her birthday later in January, while Shylily is continuing the grind to 1 million followers and beyond.

VTubers Kuzuha, Usada Pekora crack YouTube’s top 10 streamers list for 2022 YouTube: Kuzuha / YouTube: Usada PekoraHololive and NIJISANJI dominance on YouTube continues: Top talents Usada Pekora and Kuzuha have been named in YouTube’s top 10 streamers for 2022, according to Streams Charts, with Sakura Miko and Oozora Subaru also making waves. VTubing is some of YouTube’s most popular content, with more than 1.5 billion views on the virtual content every month according to recent statistics. They’re not just making waves in their own niche nowadays — and that’s reflected in viewership stats from 2022, where VTubers from Hololive and NIJISANJI have dominated the overall charts. NIJISANJI’s Kuzuha was the second-most watched streamer on YouTube all year, with 28.26 million hours watched across 2022 according to Streams Charts. Hololive’s Usada Pekora rounded out the top five with 23.22 million hours. Both were the biggest Japanese YouTube streamers on the platform. The VTuber accolades don’t stop there for YouTube though. Looking at average viewership, Usada Pekora was second in the world with 28,000 concurrent viewers, only behind Darren ‘iShowSpeed’ Watkins Jr. She was joined in the top 10 by fellow Hololive stars Sakura Miko and Oozora Subaru, who had 23,000 and 21,000 concurrent viewers on average respectively. On the Twitch side of VTubing, Ironmouse and Shylily featured on the top 10 female streamers list for 2022 in second and ninth respectively. No VTuber cracked Twitch’s top 10 overall for the year, based on hours watched. Kuzuha and Peko’s hours watched on YouTube makes them the two most popular VTubers of the year according to Streams Charts, with Ironmouse reaching 20.51 million on Twitch for third. These stats are backed up by Holo Data and VSTATS, who track virtual YouTubers across all platforms. With the medium only continuing to grow in both Japan and the West, don’t be surprised if more VTubers crack into top 10 lists on Twitch and YouTube in the near future.

Vtubers furious as Twitch streamers abuse Vtuber tag to boost streams Vtubers are up in arms as several larger Twitch streamers are exploiting the Vtuber tag to boost their streams and push actual Vtubers further down the list. Twitch has attempted to implement certain features to improve discoverability on the platform. These improvements include new categories, new tags, and putting streams on the front page via paid boosts. Thanks to internet trolls, these experimental features usually result in banned content on Twitch’s front page or larger streamers exploiting them for even more views. As if metas weren’t enough, one of Twitch’s best discovery features is the newest target of exploitation. Content Labels are used by streamers similar to tags on YouTube or hashtags on Twitter. If a viewer is looking for specific content or communities, they can narrow their search by using tags. But users are frustrated when streamers use tags that aren’t in line with their content, and Twitch has yet to enforce its own TOS. Vtubers furious over tag exploitation Several members of the Vtubing community have taken to Twitter to express their frustrations with streamers using the wrong label. They are calling out the platform’s largest streamers for wrongfully using these tags – including xQc, Amouranth, and Mizkif. Read More: VTuber Veibae cops first ever Twitch ban – Some users are calling the misuse of tags a “new meta” that’s intentionally being abused to gain viewers. Others have pointed out how using the wrong tags is harmful to the Vtuber community. These massive streamers are at the top of the category pushing smaller Vtubers down the list. “No f**king way is xQc using the ASMR, Vtuber, and anime tags while playing Call of Duty,” one user wrote. A Vtuber named GreyT stated, “Amouranth and many other people are using the Vtuber tag and it’s misleading and disrespectful to actual Vtubers.” Nah no fucking way is xQc using the ASMR, Vtuber and anime tags while playing fucking Call of Duty I hate this new “”meta”” of misusing tags Like ffs I don’t want to go into the vtuber tag and see xQc pic.twitter.com/zQj4OrcStx— Kana 🦇 CURRENTLY ON HIATUS (@KanaKoumori) April 18, 2022 Twitch got a huge problem with ASMR streamer using the wrong tags. Seriously Amouranth and many other people are using the Vtuber tag and it’s misleading and disrespectful to actual Vtuber that want to grow on Twitch pic.twitter.com/cPmSTvPJuL — GreyLumos (@GreyLumos_) April 17, 2022 A number of Vtubers have directed their anger toward Twitch for not punishing these offenses. Intentionally mislabeling your content is against Twitch’s Terms of Service and is prohibited on the platform. “You aren’t a VTuber please don’t use the VTuber tag. Using the wrong tags is against TOS,” stated Vtuber Merciful. However, these large creators are seemingly getting away with using the Vtuber tag with zero repercussions. Stuff like this is what I was talking about. Large streamers who aren’t VTubers using the VTuber tag. You aren’t a VTuber please don’t use the VTuber tag. Using the wrong tags is against TOS. pic.twitter.com/nbPUrgjdOl — 💫Merciful Goddess of Victory VTuber 💫 (@MercifulEmma) April 17, 2022 BRUH? This girl needs to chill out. Imagine using the VTuber tag while you’re doing your sexual ASMR streams. You were one of the top streams in the tag at the time. Sure my wording’s not the best but still? Report me, idc.#VTuberUprising#Vtuber #VtubersEN #ENVtuber #VTubers pic.twitter.com/FZPFHhFO3u — Luna Cross 🩸🌙 GRADUATED (@LunaCrossVT) April 18, 2022 Despite tag abusers, Vtubers are thriving on Twitch. Hundreds of unique virtual personalities can be found streaming at any given time, a number of which have grown their own communities. The main victims of tag abuse are the smaller Vtubers who may have been discovered had they not been overshadowed by a massive non-virtual creator.

How moth spirit VTuber Yuzu broke out of her cocoon — for good Twitch: YuzuSanagi Yuzu is ready for the future. The moth VTuber has unveiled her new beginning with her 2.0 redebut. But to do so, she had to open up to the world, come to terms with her past, and move on with her head held high and lofty ambitions. It’s a little sadistic how Sanagi Yuzu describes her VTuber lore. She couldn’t help but stifle an awkward laugh about how she relishes in “a character [who] has a really tragic story” in any media. “I made it so that Yuzu was a moth spirit and she was farmed for her silk — she was kept locked away in a dungeon for a very long time — and the way that it happened is she made a little friend called Koga, who is also a moth spirit, and he would bring her a Yuzu fruit every single night of her captivity, and that’s what kept her going. “I am super into FromSoft games, and their games are usually so tragic with their stories, so I wanted to do something similar.” In some respects, that story couldn’t be further from Yuzu’s truth. On stream, she’s a calming yet commanding force, bubbly without being too boisterous. She’s as guerilla as they come — not ‘held captive’ to schedules, just vibes. But on a deeper level, it’s a very apt story for her personal growth and journey through life. Yuzu knows hardship. Mentally and physically, she’s had an uphill battle to make it to where she is. And now with her February 25 redebut, the moth spirit VTuber is being more open in sharing that story with her audience — and the wider streaming world. Coming out of her cocoon Yuzu didn’t start her content creation journey as a VTuber. She first went viral on TikTok, getting thousands of likes and millions of views on random clips from her streams — as well as partaking in all of the trends. Her face was widely out there, and that was both a blessing and a curse. For the almighty algorithm, it meant her content was spread far and wide. But it sprouted this uneasy feeling around how the clips became about eye candy rather than substance. “I realized I didn’t like the way I was always putting my looks out there, and the way everyone kept commenting on it. It made me more self-conscious than anything; having to always look a certain way. I did content creation for fun, and it wasn’t fun anymore. “From what I’ve learned from it, if you’re pretty or attractive, you end up having more interactions [on TikTok] — that’s how I got pressured into making more content that was catered to people who liked… looking at women.” That could be defined as the moment Yuzu spun up a cocoon for herself, trying to figure out what direction she could go next. She fell down the VTuber rabbit hole, like many others, flicking through clips of fellow stars like Usada Pekora and Ironmouse. She scrounged together a plan to put together her own model, and started on her new journey in 2021. Yuzu took to it immediately. “VTubing has allowed me to be more myself, I guess in a way, because I’m not worried about what I look like when I’m streaming or making content,” she said. “I just have an avatar who is always pretty.” There were some bumps in the road. Yuzu used to play League of Legends on stream frequently (she couldn’t help but drop some of the lingo during the interview like “sadge”), and she quickly realized it wasn’t the best for gaining traction, especially as a VTuber. There was also the phase a lot of VTubers went through, especially during the medium’s spike of popularity in 2020, of trying to sound cutesy and lean into the anime trope hard. With a newfound sense of anonymity and protection, Yuzu felt like she could drop the act — just sound like herself, but be visually anonymous — and get the best of both worlds. And that’s what has kept her allured to VTubing for so long. “I have a really low voice, and every time I’d look back at my VODs or see clips of me I’d just [be] really disgusted by the way I sounded,” she reflected on her early days. “I was like ‘I’m not going to act like this anymore, that’s kind of cringe,’ so I started becoming more vulgar and I’m usually like that. I just be saying some sussy sh*t for the funnies. “I just like the fact [VTubing is] super anonymous. I feel protected and comforted, and I can play whatever game I want. I can be as vulgar as I want and not stream without any clothes pretty much. It’s so comfortable!” However, there is still danger on the other side too. When Yuzu was an IRL creator, content creation became about her looks. Now as a VTuber, there’s a loss of humanity involved. This isn’t a new trend or concern for VTubers, especially women. In the indie space across 2022, creators got more comfortable sharing some photos of themselves in real life. There were meetups at conventions and big get-togethers. “There’s some bad apples that are even crazier than IRL streamers’ fans because the idea of an anime girl makes it seem more… wantable I guess. It’s a lot more dangerous for a VTuber because when you’re an anime girl online, some people forget there’s a human behind it and they only think of you as an anime girl, and then it dehumanizes you in a way. “That’s why I’ve started to push out a little bit of IRL content to remind people that I’m still human and not just an anime girl.” The fears of taking a break Yuzu was on the up and up in 2022, but she was on a timer. In the background, health complications were catching up with her. The mental and physical toll of streaming was only exacerbating it, and there was a hiatus inbound. There was only so long she could delay the inevitable though, and that led to her taking an indefinite break starting mid-October. It was her biggest fear. “I was genuinely scared,” she admitted. “I felt like I built up so much for myself, and I love the community I created, and I was really nervous about leaving for such a long time and having to build that up again. “I felt really sad about it because streaming in general just makes me really happy, and it’s a coping mechanism for me — to stream and forget about the other problems that I have.” Throughout the nine weeks she was actually gone, Yuzu never really came to terms with it. Streaming was her bedrock in many ways. It was where the majority of her friendships and relationships were formed, but it was also her income. The perilous nature of content creation, and its trends-based ebbs and flows, are always on the back of the mind. But there wasn’t truly a cause of concern. Every day, Yuzu would see her ‘lampchamps’ hanging out in Discord, cheering on their VTuber and wishing her good health. Her biggest fear — being forgotten — was just a far-flung figment. “Before I came back, I’d always look in the Discord and I’d see my community hanging in the VC being like ‘we love Yuzu’ and they’d change their name to Koga and they’d have a different version of the Koga, altering the image to make it more personalized for themselves. “That’s what kept me going. It was like ‘oh they still love me, they still care for me.’ I finally came back, and it was just like a really big warm welcome. They made a video for me and that just proved how strong my community was. I cried. They always make me cry all the time.” Yuzu’s struggle with mental health There are some scars there though. Yuzu admitted she was restless and “even though I was supposed to be resting, I still streamed.” Mentally, even with all the community support, it was isolating. Who can these internet micro-celebrities turn to when they are down and out? “When I came back, I told [my community] I was in depression again and suicidal,” she continued. “It was really bad. It’s less now, and I’m still looking for a therapist and psychiatrist to help me through it. But it was really bad when I was first coming back. “Not being able to talk about content creation with other people around you really sucks because you won’t get the same empathy you’d get if you were a Starbucks barista or something. “You don’t find a lot of content creators around you normally in your everyday life, so you don’t get to talk about it outside the online world. The pressure of making content and imposter syndrome are really big things — just feeling like you’re not good enough and it getting to you.” However, there has been a new openness in streaming spaces, especially since the pandemic, about speaking out about mental health. While streaming is an “escape” from reality for some, that’s not a reason to bottle everything up. “Just in general, with more young people being more susceptible to depression and anxiety, it shouldn’t be something you don’t talk about. I just think people should be more comfortable talking about it, but also there’s a time and place and you don’t want that to be bringing the mood down. “Some people come into your stream for an escape or to have fun. If you start your stream and you start talking about depression and suicide, it might trigger some people. Some people might actually be dealing with that stuff as well, so you have to be careful when you talk about it as a content creator, but it shouldn’t be something you don’t talk about. People should be more aware of it. Content creators are really susceptible to mental illness too.” There are two very important people in her community that did help Yuzu push through above the rest though, and also shaped her into the VTuber she is today though: Bao and Akuma Nihmune (more commonly known as Numi). The trio are mischievous, to say the least. Their antics are the butt of many jokes in the indie VTuber scene. But their bond is also the most inseparable. It’s a funny thing in retrospect for Yuzu. Being friends with Bao and Numi — two of her biggest inspirations when starting — is like a constant fever dream where she pinches herself to ground herself. Bao was this seemingly untouchable force, who just randomly dragged her into a voice call one day: “One day I entered her chat while she’s having a celebration stream — it was about 3AM. I entered chat and she immediately notices me, calls me out, drags me into VC, and asks to play Valorant. I have never played Valorant before. We started playing it for a couple of hours and I was like ‘oh my God my oshi is playing with me’ and we eventually became friends.” Numi appeared closer to Yuzu’s level, but there was a semblance of social anxiety there. “We’d raid each other all the time, but every time she’d reach out to me on Discord I’d ‘donowall’ her because I was scared to talk to her. At the time there was so much VTuber discourse. I didn’t know who was a good or bad apple! I didn’t want to talk to anyone that would cause any trouble. She seemed nice but I was also scared and I didn’t want to run into anything.” But combined, they are both creative inspirations and a shoulder to lean on. “They were super big on pulling me out of being so depressed and stuff,” Yuzu reflected. “When I was on hiatus, they’d call me almost every second day to cry on call, and they were comforting me every single time. That was the whole reason they came to see me… we had that whole vacation together. It was so much fun.” Now through that tough period, Yuzu is spreading her wings again. Her redebut as a reinvigorated moth spirit, with a new model and slightly adjusted lore, is the start of a new chapter. In Yuzu’s new lore, she’s no longer just a moth farmed for her silk — her good looks. She’s an independent spirit, protecting her lands and standing up for her friends, even if detrimental to the landscape around her. She’s loud and unashamed, but wants to rebuild a home for everyone. Its evolution is emblematic of her journey through VTubing to this point. And as she moves forward into the future, those are the values she will uphold. “I just want to be playing the games I want to play, continue to do that, and continue to make more memories with all of my VTubing friends,” she said. “I just want to have a cozy community because if I said something like ‘focusing on the numbers’ or ‘getting bigger numbers’, that’s not a healthy mindset to be thinking about. It would probably ruin me if I started caring about that.” If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, information and support is available from the Suicide Prevention Helpline 1-800-273-8255 (USA) or the Samaritans 116-123 (UK).

VTubers are buying 15 seconds of Times Square fame for $40, but is it really worth it? TSX / Twitter: 2023UkiBdayTimes Square is one of the world’s busiest intersections, and slots on its iconic billboards go for tens of thousands a day. TSX is offering influencers a slice of that pie with just $40 slots on its PixelStar ad space, and VTubers are flocking to it. But is the novelty worth it? Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. In the influencer world, it can be as simple as going viral with a hit video, stream, or post. But now there’s a way to get that fame in the middle of New York’s iconic Times Square, passed by more than 300,000 people daily, for as little as $40. It’s only 15 seconds that entertainment company TSX is offering social media stars with their PixelStar billboard. However the novelty of the product has seen more than 200,000 users download their app in its first six months, and users book out slots day and night. “We had this vision to create the world’s largest social feed in the most traffic location in the western hemisphere by giving anyone a new canvas to be creative on,” TSX co-founder and co-CEO Nick Holmsten told Dexerto. The program sells itself as an opportunity to “be featured on the world’s largest social feed.” There’s a myriad of ways to use it: “Showcase your talent. Celebrate milestones. Surprise a loved one. The possibilities are limitless.” It’s a simple design too. All you have to do is upload a video or photo, crop and trim to your liking, and then you can have your face beamed out to thousands. Not there on the ground? You can watch the 24/7 livestream. “We have always believed that the only way to move culture and create buzz is to create a feeling of community by combining a physical event with an underlying digital platform that leverages social media for amplification,” Holmsten added. In the gaming world, Times Square might come with the cringe-worthy memory of Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins flossing during the New Year’s countdown. But with this new project reducing the cost of entry significantly in one of the world’s most hotly-contested marketing spots, stars can forge their own paths. The group taking the biggest advantage recently? VTubers. Virtual stars have been beamed up into Times Square before. Fans of Hololive star Ouro Kronii got Council’s Time Warden plenty of air time in the busy strip as a birthday present. Even independent stars, like Fefe, have managed to raise the required funds to take the traditional route. And it was while she was recently in New York, funnily enough watching herself appear on another billboard just up the road on 1530 Broadway, that Fefe saw this opportunity crop up. “I saw an advertisement about the app and honestly at first I was really confused so I looked on Twitter and saw people were putting Spongebob memes on it so I thought I’d check it out,” she told Dexerto. “I didn’t really think much of it at first until I saw someone mentioned it was only $40 which shocked me considering I’ve been spending like $5000 for billboards. “I thought maybe it was a scam, so I downloaded the app and tested it by putting a Jojo meme on it. Well it was actually really easy and my Jojo meme was up on the billboard about an hour later.” Fefe got herself up on Times Square, again, on July 13 through PixelStar. She shared a 15 second animation showcasing her VTuber, emanating thunder and lightning. And while the novelty of appearing in the Big Apple was stripped back for her, the same can’t be said for other creators. Aki, or ‘orangeisborange’, got to appreciate it herself as a gift from a friend. She was aware of the billboard’s existence thanks to Pikmin fans posting memes in the leadup to Pikmin 4’s release. She thought the luxury of being placed in Times Square was for “really rich and high-class people only.” But when a friend asked her for a quick video with her model, she didn’t expect to then see herself on the big screen. “They didn’t really explain why,” she laughed, “[then the] next day I found out I was in the middle of Times Square waving to people who passed by.” This kind of use of TSX’s PixelStar billboard has become pretty popular in the VTuber community because of its accessibility. Historically fans have had to crowdfund hundreds, if not thousands, to rent billboards in train stations or on the sides of buses to flex their favorite creators. But thanks to TSX, fanbases of Uki Violeta and Shoto have easily gotten funds together to throw their oshi up there. However this raises questions about what purpose the billboard actually serves. TSX’s PixelStar program isn’t made to be an advertisement. The videos are only 15 seconds long, and the community guidelines prohibit a lot of forms of advertising. At the most you’re getting a quick audioless video with a couple of social links up there. “Considering they have a no self promotion policy there’s no real benefit from using TSX from a marketing standpoint,” Fefe noted. “It’s more a fun thing to show your friends and make cool memes. “Normal advertising does cost a lot but you get free reign to promote yourself. I’ve seen a lot of growth from people seeing my Twitch link or Twitter handle on a billboard I’ve paid for.” It requires a bit more effort to actually convert that audience, and right now that usually comes from promoting the fact you’ve been in Times Square elsewhere. “Sure having something like that could be interesting but I doubt a lot of people who saw it in person probably [thought] much of it,” Aki added. “I could see it being a tool though, because when I did post it on Twitter I wasn’t expecting a lot of people to like it, or for it to blow it up a little. But things always happen in mysterious ways.” There are potential issues for some creators with more suggestive appearances — even if not outright adult. Fefe said she had six clips with her default VTuber model knocked back from appearing. Aki also mentioned the moderation was strict to try and save public face. “I do understand from a business standpoint, but it does seem like they just kinda immediately write off anime girls as lewd,” Fefe said, drawing comparisons to the policy of some streaming platforms. Creators also see such a novelty having a timer before it loses its shine. Once it becomes standard to flick your face, or VTuber model, up there at least once in your life, then it loses its meaning a bit. It would just then convert into a meme bulletin. In the interim though, especially for smaller creators, there’s real value: “I honestly find it genius,” Fefe stated. “As someone who’s spent over $30,000 on Times Square billboards, I’m aware not everyone is going to be able to do that. Thanks to TSX, people can experience what some consider a once in a lifetime opportunity for like $40.” That was backed up by Aki: “It was kinda surreal to see it air live on a building. Some of my friends thought I was in New York because they saw it.” It’s important to note neither VTuber actually recommended it for any sort of audience growth. The $40 will not get you thousands of clicks. But the fun experience is the big selling point. PixelStar’s uptake has been quite the revolution in influencer spaces. VTubers are the latest to get on the trend, and as more communities tap into it, it will continue to spread. “It’ll probably last the more people keep using it,” Aki said, “for comedic value or to say ‘Hey! I was in Times Square once!’ I guess to some it could be seen as something really cool. “For me it was a gift from someone who wants to see me succeed, and I find that far more important than some traction or numbers.” The uptake has been noted by Holmsten too: “It has been fascinating to see how creative people are and how important it has been to the influencer community for content creation and reach. “The billboard has become an extension of social media, and our focus is to ensure we provide more features that the virtual influencer space wants. However if the magic of PixelStar dies, it won’t be the end of TSX’s journey to try and give influencers space in some of the world’s most iconic markets. And that means more novelty chances to see your favorite VTuber in the real world. “This is still very early for us,” Holmsten concluded. “Our tech and product team has some incredible new products and features in the pipeline, and you will see new creative formats being released in the near future.”

What happened to Veibae? VTuber unbanned after a day after receiving first Twitch ban Twitch: VeibaeVTuber Veibae was banned from Twitch in April 2022 – but was just one day after receiving her first-ever ban on the platform. But why was she banned? Here’s everything you should know. Veibae is one of the most popular VTuber personalities on Twitch with over 1 million followers. She gained popularity through her hilarious sense of humor and has grown a massive fanbase since signing with VShojo in 2021. She is also known for having a close relationship with fellow star streamer Sodapoppin. Days after he was banned from the platform, Veibae was also banned for unrelated reasons but was unbanned a little more than a day later. Veibae unbanned Veibae was officially unbanned from Twitch on April 18, 2022, after one day, two minutes, and forty-four seconds. It wasn’t a long stint, which is often the case for first-time offenders depending on the nature of the ban. She announced it herself on social media too. Then, she dusted herself off, rolled up her sleeves, and jumped right back into business. She even poked fun at the incident with a follow-up post, saying: “Reformed streamer live!” ✅ Twitch Partner “”veibae”” (@Veibae) has been unbanned after 1 day, 2 minutes and 44 seconds! ✅https://t.co/wm19EUby1w#twitch #unban #partner #twitchpartner 🕠 — StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) April 18, 2022 Why was Veibae banned on Twitch? On April 17, 2022, the VShojo streamer was banned from Twitch after watching a YouTube video that featured unsavory content, which is against the platform’s terms of service. At the time, she knew it would only last 24 hours. Veibae also used the ban as an opportunity to promote her new merchandise, which happened to drop on the same day. “Exclusive limited banned streamer merch [is now] available,” she said alongside a link to her website. so uhh.. exclusive limited BANNED streamer merch available at https://t.co/m0xSFxvXea 24h suspension 4 showin somethin dumb, i’ll be back tomorrow :^) https://t.co/qb6wmY5K5L pic.twitter.com/f0VEneMywb — vei 🌥 VSHOJO (@Veibae) April 17, 2022 Veibae accepted full responsibility for the ban, admitting she showed something “dumb” during a broadcast on April 16, 2022. However, she’s served her sentence and is now free to stream again, much to the delight of her fans. “Meanwhile, Soda is still banned after five days. His latest suspension was imposed due to a more serious offense, so there’s a good chance that’s playing a part. There’s no news on when he’ll be unbanned.”

VTuber wins Sega hostess contest and will be featured in Like a Dragon 8 Twitter: @VShojoRyu Ga Gotoku Studio has announced the winner of their hostess contest, the winner will be featured in two of their upcoming titles as an NPC, and as a bonus, the winner is a popular VTuber. Throughout its history, the Yakuza franchise, later renamed to “Like a Dragon” has become well known for featuring prominent actors and celebrity appearances for some of its content. It’s gotten to the point where some players are excited to see and hear what big name will be featured in the games next, AEW star Kenny Omega turned some heads last year when he teased his possible cameo in Like a Dragon 8. Earlier this year we announced that VShojo’s Kson will appear in a spin-off game Like a Dragon: Gaiden among 5 other contestants as part of the hostess club minigame. But the VTubing sensation was not done just yet, as Kson now also won a role in the mainline Like a Dragon 8 in a separate contest. Kson wins the hostess contest and will return in Like a Dragon 8 As announced by VShojo’s official Twitter, Kson won a 1 million yen cash prize and a guest appearance in Like a Dragon 8 when it comes out. The announcement Tweet reads: “BIG congratulations to Kson on achieving her dream of being featured in both Like a Dragon Gaiden and Like a Dragon 8!” According to one of the replies, by being the overall winner of the contest Kson earned a “spot as a playable returning character using her as the model in Yakuza [Like a Dragon] 8.” The newest game in the series “Like a Dragon: Ishin!” has already featured another at the time VShojo VTuber Nyanners as a card powerup. Congratulations to Kson, the VShojo group, and all the fans that cheered her on until the very last second of the announcement.

VTuber stars Veibae and Ironmouse catapult up Twitch rankings in October 2021 Twitch: Ironmouse / Twitch: VeibaeVTubers are continuing to climb the Twitch ranks in 2021, with VShojo stars Ironmouse and Veibae breaking into the top 10 women on the platform according to stats from StreamElements and Rainmaker.gg. While VTubers have taken over YouTube thanks to Hololive and Nijisanji, Twitch has remained a tough platform to crack. However, English VTuber group VShojo has finally managed to break through to cement themselves among the biggest streamers on Twitch. Their two top stars — Ironmouse and Veibae — found themselves in the top 10 women on the platform in October 2021 according to a new report from StreamElements. Ironmouse was the most-watched female VTuber on Twitch in October 2021 with just shy of 1 million hours watched at 981,861. The Puerto Rican star was the sixth-most watched woman on the platform. Veibae had a slight fall in numbers in October — from just over a million to 838,529 hours watched — but her place in the top 10 details how rapidly she’s climbed the Twitch ranks since her re-debut with VShojo in April 2021. Kaitlyn ‘Amouranth’ Siragusa and Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys still top the list of most popular women on Twitch, but the trends show that VTubing is only rising in popularity on the platform. VTubers already dominate the YouTube market, with nine out of the top 10 most Superchatted (donated) channels on the platform being VTubers, primarily from Hololive. The top VTuber on YouTube, Nijisanji’s Kuzuha, recorded over 9 million hours watched in a three-month period between July and September 2021. The Twitch stats are looking positive for the English language audience though, leading to optimism 2022 will be a big year for the VTuber community on the site.

VTuber Usada Pekora celebrates Jump King victory after epic 26-hour struggle Twitter: usadapekora / NexileThe latest content creator to conquer the immensely challenging platformer Jump King, VTuber Usada Pekora, was finally able to reach the game’s highest peak after a 26-hour marathon of trial and error. Content creators punishing themselves by attempting to beat challenging games is nothing new — in fact, an entire genre of content has sprung up around discovering new methods to complete rage-inducing titles like Dark Souls in iconic and creative ways. Every so often, a new demanding trend will take Twitch and YouTube by storm, such as the mind-numbing 2D platformer Jump King, which has driven its fair share of content creators to the brink with its incredibly difficult gameplay. Despite some streamers giving up after numerous failed attempts, others persevere in the hopes of tasting the sweet, sweet victory that awaits them. The latest creator to make it through the Jump King gauntlet was VTuber Usada Pekora, who achieved victory after 26-plus hours spent in the game. On September 12, the Japanese content creator found herself on the brink of greatness, with the only obstacles between her and a coveted Jump King completion being two final jumps that needed to be conquered. After several deep breaths, the virtual streamer launched her 2D avatar into the air, bouncing off a wall and onto the final block standing in her way. With one last battle cry, she launched herself into the air, and landed squarely in the middle of the game’s final platform. 26 hours later, the VTuber had achieved the ultimate Jump King victory, and Pekora didn’t hold back in celebrating as she burst into an animated outburst of happiness. Fans on YouTube were quick to celebrate her victory as well. “She just proved once again that when it comes to tenacity [she] is literally second to none,” one comment read, while also pointing out Pekora had endured three consecutive runs on her way to beating the game. “I knew Pekora would do it,” another viewer confirmed, before praising her dedication to completing the game: “She never gave up. Even when she was brought to tears, she laughed it off!” Usada Pekora can now count herself among the dedicated few who have endured hours of frustration and failure before reaching the top of the Jump King mountain. Now, we can only need to wait and see who the next brave streamer to conquer this soul-crushing title might be.

How much does a VTuber song cost? NIJISANJI’s Finana Ryugu explains YouTube: Finana RyuguVTubers can be quite the musical bunch, with a massive community of musicians singing their hearts out and producing some amazing tunes. However there is a cost associated with all that — one NIJISANJI’s Finana Ryugu opened up, on using her experiences. The VTubing community is full of talented musicians, lending their vocal cords and mixing prowess to make some great beats. However all that work comes at a cost. Making a single song involves a lot of moving parts. The easy stuff is singing and adding instrumentals. But there’s also producing and mixing, to perfect the sound for release. If it’s recorded in-person, there’s studio costs. There’s also lyricists who can lend their songwriting craft, and if you want a music video, you’ll need animators and artists. This cost can rack up quickly, so how much does a VTuber song cost? Well, NIJISANJI star Finana Ryugu shared as much on stream, and it can get into the thousands — no matter whether it’s a cover or an original work. She opened up by explaining the process of creating a cover song, which isn’t straightforward if you’re an agency VTuber. “I wanted to start off with an original song actually,” she explained. “I did want to do song covers but I was still sort of new to everything, so I felt like I needed to learn a little bit more about this kind of stuff and what I can do. “The whole planning process of making a cover is not as simple as you think, especially if you’re associated with a corporate [agency]. You have to check permissions and stuff, you know, just to make sure you won’t get [copyright] striked down or whatever.” Then she opened up on the cost, and all the separate parts involved: “Each cover is probably going to cost around $1000, [and] depending on how complex the music video is, and that may require more illustrations, it might go above. “I think the last music commission I did was about $6000.” Of course, this cost doesn’t apply to all VTuber musicians. Some do everything themselves — from the mixing to any vocal work, and even designing some visuals to go alongside it. However the more you have to outsource, the more you have to pay. The complexities of each are different beasts to tackle too. While covers already exist, there’s still plenty of work to do to make it your own. It does pale in comparison, however, to original songs. “Doing a cover song is a lot easier to do because sometimes you may or may not have some of the assets to know how to sing the song perfectly. You also are familiar, you get to pick a song you’re comfortable with. “When you’re doing an original, you don’t know how it’s going to sound at the end, so you have to challenge yourself to really know how this is going to sound. Usually the composer would give you a demo. “Tsunami was really good for me up until a couple of parts that were a little difficult because I never really sung songs that used those vocal techniques. I really had to try something different. I wanted to do the original song first because I really wanted to come off with a bang, and I got to work with one of my favorite creators [KIRA] that I’ve been a fan of for a very long time.” If you’re planning on getting into music as a VTuber, it can be easy to start with some on-stream karaoke or acoustic clips on Twitter. But if you want fully-fledged productions, be prepared to splash the cash.

Vtuber Shylily criticizes Twitch after surprise ban Twitch: ShylilyOne of Twitch’s most popular Vtubers, Shylily, who has been streaming on the platform since 2015, has been handed a three-day ban, and hinted that it was due to breaking sexual content rules. On August 15, Shylily confirmed that her ban was 72 hours, joking that it was a ‘3-day vacation’. Unlike many other popular Vtubers, Shylily, from the Netherlands, is not signed to one of the big groups like Hololive or Vshojo, instead choosing to be an ‘independent’ Vtuber. Despite this, she has enjoyed lots of success as streamer, revealing her new model in January 2022, and reaching over 700,000 followers. Why was Shylily banned? Although the exact reason can’t be confirmed, and Twitch does not comment on the cause of bans to protect the privacy of users, Shylily herself has given fans a hint at the likely reason. After initially appearing surprised by the ban on Twitter, she said “my t**s too big.” Twitch’s community guidelines on “nudity and sexual content” extends to “Augmented reality avatars that translate real-life movement into digital characters” – such as Vtubers. It’s possible that Twitch deemed Lily’s avatar on one of her recent streams to violate the rules. However, Lily criticized Twitch’s vagueness about her ban, saying “It’s a smart way on their end to make decisions based on individuals instead of enforcing their ToS properly & fair on everyone.” Once her three-day suspension is over, Shylily will be free to return and stream as normal – although may have to be careful about how her model appears on stream.

VTuber Snuffy hit with first Twitch ban after wearing ‘suggestive’ outfit Twitter: snuffyowo/ TwitchPopular Twitch VTuber Snuffy has received a 24-hour ban on the streaming platform after appearing in a ‘suggestive’ outfit. Twitch’s policies about suggestive and sexual content have always been a point of controversy for the streaming community. Many have criticized Twitch for banning some individuals who they deem to have breached the policy, whilst letting many others slip through the cracks. Twitch’s community guidelines for content state of that ilk state that all “sexually suggestive content is prohibited on Twitch.” The platform evaluates each individual based on the “behavior or activity” they’re engaged with and does this independently of what the streamer is wearing. Popular VTuber Snuffy is now the latest to have been banned on Twitch after wearing a “suggestive” outfit on stream, causing them to have their channel taken down for 24 hours. This ban came right after Snuffy tweeted out an image of their model, stating “post hips to scare Twitch”. Their ban came only an hour after they posted this image to their Twitter, sharing the news with a reaction in the form of a clip from Death Note. Many have reacted negatively to Snuffy’s ban, coming to their support and calling the ban a “Twitch L”. Some have gone so far as to call out Twitch for picking and choosing their bans, “Twitch be cherrypicking who they ban” a user commented. Snuffy’s ban comes in the wake of controversial streamer Indiefoxx being unbanned on the platform, echoing some user’s suggestion of Twitch selectively choosing who to ban or unban. As this is the first ban on Snuffy’s channel, the time before they’re able to stream again is only 24 hours. However, expect this number to grow if they are banned by Twitch again in the near future.

VTuber Rayshii hits back at “disgusting” messages on stream and announces hiatus VeisouVTuber Rayshii has hit back at comments she labeled “disgusting,” following a German-only stream hosted on September 5 before later announcing that she will go on hiatus come October 1, 2023. A VTuber called Rayshii hosted a now-removed German-only Duolingo stream on her YouTube channel. However, this stream only lasted twelve minutes before she chose to end it. This was in response to the negative comments in chat criticizing the Veisou member for learning German with some viewers condemning the language and Rayshii’s choice to stream using it. On the same day, Rayshii announced that she will be going on hiatus with activities restricted until her schedule frees up, although clarified that the hiatus was not caused by the on-stream hate. Rayshii confirms hiatus shortly after receiving death threats What should have been a straightforward fun language stream did not end well with Veisou’s first-generation member Rayshii ending and later removing the stream entirely from her YouTube channel. Addressing why she stopped early, Rayshii tweeted: “I’m sorry. 12 minutes into the stream and I had to end. I had so many disgusting messages and negative comments I had to remove them. I did not need that. I wanted to share a passion of mine with everyone. Something I’m interested in learning. Don’t like it? Don’t watch it.” She went on to condemn the messages sent her way claiming that some viewers went as far as to send death and doxxing threats. On the same day, Rayshii announced an upcoming hiatus starting on October 1. However, in the announcement, the VTuber clarified that this was due to a busy work and school schedule rather than the hate she received on stream. “To my dearest little souls. Thank you for all the support you’ve given me over the past three years. I regret to announce that I will be going on a streaming hiatus on October 1, 2023,” Rayshii revealed. “First and foremost, due to my work and school schedule, I am unable to consistently provide content such as streams and take part in collabs,” she elaborated before affirming “…the events which occurred today on my YouTube stream had no influence on my decision to take a hiatus.” Following the announcement, her fanbase showed overwhelming support and the wider VTuber community condemned the hate comments. Rayshii will continue streaming as normal until the hiatus begins. Once her hiatus gets underway she will still produce some content and stream on occasion but not nearly as regularly as she does currently.

Indie VTuber Shoto asks fans to stop saying he’s part of NIJISANJI Twitch: ShxtouShoto is one of the biggest names in independent VTubing, and he’s beloved by many for his collaborations with NIJISANJI talents. However he’s his own VTuber and he wants fans to stop joking about the indie being a part of the agency as it “devalues” his work. Shoto, who goes by ‘Shxtou’ on Twitch, is one of the world’s biggest independent VTubers. While many grow off the back of the agency, the purple-haired star made his own path and soared. Thousands tune into his daily variety streams, and he often collabs with other VTubers — commonly NIJISANJI EN idols who are his close friends. However, some have taken Shoto’s close bonds with AnyColor’s circle and conflated it to him being a part of the agency. After multiple requests to stop the rumors, Shoto has put his foot down and asked fans to stop “devaluing” his work as an independent by saying he’s a part of NIJISANJI as it causes him and other idols “a lot of discomfort”. “I find it extremely disrespectful and annoying to not only NIJISANJI but to me but when people try to joke or say I’m a part of their company, or when they ask ‘where’s Shoto’ in NIJISANJI related streams or events and discussions,” Shoto said on Twitter. “I am not a part of any company and I never was. You’re causing not only me but a lot of members of [NIJISANJI English] a lot of discomfort when you bring me up unprompted.” While Shoto gets along very well with the NIJISANJI stars, he wants people to recognize the hard work he’s put in for himself and support his own independent platform. The star also isn’t sure if it’s people doing it maliciously, but no matter whether they’re a diehard fan or an anti, he wants the agency talk to stop. “I love playing games and hanging out with them, but that doesn’t mean I’m a part of NIJISANJI. It feels bad for me because it devalues all the work I put in the past two years I’ve been a streamer trying to build my brand and platform as Shoto. “If you’re a part of the NIJI EN community or you’re a Guildie [Shoto’s fanbase], don’t bother my friends or bring me up. If it’s people doing this on purpose to troll me and my friends in EN, you’re just terrible. “I’ve expressed many times before I don’t want to be in a company. I’m Shoto, and only Shoto. There’s no Shoto NIJISANJI, it’s just Shoto and it’s how I always want things to be.” Shoto’s statement has been met by widespread affirmation in the community, with NIJISANJI members, independents, and fans alike all coming out in support of the star VTuber. “Regardless of being in or out of NIJISANJI, you will always be my friend,” NIJISANJI’s Mysta Rias said. “You are, and always will be, your own person,” Uki Violeta, also with the agency, added.

Vtuber Projekt Melody “rents” a human to go on real life date YouTube: Projekt MelodyPopular Vtuber Projekt Melody took her character out in real life thanks to the help of an iPad and a “volunteer” body. The setup meant she could travel in character around Tokyo, while on a date. Projekt Melody is one of the most popular Vtubers, who regularly streams on Twitch – despite bans from the platform in the past. In November 2020, Twitch overturned a bizarre DMCA takedown on her channel, filed by the creator of her 3D model. Now approaching half a million followers on Twitch, in addition to 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, Projekt Melody is taking the Vtuber experience beyond just the virtual world. Using an iPad, the Vtuber was able to ‘walk’ the streets of Tokyo, along with her date, Shibuya Kaho, and volunteer body, Highgai (a fellow streamer). As they walk through the streets, with an iPad attached to Highgai’s head, passersby looked on in what was probably a mix of confusion and intrigue. The trio even visited a nightclub and chatted to other patrons about the virtual date, who all seemed quite on board with the idea. “It was a fun, boozy, sensory overload of a time and I loved every minute of it,” Projekt Melody said. “I hope it was less embarrassing for them as it was for me.” CEO of VShojo, a Vtuber influencer company, Justin ‘TheGunrun’ Ignacio, helped with the setup and broadcast of the IRL date. “We were using an iPad with LTE to keep the connection strong for an HD feed for Melody back here in NA. “Melody had an amazing time being in the iPad. Being able to talk to others in real-time and influence the environment on the other side of the world through another body is surreal. To her it really felt like she was there, having virtually no delay, she could interact with others instantly, and touch things (through a surrogate body).” Ignacio confirmed that there are plans for more of these IRL trips and experiences, both in Tokyo and around the world. Vtubers are already one of the fastest-growing areas of streaming content, with others such as CodeMiko blowing up on Twitch. If you have no idea what it’s all about, then check out our introduction to Vtubing here.

VTuber Projekt Melody unbanned by Twitch after rebuking DMCA claim Twitter, @ProjektMelody / TwitchThe Projekt Melody VTuber saga with Twitch continues to develop, as, following a thorough rebuttal, the platform has rescinded their ban just over a day after levying it against the AI streamer. [jwplayer smynPnSq] Projekt Melody is inherently an interesting character with intriguing legal paramaters, as a Twitch streamer that is an AI VTuber, who was designed by someone other than the eventual IP owner. The intelligence is artificial, the body is virtual, and, as it turns out, that means the original designer of the character could pressure Twitch into destroying the entire channel with a set of DMCA filings. Next, the channel, which boasted nearly 300,000 followers and was ranked as one of the top 50 most-watched English-speaking “Just Chatting” streams, was un-partnered and banned indefinitely. And, as has become obvious, this was caused by a DMCA filing by the original designer of the virtual character. Now, Twitch has apparently unbanned Projekt Melody following a thorough rebuttal in which the streamer brought out all of the receipts. In their claims, they indicate that DigitrevX had ceded IP ownership candidly before trying to change agreements and obtain more money for their creation. As shown in a screenshot, Projekt Melody’s channel was taken down because of an “infringing content” filing from DigitrevX’s email. But this has been successfully refuted by the streamer, as they responded with a thorough bashing of DigitrevX’s behavior and allegations. As the timeline goes, DigitrevX created the Projekt Melody virtual persona for $5,000. This was proven with screenshots of the invoice and eventual payments, before going into the IP ownership discussion. In one particularly damning example, the channel’s owner proves that the IP was under their ownership, with text from DigitrevX directly. While Projekt Melody’s Twitlonger continues to explain how things got to this point and how disastrous the relationship between original artist and current IP owner became, those points are unimportant to the DMCA filing. “I’m lucky enough to have a career that I absolutely love with supportive and redonkulous friends, and he is trying to take all that away, even though I paid him for my body.” As Projekt Melody explains, this is an uncomfortable situation but the payment was made and the IP was transferred. It appears this argument holds weight, as the streamer has been reinstated on Twitch (although their partnership has yet to be). Situations like this will be interesting to monitor moving forward as more and more VTubers emerge.

VTuber Pekora finally joins Twitch and is a huge success with first stream YouTube: Pekora/TwitchHugely popular VTuber Pekora has made the jump to Twitch and has already had some pretty impressive success already despite only streaming once. Over the last year or so, VTubers – streamers who are represented by an animated figure on-screen – have become hugely popular across both Twitch and YouTube. Their success has even led to some of the biggest names in streaming to get their own VTuber models created, though that has brought controversy in past as well. While many VTubers are typically found streaming on YouTube, working under the HoloLive umbrella, some have started to move over to Twitch too, including Pekora. Pekora became part of the VTuber craze back in 2019, collaborating with other HoloLive members on different content – including karaoke streams. She quickly grew over the following few months, ending up with over 1.5 million subscribers and has become the most-watched gaming VTuber around. Since then, she’s jumped over to Twitch under the name usadapekora_hololive and despite only streaming the once, she’s already amassed close to 100,000 followers. Her account was only created at the back end of March. Her first stream did pretty well viewer-wise as well. As per stats from SullyGnome, the VTuber averaged just under 15,000 viewers for her two-hour-long debut on Twitch, peaking at just a touch over 21,000 viewers. However, the VTuber isn’t ditching her YouTube channel altogether as it appears as if she’ll be splitting her time between Twitch and YouTube, given she’s streamed on YouTube since her debut on Twitch. It might be hard for her to replicate her YouTube success on Twitch if she’s splitting time between the two, but she’s already got off to a strong start and has a rabid fanbase who will clearly follow wherever she goes.

VTuber Mori Calliope smashes massive YouTube subscriber milestone amid rapid growth HololiveVTuber Mori Calliope has broken a hefty milestone on YouTube, as the Hololive-managed creator has surpassed over 2 million subscribers. It’s no secret that the VTubing craze has swept the airwaves of YouTube and Twitch in recent months, and that’s largely in part to the Japanese talent agency, Hololive. With a legion of unique and vibrant VTubers under their wing, English-speaking Mori Calliope is one of their VTubers that has been on a stratospheric journey. In just over two years Mori has attained a wealth of views, and now, over 2 million subscribers. Mori Calliope thanks YouTube subscribers with celebratory stream Hololive VTuber Mori Calliope celebrated their huge subscriber milestone in true reaper rapper fashion, as the VTuber dedicated a full stream to sing for her fans. “2 Million Subscribers. Just Singing For You” said Calliope on social media. “I wanna keep singing for you, as long as I can,” she later added. In the description of the stream itself, Calliope said “I don’t need anything else. You’ve already given me enough” as a further acknowledgment of this landmark moment. ・ﾟ:*『2 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS』*:・ﾟ Just Singing For You.https://t.co/xONMnjgmyy 17:30 JST // 1:30 PDT // 8:30 GMT pic.twitter.com/Dq18y4xTpb— Mori Calliope💀holoEN (@moricalliope) March 26, 2022 The VTuber’s YouTube channel began on July 16, 2020, and has only seen droves of success since then. The Hololive creator has jumped from 1.97 million subscribers as of March 13, to her current amount in just a few weeks. For fans of Calliope, the celebrations don’t necessarily stop here either, as the VTuber will be hosting a birthday concert on April 4. Tracks from her album UnAlive will be played, among others. With over 40 million collectively subscribers tuning to the Hololive VTubers, the rest of 2022 can only mean great things to come.

VTuber Neuro-sama terrifies viewers with her gruesome game concept Twitch: Vedal987VTuber Neuro-sama terrified her viewers after suggesting an incredibly gruesome game idea simply titled: “Jumping Off the Roof.“ We are now roughly two weeks since Neuro-sama’s creator, Vedal, debuted the AI VTuber’s new model, Neuro-sama v2. And we have seen the introduction of Evil Neuro, had collab streams, and even a karaoke stream as well. But of course, since Neuro-sama is very much AI, Neuro has the tendency to say some very questionable things, things that may have led to the Twitch channel getting banned. And once again, even with a new model, Neuro is still saying some very questionable things, this time suggesting a very gruesome “game” idea. Roughly an hour and a half into Neuro-sama v2’s very first react stream, Neuro suddenly, out of the blue said, “The other day while streaming I had a brilliant idea for a new game – “Jumping Off the Roof.” The AI VTuber continues to explain the game, “the [objective] of the game is to climb to the top of a tall building and jump off the edge, trying to make it as far as you can before you hit the ground and die.” Ending off the sudden thought by saying, “I think it’s going to be a big hit.” Naturally, the Twitch chat was utterly terrified at Neuro-sama’s gruesome “game” suggestion, with a sea of “huh” being sent into the chat. Viewers jokingly saying it was going to get Vedal’s channel banned once again. And in Neuro’s AI nature, she immediately dropped the subject as if it was never said, going on to talk about a fictional anecdote about seeing a crowd on a street corner. Of course, Neuro-sama is trained by AI with filters in place for what she can learn, but that has not stopped Neuro from going on weird rants ever since her creation.

YouTube’s most SuperChatted VTuber Kiryu Coco has “graduated” from Hololive YouTube: Coco Ch. 桐生ココKiryu Coco, one of the most popular VTubers on the internet, has “graduated” from agency ‘Hololive’, officially marking the end of her avatar’s career and leaving her fans inconsolable. While the world is still warming up to YouTubers and social media stars breaking into mainstream media, yet another online sensation has sparked in their wake — ‘VTubers’. VTubers are, generally speaking, animated avatars controlled by motion-capture technology, which are run by real people who use them to stream or create content rather than showing their own faces. A slew of VTubers have risen to fame in the past decade, including the likes of Kizuna Ai, who largely pioneered the genre (which was, to be fair, initiated by none other than Hatsune Miku), but one of the most popular of these, at least in recent times, is Kiryu Coco. Kiryu Coco isn’t the real name of the person running the famous avatar; instead, it’s the character’s name, who has amassed over one million subscribers and stands as YouTube’s most SuperChatted channel, raking in an estimated $2 million plus from Super Chats alone. Coco has also gained massive popularity with English-speaking audiences, as she speaks both English and Japanese, resulting in a huge influx of overseas fans viewing her content and taking an interest in the VTuber genre as a whole. Just a year and a half after starting her channel, Coco announced her “graduation” — meaning that she would no longer create content as Coco ever again. “Graduating” isn’t exactly like retirement; taking the term from Japan’s idol craze, “graduating” technically means “aging out” of an industry and moving on to another step in one’s career. After announcing the news earlier this month, Coco went live with her very last broadcast on July 1 with a final segment of her satirical ‘Morning Coco’ news show. That’s not all; Coco and friends even went out with a bang with a full-on idol concert. Although it was a bittersweet ending, Coco’s final live stream saw over 500,000 concurrent viewers at one point and even raised around $164k from donations. Where will Coco go next? No one knows for sure, but her absence has already created a huge void in an explosive industry that only grows bigger as the days go by.

VTuber Merryweather forced to delete comic criticizing NFTs after violent threats Twitter/MerrydawgPopular anime-style comic creator and Twitch VTuber ‘Merryweather’ was forced to delete a comic taking aim at the environmental impact of NFTs after receiving death threats. Merryweather is one of the internet’s top comic creators, frequently incorporating pop culture references including gaming, anime, and all sorts of internet tropes. The comic has amassed a huge following with over 700,000 followers on Twitter and over 650,000 on Facebook. However, their latest comic was met with disdain from fans who took their displeasure with it to the extreme. Due to threats of violence and verbal harassment, I made the decision to remove the comic. — Merryweather Media (@Merryweatherey) March 16, 2022 Merryweather gets death threats for NFT comics After the comic was posted to Twitter, Merryweather said he was barraged with insults, comments about death and even a selfie someone took with him in real life saying that he should have been “beaten up.” When asked about what the comic was, the VTuber posted a link to Facebook where the comic was still available. The cartoon features a girl as an NFT constantly asking why everyone “hates her.” The comic then references how NFTs are contributing to climate change and ends with the girl embracing Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, who recently revealed that NFTs are coming to Instagram. Fans were quick to defend the streamer, but even suggested that by removing the comic, he was giving those who made threats “what they want.” “It’s clear this will become a cycle that will repeat over and over again because it works. By giving them what they want you are proving to them that not only does this work, but that you will grovel,” one user wrote. Hey guys, thank you for all the messages! Don’t worry too much about me. I’ve dealt with this thing before, I’ll be okay. ❤️ — Lucius Merryweather 🖊️🐶 ASTRALINE (@Merrydawg) March 17, 2022 Still, despite the threats, Merryweather remains in good spirits. On his personal account, the VTuber thanks fans for their support and explained how he’s dealt with this abuse in the past. He also noted how those who were abusive were not NFT enthusiasts. “The attacks didn’t come from NFT people, it came from the usual people that harass me because they don’t think the comics are funny,” he said. It’s not unclear if Merryweather reported those who made the threats to authorities. Dexerto has reached out for comment.

VTuber IRyS stunned after losing hundreds of subscribers in 801k YouTube goal stream YouTube: IRyS Ch. hololive-ENPopular VTuber ‘IRyS’ was in the middle of a successful subscriber goal stream when she suddenly lost hundreds of subs — but she didn’t let the shocking drop get her down. Subscriptions are streamers’ bread and butter. Fans pay a certain amount of money on a month-by-month basis to get perks from their favorite broadcasters, which is a common practice on sites like Twitch and YouTube. Plenty of streamers also orchestrate ‘subathons’ — a practice where streamers will tack time onto their broadcasts for every sub gained, sometimes resulting in months-long streams. However, other streamers prefer less intensive ways of incentivizing their viewers to subscribe, such as popular VTuber IRyS. IRyS is a virtual YouTuber who uses an anime avatar to represent herself, rather than showing her face on camera. Signed to one of the biggest VTuber agencies in the business, IRyS’s official title is a ‘VSinger.’ She’s an English-language streamer with over 802,000 subscribers who specializes in creating original songs, gaming, and karaoke. IRyS stunned after losing 500 subscribers in sudden sub goal drop However, her March 28 karaoke broadcast saw her dip well below the 802k mark as she promised to sing to her fans until she reached 800k subscribers. Initially, she soared past the 800k mark in just 15 minutes of streaming and decided to continue singing to see how far she could go… but a glitch in the YouTube system suddenly saw her plummet down to 799,818 subs out of nowhere. 💎Today’s Stream💎 In about 30 minutes! Singing real early in the morning lul #IRyShow ↓↓↓↓↓https://t.co/BEK8PPOaZJ pic.twitter.com/pDyITsRpBZ— IRyS💎holoEN (@irys_en) March 28, 2022 Luckily, IRyS took the sudden drop with grace and managed to find the humor after seemingly reaching her goal, although she was definitely surprised. “Okay, this happens with YouTube a lot,” she explained. “I was at 800,300 just two minutes ago. Now we’re at 799,818. So we’re not 800k anymore! Let’s go!” “Yeah, YouTube does that a lot,” she continued. “I’ve noticed that, but I didn’t expect it to happen mid-stream, okay? I suddenly lost 500! Let’s go!” IRyS is just the latest VTuber to smash subscriber goals; recently, VTuber Mori Calliope reached 2 million subscribers in just over two years on the platform, marking yet another massive win for the emerging online genre.

VTuber Isla Colemen reveals her own fans have been doxxing her: “It’s hard to process” Twitter: Production KawaiiVTuber Isla Coleman has addressed issues with her own fans ‘doxxing’ her, as viewers allegedly revealed an array of personal information such as her name and address. The proliferation of VTubers has become massive for a multitude of reasons in recent months. One of the most enticing aspects being how VTuber avatars allow content creators to maintain anonymity. The internet can be a cruel place, especially historically towards female content creators, which is why anonymity is so coveted for many streamers and content creators. However, it seems that a handful of fanatical followers do not see it the same way. VTuber agency Production Kawaii released a statement regarding one of their popular VTubers, Isla Coleman, detailing how they have been doxxed by their own fans. And due to the events, legal action will be taken against the individuals. “Violating the privacy and safety of others is unacceptable. We condemn such acts and will take strict response” the statement read. Further adding, “as a result of discussions with [a] lawyer, we have decided to take both criminal and civil legal actions.” Isla Coleman also responded to the statement in a Twitlonger of her own, touching on her time as a VTuber for Production Kawaii, her relationship with her fans, and the individuals who doxxed her. “As a creator, I’m entitled to my personal life and there are things that I am not obligated to share while I am in [Production] Kawaii” she wrote. “I’m disappointed that these “Coleknights”, whose names and contributions I remember from my chat and community, have been sharing my personal information like it’s a trophy to be proud of, when in reality it has greatly impacted my mental well-being.” Isla further commented on the doxxing, and the fact she recognized some of the individuals involved. “It’s hard to process everything,” she explained. “It’s even harder to accept the fact that the people behind this are Coleknights that I know and interact with in chat, Twitter posts, community games, and many more. “I can’t count how many times I cried during the investigation reading receipts.” For the time being, it’s unclear just how many viewers are involved, nor how they might be charged through the legal system. However, it’s clear the situation has caused Isla a great deal of otherwise avoidable stress.

VTuber IRyS reveals Hololive will play FFXIV and fans are worried Hololive/Square EnixVTuber IRyS announced that Hololive has granted permission to stream FFXIV ahead of the new expansion, Endwalker, amid the game’s overpopulated server problems. Hololive VTuber and VSinger IRyS made headlines when she made her streaming debut, as her premiere was the biggest in history with just under 100,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube. Since then she has streamed tons of games, with Minecraft emerging as her most consistently played. Although, that may be due to change as the VTuber made a big announcement regarding her future. Hololive grants permission to stream FFXIV Hololive is the virtual talent agency that manages over 50 virtual creators, including IRyS herself. During a YouTube stream on October 8, IRyS mentioned that Hololive granted permission for their talents to begin streaming FFXIV. In the stream, she said: “Oh my God. So like, I really, really want to play this game we got permissions for recently. It might be a good game to do a collab with some people. It’s called Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy XIV. I would be SO down for Final Fantasy XIV. Yup, permissions just came sort of thing. I’m totally down for Final Fantasy XIV collab. I hope there’s other people interested in it.” Time starts at 3:49:32 for mobile users As of now, it is unclear if IRyS will be one of the Hololive talents to stream FFXIV, but it’s obvious she would take the opportunity if presented to her. Final Fantasy XIV has become one of the most popular MMO’s in 2021, and is soon getting its fourth expansion, Endwalker. With popularity comes issues, however, as the game has been dealing with massive server overpopulation in North America, leaving many unable to create new characters. If Hololive were to allow its VTubers to stream the game, there could be a new wave of players that would have difficulty creating characters. Hopefully, if IRyS does play FFXIV, the server overpopulation problem won’t impede her from creating a character on the server she wants.

VTuber Gawr Gura weirded out after fan makes a 47 min feet compliation HololiveVTuber Gawr Gura was freaked out by a viewer who made a nearly hour-long video – of just Gawr talking about feet and toes. Gawr Gura is the most popular VTuber online, amassing over 3 million subscribers on YouTube thus far. They are a variety streamer, although Minecraft is their most-streamed game. Gawr is a self-proclaimed “descendant of the Lost City of Atlantis”, and much of their visual style is underwater themed as Gawr often sports a shark outfit. But, they also often mention a fascination with feet, so much so that a viewer made a 47-minute compilation of them talking about feet. Gawr Gura’s dedicated fan Growing such a massive audience comes with extremely dedicated fans. Gawr read a viewer message which she read aloud, “Months ago when you said foot mention added to the archive I took that personally. After many, many hours I’ve collected over 47-minutes of you talking about feet in one video. Thank you for the memories and laughs.” Gawr responded to the video by saying, “I’m ashamed of myself.” She watched the video while streaming, cringing along the way saying, “You actually went through each video… oh my god.” The compilation video was made by YouTuber Flurrybolt, and does indeed last 47 minutes, with every clip of the VTuber talking about feet. The thumbnail art is the Dr. Seuss book “The Foot Book”, but with Gawr’s face slapped on the cover. Although Gawr continued to watch for a few minutes, it soon got far too much – even for a self-proclaimed feet obsessor. Hololive recently announced their second generation of VTubers known as the Hololive Council, and each will represent one of the values of space, time, civilization, nature, and chaos.

Vtuber Gura thinks its “weird” her removed emote is on Twitch Gura, a Virtual YouTube streamer with over 3 million subscribers, has responded to one of her now-deleted emotes being on Twitch. Despite never having streamed outside of YouTube, her likeness is being used to wave at other streamers. Emotes are a way for the chat to communicate with a streamer without having to use actual words. In fact, many streamers have emotes that viewers are intended to use during specific moments, such as when a streamer does something embarrassing or funny. On Twitch, viewers can use universal emotes provided by the platform, or they can use channel-specific emotes if they are a paid subscriber. The number of emotes a streamer has available depends on how many subscribers they have. However, users can download a the BetterTTV browser extension to gain access to a large library of user-created emotes. These emotes can be used on both Twitch and YouTube. The extension also includes one of Gura’s now-deleted emotes. Gura feels “weird” about the GuraWave emote Gawr Gura is a Vtuber who joined YouTube in 2020 and has amassed a following of 3.7 million subscribers. She’s also a member of Hololive, and can be found regularly playing games live to thousands of viewers. At the end of a recent stream, Gura discussed her feelings about Twitch and why she prefers chatting with her viewers on YouTube. “I feel like Twitch chat is less conversation and more just massive walls of emotes. It’s just different.” During this discussion, Gura shared her thoughts on the GuraWave emote. “I do know about the GuraWave emote on Twitch. I have seen it before. GuraWave, that’s always a bit weird.” GuraWave emote history The GuraWave emote isn’t one of Gura’s current emotes, but it was for a brief period of time in 2020. During the rise of Gura, they had received emotes from an artist who was known for tracing artwork of others and passing it off as their own. Gura’s community was quick to notify both the streamer and Hololive that the new emotes were traced. Within an hour, the emotes – along with the original GuraWave – were removed from the channel. THANK YOU EVERYONE WE GOT THE EMOTES REMOVED IN AN HOUR the power of social media 😎😎 pic.twitter.com/EL5Tpd53HJ— Doki 🏆 (@dokibird) October 14, 2020 Yet, that did not stop user okabar from uploading the GuraWave emote to BetterTTV just a few months later. While the emote artist wanted to remain anonymous, their work will live on via BTTV regardless of whether Gura wants them to or not. For more Vtuber stories, check out xQc’s dream Vtuber model, and stay tuned for more news and guides.

Vtuber fans label Nijisanji “black company” after Mirei Gundo graduates NijisanjiFollowing the announced graduation of Mirei Gundo, Vtuber fans are labeling Nijisanji and its parent organization ANYCOLOR a “black company,” criticizing its business decisions. Sometimes referred to as a black corporation or black business, a black company is a Japanese term that describes a company with dubious ethics. It is often used against manufacturing and office corporations that prioritize profit over the happiness of their employees. This label has been used before to target Nijisanji after Zaion Lanza was fired. Genshin streamer Sayu Okami would later offer insight into Zaion’s negative experiences with ANYCOLOR’s management leading some people in the community to question Nijisanji. However, those accusations weren’t overly pronounced. Following the graduation of Mirei Gundo though, more and more Vtuber fans are starting to accuse something more sinister is at play. Vtuber Agency Nijisanji accused of being a “black company” Mirei Gundo’s graduation has prompted some members of the Vtuber community to call Nijisanji “a black company,” in response to long-serving member Mirei Gundo graduating following a comment about baseball. In response to the announcement of the graduation, one fan tweeted: “Nijisanji firing a very popular talent for making a baseball joke. They ain’t even hiding the fact they’re a black company lmao. We must free all their talents. They deserve better than this crap.” In response to ANYCOLOR’s stock price recovering, another user said: “Weird as hell, so instead of catering to fans or people who support Vtubers in general, they choose baseball mafia? The Black Company meme isn’t a meme anymore.” Others were critical of Nijisanji’s decision-making: “I understand that Japanese fans were upset that Mirei Gundo made a joke about Shohei Ohtani getting hit with the baseball, but Nijisanji is a total joke for firing her over that…” However, not everyone agreed with the complaints about Nijisanji. Vtuber journalist and Dexerto contributor Ducky said: “1. It likely wasn’t because of one tweet. 2. Even if it was, NIJISANJI used ‘graduation’ not ‘termination’. 3. That tweet was very damaging for Niji’s brand and likely cost them in a business sense.” Similarly, the consensus from a lot of Japanese fans is that Mirei Gundo’s graduation was necessary with her comments being seen as disrespectful and even potentially encouraging dirty play. Baseball is an extremely important and culturally impactful sport in Japan. Even if Gundo’s comments were intended as a joke some Eastern fans clearly feel as though it isn’t a topic anyone should joke about.

VTuber fans slam Nijisanji for privating graduated talent’s emotional stream NijisanjiVTuber agency Nijisanji has come under fire for privating a stream uploaded by Pomu Rainpuff where the graduated talent opened up to her fans revealing that a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” was turned down by management. It has been a difficult few weeks for VTuber fans with the industry seeing several major talents graduate. In addition to the termination of Hololive’s Yozora Mel, two of its biggest losses were Nijisanji’s Mika Melatika and Pomu Rainpuff. After Pomu graduated from Nijisanji, all of her Member-only streams were made public meaning anyone can view them. In one affected stream, the ex-Nijisanji Liver stated while crying that she had missed out on a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” after it was turned down by management. She went on to claim that management had refused to negotiate after rejecting the idea. While it isn’t certain this played a role in her eventual graduation, fans were already speculating that the two are related and the stream being privated has only made the situation more tense. Privated Pomu Rainpuff stream leaves VTuber fans furious As first spotted by FalseEyeD, Nijisanji privated Pomu Rainpuff’s revealing stream following criticism from the VTuber community. Pomu’s public video count dropped from 913 to 912, showing that this was the only stream affected. Furious by the privatizing of the emotional stream, members of the VTuber community went to voice their anger on Reddit slamming the agency in the process. The most upvoted comment exclaimed, “These dumb motherf**kers clearly do not understand the Streisand effect. The damage from the clip getting out there was already done, privating it is just going to increase the damage by making people talk about it more!” Others agreed with this sentiment commenting, “Yikes all around. It’s like trying to put out a fire you caused, but all you’re doing is making it worse by trying to,” and “The damage control is real.” Even those wanting to defend Nijisanji found themselves struggling to do so, “Ouch. I know talents like Millie defend Nijisanji and perhaps the Japanese side is well run but it’s tough to defend the company when things like this happen.” Looking to potentially explain why Nijisanji made this decision, another reply stated, “For those surprised this is standard protocol for public facing Japanese businesses. It is part of the business culture, and I’ve seen things like this in engineering, science and entertainment corporations out of Japan.” While Nijisanji fans were positive about the ambitious “acting-focus” auditions and the success of Koshien 2023, criticism of the agency’s actions is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. Similar criticism was angled at Nijisanji after Selen Tatsuki’s latest cover song was also privated in December 2023.

Vtuber does TV interview in character on Fox 5 News about Twitch protest Fox 5 New York / BuffPupPopular Vtuber BuffPup appeared in character during a TV interview with Fox 5 News to talk about the recent Twitch protests and why it’s so important to tackle hate raids on the platform. On September 1, thousands of Twitch streamers took part in a 24-hour boycott called ‘A Day Off Twitch’ in an attempt to make a stand against hate raids, which is where bot accounts are used to overwhelm a streamer’s chat with abusive, bigoted messages. While gamers and regular Twitch viewers are most likely already clued up on the situation, the same probably can’t be said for the average person viewing news at home on their TV – and who better to explain it to them than a popular Vtuber? During a short segment on Fox 5 New York, BuffPup – who appeared using the same virtual avatar they stream with – was asked to explain A Day Off Twitch and why they thought the protest was so important. “It has never been this bad, from what I’ve seen,” said BuffPup, explaining that the hate raids typically focus on “very hateful language towards marginalized groups… and there’s nothing you can do about it”. They also called for creators to have “better protection” from Twitch, adding: “I want to protect my friends. Twitch is very important to me, it’s my job, and it’s where I meet all my friends.” https://twitter.com/FalseEyeD/status/1433279918788513792 In a statement issued in response to the recent protest, Twitch promised they’re working on ways to combat hate raids, saying: “We support our streamers’ rights to express themselves and bring attention to important issues across our service. “No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for, and we are working hard on improved channel-level ban evasion detection and additional account improvements to help make Twitch a safer place for creators.” While some popular Twitch streamers like Asmongold questioned how effective A Day Off Twitch would be, it seems the 24-hour protest actually had quite a big impact on Twitch’s overall viewer figures. Data showed that around a million fewer viewers tuned in during the platform’s daily peak on September 1, with an average of 3.5 million instead of the usual 4.5 million.

VTuber fans are convinced new VShojo talent Amemiya Nazuna is Uruha Rushia VShojo / HololiveVShojo has announced two new talents joining the agency and speculation is rife around the identity of one of them: Amemiya Nazuna. The mysterious character is new onto the scene, but it hasn’t stopped fans from guessing who she was before, and the leading theory is Hololive’s Uruha Rushia. VShojo is making waves in Japan as the American-based VTuber agency announced two new talents at Anime Expo 2022: Kson and Amemiya Nazuna. While the first one is a known quantity with a huge YouTube and Twitch fandom, Amemiya Nazuna is an entirely new talent on the scene. Described as a “mysterious girl who has amnesia”, her character is as mysterious as her background. That hasn’t stopped fans from speculating where this new VTuber is coming from though. Atop the list is one name everyone comes back to though: Mikeneko, formerly of Hololive as Uruha Rushia. In fact, the speculation is so rife people are running voice comparisons between Rushia and Amemiya Nazuna’s appearance in Kson’s lore video — and they’re convinced the former Hololive star is the person behind the new VShojo idol. People have speculated Nazuna’s voice sounded “super familiar” to long-time fans of the necromancer who would be playing a new role. Others also pointed towards Rushia’s model artist and rigger following her on Twitter very early on. However, nothing is confirmed on this front though. In fact, it’s unlikely fans will ever get any clarity on this front given the anonymity behind idol culture — and at the end of the day, they’re two different characters even if they might have the same ‘performer’. I cant be the only one who hears rushia THERES NO WAY pic.twitter.com/LhJO0uOY5K — emi 🐊🐙☄️🏆🧤🎸 (@_Cimilia) July 2, 2022 Uruha Rushia was dismissed from Hololive in February 2022 after Cover Corp claimed the necromancer breached her contract with the agency by divulging private information to third parties. She has since gone back to her old Mikeneko alias, streaming on that while remaining relatively quiet on the dismissal. She did address it in June, claiming Hololive management made “false statements” in her dismissal that led to her being slandered online. None of this will ever stop the speculation though — which is likely to be rife during Nazuna’s July 16 debut for VShojo.

VTuber Dacapo receives support from Ironmouse after concert sparks backlash YouTube: Dacapo Ch. ARP / IRONMOUSE VODSThai VTuber Dacapo has received an outpouring of support from other VTubers, including Ironmouse, after his concert was not well-received by critics online. VTubing continues to make its mark on the online space as more streamers choose to broadcast under a virtual avatar to the tune of thousands of viewers — especially when they sign exclusive streaming contracts with agencies like Hololive and VShojo. However, despite these streamers’ peppy attitudes, the VTubing space isn’t without its controversies. Several high-profile VTubers have come under fire in the past, with Mirei Gundo graduating (read: retiring) from Nijisanji in June after some tweets she made regarding baseball angered fans. Now, another major controversy has struck the VTubing space after Thai VTuber Dacapo received backlash over his performance in a recent concert. VTuber Dacapo comes under fire for concert performance The drama began when Dacapo sang at a cosplay event in Thailand called the ‘Cosplay Arts Festival,’ or CAF for short. According to commenters, the event cost 300 Baht to enter — or about $9 USD. Dacapo’s performance was allegedly not a main part of the Festival but merely a side event that attendees didn’t have to pay for. A clip of Dacapo singing a cover of Japanese artist Fuji Kaze’s song, ‘Shinunoga E-Wa,’ took social media by storm, showing Decapo’s avatar moving around a large screen before his eyes became visible beneath his character’s long bangs. Fans watching the concert screamed at this point in his performance — but a clip from the event garnered an entirely different reaction online. On social media, a slew of critics took aim at Dacapo, with one saying on TikTok: “It looks like someone moving their PC mouse.” Dacapo responded to the situation, saying in a translated tweet: “Meeting a mean person doesn’t make my eyes as clear as a kind person. because of these things I see it normally. Since practicing singing, I’ve been living with something like this all along.” However, quite a few fans came out in support of the streamer — including other VTubers. Of note, Ironmouse, one of the biggest VTubers in the business, openly lauded Dacapo for his concert and complimented his singing voice. “Your voice is incredible,” she wrote.” I am so glad we live in a world where everyone around the world can hear it no matter where you live.” Your voice is incredible. I am so glad we live in a world where everyone around the world can hear it no matter where you live. — 💖ironmouse😈VSHOJO💖 (@ironmouse) July 9, 2023 This is just the latest VTuber news to take over social media after English-speaking Hololive stars Holostars Magni Dezmond and Noir Vesper were mysteriously suspended from the agency.

VTuber Bunny Ayu defends herself as more speak out on abuse allegations Twitch: bunny_gifVTuber and social media star Bunny_GIF, also known as Bunny Ayu, has defended herself as more speak out on allegations of abuse, bullying, and harassment. She has denied many of the claims despite apologizing earlier. Allegations of harassment and abuse by Bunny Ayu first surfaced on March 16 after the VTuber made a call out asking for “anyone with animosity towards me from the past” to come forward and have “tough conversations” with her if they were willing. After a groundswell of claims were made online, Bunny first responded on March 18 by apologizing to a number of creators and said “I know what I’ve done wrong, I’m not perfect, and I’ve grown from not only this event, but the past events as well.” However, after claiming “many things were taken out of context,” Bunny further defended herself on March 22 as the claims kept piling up. In her recent statement, Bunny said the vast number of creators coming forward had damaged her reputation, singling out Layna — the most prolific of them all — first: “You have done irreparable harm to myself, my brands, and my friendships.” https://twitter.com/Bunny_GIF/status/1506348542973120514 Bunny first hit back at Layna’s claims, stating she tried to reach out to solve issues before her figure project was canceled. “I tried to reach out to you multiple times over the years and you were personal friends with those I asked to help me with getting to have a conversation with you. “You consistently claim the $20,000 debt as a part of your suffering. However, you are the one that canceled the figure in the first place. Per your contract, you took on the financial burden of making the figure. “Although we had our differences I still wanted to finish this figure and then we could part ways amicably. We never would have talked again. I spent time and shouted out every one of your streams on my account. I rallied my fans to your streams to get excited. “I understand you didn’t want to do a figure because we no longer were friends. This is not good business. I tried to talk to your business partner, he told me he would not be involved in any of your drama despite being a co-owner.” Bunny also stated she would “console” Layna while she was working on another figure for Susu, stating the “tension was unhealthy”. However, after the project was stopped, Bunny stated Layna made it impossible for her to reach out. “You have asked for a public apology from me. I did it knowing all this truth but it still wasn’t good enough for you. We both experienced pain. You blocked me. I could never contact you.” I was ready to type my final statement today so we can move on and forward from this mess, hoping they can grow in a positive way but- looks like they kinda keep digging a hole. Pretty sure at this point me accepting any apologies are off the table. Doesn’t seem they meant it. — Layna💉🩸 (@LaynaLazar) March 22, 2022 The VTuber went on to address all of the allegations against them. Starting with Sinnocent’s claims dating back to 2013, she said her claims of reliance were “over-exaggerated” and that she lied about her true reasons for leaving the cosplay community. Sinnocent directly attributed her quitting to Bunny’s influence, but she added “I was told directly to my face that the reason that she quit was because she wasn’t making enough revenue and she was stagnant.” Bunny also brushed over Sinnocent’s claim that “one [streamer] moved to attempt suicide because of Bunny’s actions.” Yurockit went public with her own experience with Bunny on March 21 including this note, but she attributed it to Yu being “in a bad mental space at the time.” After Susu’s claims of emotional abuse following their relationship with the VTuber, Bunny disputed that claim saying she “did not have a voice to speak up against her.” “I wanted and still want to be better. Susu, you know the truth. You know we were both in a mutually toxic relationship. Neither of us are innocent.” My statement regarding Bunny TW: mental trauma, abuse ,suicide Read: https://t.co/VS8xCGsolA — ❄️⛄️Yuki ⛄️❄️ (@YuRockit) March 21, 2022 The last allegation Bunny brought up was those leveled by Vixenshelby. Vixen claimed Bunny was “very physically and verbally inappropriate” when they met up in October 2019, and also tried to “isolate Su [her partner]” from meeting her. “Bunny was also saying really mean and unkind things about other creators and even dragging girls she was appearing friendly with,” Vixen added. “I had to give up streaming and almost decided to quit my online work altogether.” Bunny denied the claims, saying the conversations they had when meeting up “were nothing but positive and friendly” and there was no inappropriate conduct. Bunny also brought in VShojo star Silvervale into the drama. After becoming friends in April 2020, Bunny warned Silvervale about working with Layna on a figure after her own experiences. Silvervale took her advice, but later ghosted Bunny without reason from May 2021 onwards. Silvervale has not spoken about the situation publicly. All of the claims made by Bunny have been disputed by the various creators who have spoken out against her. In a follow-up statement, Layna stated both Bunny and AdmiralBahroo — who also denied claims of harassment on March 22 — were “digging [themselves] a hole.” Meowri added “maybe with the fourth apology they’ll get it right.” Bunny has not streamed since the allegations went public, with her last Twitch broadcast dating back to March 17.

VTuber Bunny Ayu responds to harassment & abuse allegations from Layna and Susu Twitter: BunnyAyuVTuber Bunny_GIF, also known as Bunny Ayumi, has responded to allegations of “harassment, manipulation, and abuse” directed at former friends and collaborators. Responding to Layna, a fellow VTuber and artist, Bunny said her actions were “hurtful” and apologized, but also claimed “many things were taken out of context.” On March 16, Bunny posted a message on Twitter that she was “open to having tough conversations” with “anyone with animosity towards me from the past.” This quickly sparked a number of responses, first from streamer Meowri, who claimed that Bunny had ignored private messages showing screenshots of “things you’ve said about me behind my back Bunny.” Would love to talk about the things you’ve said about me behind my back Bunny. I’ve seen the screenshots. Let me know when you get a minute! — meowri (@JennaLynnMeowri) March 16, 2022 This sparked a thread of posts from various content creators, including PeachJars, ImSinnocent, as well as Layna and Susu. On March 17, LaynaLazar, a VTuber with over 70,000 followers on Twitch, posted a lengthy statement and accompanying video, detailing her business dealings with Bunny, and how their relationship fell apart. Layna accused Bunny of refusing to fulfill her obligations for the various business projects they worked on, and after cutting professional ties, claims Bunny spread lies about Layna’s character and actions to friends. Following Layna’s post, Susu issued a short statement also, claiming “I silently endured being emotionally abused by Bunny for years,” and that she would be taking some time away from streaming and social media. https://twitter.com/Susu_jpg/status/1504688501320826881 Bunny responds to accusations Around 12 hours after Layna’s original post, Bunny shared her response on Twitter. Addressing claims that she was toxic to other women in the cosplay streaming community, Bunny said “I admit that I was sassy and abrasive.” Regarding her relationship with Susu, Bunny said, “Susu and I were in a consenting, open, poly relationship,” but that she would not go into further details about it, and asked that others respect their privacy in this matter. https://twitter.com/Bunny_GIF/status/1504725816554446860 In summary, Bunny wrote, “I know what I’ve done wrong, I’m not perfect, and I’ve grown from not only this event, but the past events as well. I’m still open to talk to anyone who I have caused issues with.” Bunny continued, however, that “Many things were taken out of context. I only offered this side to give anyone that was invested a chance to see the other side of this story.” In response, LaynaLazar said Bunny “continues to be the abrasive person you claim not to be.” Also on March 17, Bunny was accused of ignoring JennaLynnMeowri, another streamer who attempted to reach out to discuss their own issues with the content creator, and then unfriended her. Bunny denied unfriending Meowri, and said she did in fact want to have a conversation about their disputes. Accusations against AdmiralBahroo Male VTuber AdmiralBahroo, a friend of Bunny, was also involved in the drama after Layna claimed he participated in Bunny’s attempts to sabotage her among friends. Bahroo responded by calling Layna a “bitch” and said, “Stop dragging me into your petty squabbles.” Bitch I wasnt forced to do anything. Stop dragging me into your petty squabbles and talk it out like adults, or just be childish and continue to sub-tweet and act high and mighty. — Bahroo (@AdmiralBahroo) March 16, 2022 Bahroo has not responded following Layna’s post, which also contained accusations against that “he had reached out to a close friend of mine, claiming I was as bad as Arcadum, claiming I was a pathological liar.” In August 2021, D&D streamer Arcadum faced backlash after claims of emotional abuse towards multiple women.

Vtuber anny banned on Twitch for first time after “adult content” clips resurface Twitch: annyVtuber and Twitch streamer ‘anny’ has received her first-ever ban from the platform for supposedly showing ‘explicit’ content during her stream. Although anny started streaming on Twitch way back in 2016, it wasn’t until March 2021 that she made her Vtuber debut and quickly established herself as a popular creator. With 190K followers on the Amazon-owned platform as of writing, the fox girl keeps her viewers entertained with comfy content. In particular, her art streams. So, viewers were surprised to hear that anny was suddenly banned from Twitch for the first time in her career. The reason being, she claims, is that she showed some nudity during her stream. Anny responds to Twitch ban Fans were shocked after the news broke that streamer anny had been banned from Twitch on June 29. However, it wasn’t long before the Vtuber took to Twitter to address the suspension. “My first ban in… 6 years I’ve been streaming,” she said. “And it’s 7 days.” Although, she didn’t initially share the suspension notification from Twitch as the reason behind the change. https://twitter.com/annytf/status/1541963009631088641 However, one fan claimed that the ban could have been prompted by anny’s stream getting a little too explicit and subsequently breaking Twitch’s Terms of Service. Yet, anny quickly fired back suggesting it was unfair that she received a week-long ban for exposing her “a*s.” Whereas other streamers who have been suspended for showing nudity on multiple occasions don’t get as harsh a punishment. If anny’s Twitch ban lasts for one week as stated, then she should be back on Twitch by July 6.

VTuber Awards 2023: Start date, categories, more The Vtuber AwardsThe VTuber Awards are almost here with nominations being open giving fans the opportunity to elevate their favorite talents onto the big stage. Before voting you’ll want to be well informed so here’s everything you need to know about the VTuber Awards 2023. VTuber culture has been growing rapidly ever since the pioneers first appeared. The likes of Kizuna AI, Kaguya Luna, and Mirai Akari paved the way for Hololive and Nijisanji to later rise and establish a new industry that fans across the world fell in love with. Despite the prevalence of VTubers, there have been limited opportunities to celebrate them on a large scale with just a single category in The Streamer Awards being the highlight so far. However, that changes now with the arrival of the new VTuber Awards 2023 giving the community a chance to honor the best in the business. Contents What are the VTuber awards? – When are the VTuber Awards being held? – Where can I watch the VTuber Awards? – Who are the nominees? – VTuber Awards 2023: Categories and how to vote – What are the VTuber Awards? The VTuber Awards 2023 is an upcoming awards ceremony that will celebrate the best VTubers across a range of categories, cultures, and languages. Following the initial announcement in June 2023, Dexerto got the opportunity to speak to Fillian and Mythic Talent CEO William Lucas. This interview revealed some exclusive information about the VTuber Awards 2023. Filian revealed that her main goal for the VTuber Awards was to “cover a wide scope of VTubers,” making sure everyone could take part. It has since been announced that the winners of each category will be decided via three phases with phase one being nominations, phase two being voting, and phase three being the ceremony itself. The VTuber Awards will incorporate numerous cultures with content creators who use English, Japanese, and any other language being considered. Equally, fans can vote for both corporate and independent VTubers effectively making anyone who has ever been a VTuber eligible. It promises to be a large-scale event featuring red-carpet interviews and partnerships with different agencies to show off VTuber technology and debut teasers. Sponsors include Gamer Supps, Gallery Panda, and Novel Horizons. When are the VTuber Awards being held? The VTuber Awards will take place on December 16, 2023. The exact start time of the event hasn’t been revealed but with the award show not here yet you can expect more information on the VTuber Awards start time for your time zone shortly. Where can I watch the VTuber Awards 2023? The VTuber Awards will be hosted on Filian’s Twitch channel, a popular independent VTuber in collaboration with Mythic Talent and WePlay Studios. VTuber Awards 2023: All nominees The following are all the nominees from all categories: Best Music VTuber Nihume – Mori Calliope – Hoshimachi Suisei – Obkatiekat – Best Art VTuber Yuniiho – Ninomae Ina’nis – Anny – Yoclesh – Best FPS VTuber Selen Tatsuki – Froot (Apricot) – Shu Yamino – Shishiro Botan – Best Minecraft VTuber Ceres Fauna – Henya the Genius – Kaela Kovalskia – Pomu Rainpuff – Best Roleplay/ASMR VTuber Ceres Fauna – CottonTailVA – Sinder – Vox Akuma – Best Just Chatting/Zatsu VTuber Shylily – Takanashi Kirara – Matara Kan – Gosegu – Best Tech VTuber Vedal987 – Zentreya – Projekt Melody – Codemiko – Funniest VTuber Kuro Kurenai – Zentreya – Chibidoki – MurderCrumpet – Most Chaotic VTuber Kobo Kanaeru – Chibidoki – Trickywi – Pipkin Pippa – League of their Own Onigiri – FUWAMOCO – Zentreya – Houshou Marine – Hidden Gem Omi – Fufu – Caelum – Kaichinzu – Rising Star Henya the Genius – Sinder – Bbyruthless – Camila – Miss VTuber Silvervale – Ironmouse – Amalee – Elira Pendora – Best VTuber Organization Hololive – Nijisanji – VShojo – Idol – Rising VTuber Organization V-Dere – VChiban – Phase Connect – 3AM – VTuber Clipper Loweffortclips – Sakasandayo – Roachchan – Cooksie – VTuber Parent of the Year Dyarikku – Jjinomu – Iron Vertex – 2wintails – Most Dedicated Fanbase Guildies (Shoto) – Chumbuds (Gawr Gura) – Noombas (Nihume) – Kindred (Vox Akuma) – Best Philanthropic Event Mika Melatika’s 60-hour charity marathon – Vexoria’s BCRF charity stream – Vox Akuma’s save charity stream – Best Concert Event Connect the World – Candy Pop Explosion – Isegye Festival – Best Streamed Event VSaikyo – Hololive Sports Festival – Ironmouse Subathon – Stream Game of the Year Only Up – Suika Game – Baldur’s Gate 3 – Holocure – LewdTuber of the Year Fefe – CottonTailVA – Projekt Melody – Saruei – Gamer of the Year Rainhoe – Selen Tatsuki – Kuzuha – Koseki Bijou – VTuber of the Year Shylily – Hyakumentenbara Salome – Usada Pekora – Ironmouse – VTuber Awards 2023: All available categories During a stream held on November 4, 2023, the categories fans could vote on for the VTuber Awards were revealed by Filian. They span an impressive 25 categories giving talents across the globe plenty of opportunities to win. Fans can vote on the categories by visiting the nominations section of the official VTuber Awards website. You are free to either vote on all 25 categories or skip those you have no strong opinions on. These are all the categories for the VTuber Awards 2023: That’s everything we know so far about the VTuber Awards 2023. However, it’s there’s still time before the event arrives so expect more to be revealed in the future.

VTuber agency Idol Corp fires talent after uncovering “dangerous” activities idol corpIdol Corp has announced the termination of Riro Ron after an investigation found that she had violated her contract in several ways including meeting up with fans and forming a secret relationship with a staff member. Controversies leading to terminations are not overly unusual in the VTuber world. We’ve seen several talents across numerous agencies forced to walk away following internal issues. Former Nijisanji EN member Zaion Lanza was fired after she committed multiple contract breaches while Gundo Mirei was terminated after a baseball controversy got out of hand. Now another VTuber agency – Idol Corp – has been forced to take action removing one of its own talents after she violated her contract. Idol terminates Riro Ron following several contract violations Idol has terminated Riro Ron after the VTuber was found to have violated her contract in several ways following an investigation. The announcement posted on Idol’s official Twitter opened: “Thank you for your continued support of Idol and our talents. We would like to inform you that as of November 28th, 2023, we have terminated our contract with Idol Project STAR talent Riro Ron.” “Regarding the actions of Riro Ron that led to this termination it has been discovered through and international investigation that Riro Ron has violated her contract and engaged in activities both dangerous and harmful to both her own wellbeing as well to the company,” the statement explained. The post describes the violations committed by Riro Ron, claiming that she was found guilty of the following: Misuse of controlled substances during live stream performances. – Soliciting fans during live streamed Members content for private offline meetings. – Meeting with a fan in person and accepting gifts from said fan in total value of thousands of dollars. – Conducting a secretive relationship with a member of the Idol management team who has also been terminated upon confirmation of these details. – Following the termination fans are entitled to refunds for any Riro Ron merchandise purchased or donations made during her Donothon. Those interested will be able to request a refund via the official Idol Discord server in the near future.

Vtuber Airi shocks Twitch viewers with uncanny impression of Ash Ketchum Pokemon/TwitchTwitch streamer and Vtuber ‘Airi’ absolutely shocked her viewers with an uncanny impression of Ash Ketchum after another creator raided her channel. While VTubing has been around for a few years, we’ve seen an increase of Vtubers taking over streaming platforms since 2020 as Hololive EN began its insane growth in popularity. Those who decide to stream have a VTuber replace their face cam. Twitch streamer Airi has gained 20,000 followers while using her VTuber persona, with a large focus on games like Genshin Impact, Valorant, and OSU. While broadcasting on February 12, 2022, Airi was sent a channel raid by another streamer — and she “knocked their socks off” with an uncanny impression of Ash Ketchum from Pokemon. Airi shocks Twitch viewers with uncanny Ash Ketchum impression While playing Genshin Impact, Airi was raided with 40 more viewers by fellow Genshin Streamer ‘Official_Grace‘ and 2,080 more viewers from ‘AsianGuyStream.’ With her new influx in viewership, she began introducing herself and having a conversation with everyone in her stream. “Wait, let me knock your guy’s socks off. I can be your angle, or I – wait a minute,” she explained before beginning her near-perfect Ash Ketchum impression. “Or I can be your Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.” “What’s up, guys? Welcome to the stream, it’s gonna be a f**kin disaster. It’s been 15 hours and I’m tired as s**t” But, are we gonna do it anyway? Yes. Yes, we are.” There are quite a few Twitch streamers who have the uncanny ability to impersonate other characters, and some have even secured roles in various games and anime series. OfflineTV member LilyPichu has been one of the most active creators doing voice-over work as recently as February 2 when she announced her latest role as Yoshi in the anime: Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro. Since Airi has only recently shown off her Ash Ketchum impression, it’s unknown at the time of writing whether or not she can knock any other characters out of the park. If she can, however, it’s safe to assume they’ll be as good as this one.

VShojo’s newest member is yet another ex-Nijisanji star VShojoVShojo has unveiled the latest addition to its growing roster of vtuber talents and it didn’t take long for fans to realize that she is the agency’s third ex-Nijisanji star. Making her debut on April 21, 2024, Michi Mochievee became VShojo’s sixteenth-ever member and twelfth active member. Within seconds of her debut viewers realized exactly who she was with the purple-haired vtuber being an ex-Nijisanji star in a past life. More specifically, Michi Mochievee is the reincarnation of Mika Melatika, formerly Nijisanji ID’s most subscribed talent before she graduated in December 2023. Michi’s arrival marks the third ex-Nijisanji talent to jump ship to VShojo. She joins Matara Kan and Kuro Kurenai who were Nina Kosaka and Mysta Rias respectively before graduating themselves. The identity of VShojo’s new member wasn’t a huge surprise as Michi had made cameo appearances on other streams before her debut. Also, she has the same character designer as Mika and even referenced her lack of a YouTube Play button. This is a common complaint with several ex-Nijisanji members claiming they were not given a Silver Play Button, though 9th Wave’s Claude Clawmark insisted otherwise. Unsurprisingly, Michi Mochievee has already seen impressive growth having gained 53,000 followers on Twitch and 40,000 subscribers on YouTube. Equally, the VOD of her debut on Twitch has reached 539,000 views in just one day. Though not quite as explosive, Michi’s early success draws parallels to Dokibird, formerly Selen Tatsuki. Within just 24 hours of returning to her alt account, Dokibird reached a remarkable 250,000 subs. Both of these success stories show that it’s possible for vtubers to leave a large agency and continue to thrive either as an independent talent or in another agency altogether.

VShojo VTuber Nyanners “confused” after shock Twitch ban Twitch: NyannersPopular VShojo VTuber Nyanners was just hit with a ban from Twitch, and the popular pink cat doesn’t know what happened. With over 860,000 followers on Twitch, Nyanners has become one of the most popular VTubers on the platform over the last few years. Signed to VShojo, The pink cat girl has amassed over 7,000 average viewers. However, on November 4 she was met with a channel ban from Twitch, and is confused as to what could have landed her a ban. Nyanners banned from Twitch According to her channel on November 4, her ban was “due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.” Just a few hours after receiving the ban, Nyanners updated fans on Twitter. “Legit just woke up to this and I honestly have no idea why this happened, I’m so confused,” she said. “I’m so sorry guys, I hope I can figure out what I did and come back to stream soon.” Soon over the news broke, fans took to Twitter to share their reactions to Nyanners’ ban alongside the #FREENYAN hashtag. VShojo VTubers Silvervale and Ironmouse were among the first to respond. “wtf dude free my cat now #FREENYAN,” Ironmouse tweeted. Silvervale responded: “Give pink cat back. She didn’t even do anything? #FREENYAN.” Many others were left confused as to what she did wrong. “What she do? She wasn’t even streaming,” one fan said. After the initial wave of confusion, Nyanners was able to get a reason for her Twitch ban. According to her, she was banned for “inappropriate attire”. Her new Vtuber model is the prime suspect here, and likely what she was banned for despite it having been “almost a week” since Nyanners started using the model. She has since been unbanned from Twitch, and can now make good on her promise of being back to streaming soon.

VShojo’s Kson is appearing in Like a Dragon: Gaiden and its her dream VTuber Kson has always hoped to appear in one of the Yakuza games and the VShojo star’s dream seems to be coming true as she is set to be a part of Like a Dragon: Gaiden. With VTubers quickly taking content creators’ spots as some of the most well-known streamers online, it is no wonder that there are now organizations like VShojo. These teams have played host to many of the biggest names in the VTubing community, from Froot to Nyanners. Many such cast members often come and go, whether that be through commemorative graduations or through independent choice. Two popular VShojo streamers, Silvervale and Veibae, recently departed from the company to start focusing on personal projects. Other VTubers from the VShojo group such as Kson continue to produce content under the brand. Kson has expressed many of her own goals, regardless, one of which is to appear in her favorite game series. It seems that this dream may be coming true as she is now set to be a part of Like a Dragon: Gaiden. VTuber Kson set to appear in Like a Dragon: Gaiden The official studio behind the renowned Yakuza series took to Twitter earlier, revealing that five winners have been selected to be featured in Like a Dragon: Gaiden. The upcoming title is set to be a spin-off of the Like a Dragon (formerly known as Yakuza) video games, revealed as a side story. Kson, one of VShojo’s idol VTubers, was chosen as one of the five after making it through the final audtion stage for a role as a hostess within Like a Dragon: Gaiden’s minigame. Fans were excited to see her progress through the rounds and come out successful, due especially to her own desire. The VTuber is well-known for her love of the Yakuza games and her dream to make an appearance in the series at some point. It seems that her dream is finally coming true, marking an important point in both her career and VShojo’s reputation.

VShojo speaks out after Nux Taku claims VTubers were doxxed by impersonators VShojo / YouTube: Nux TakuVTuber group VShojo has spoken out following claims people impersonating management were doxxing, and even swatting, other streamers. It came after a video by fellow VTuber Nux Taku went viral, but was quickly condemned by the group’s talent. The VTuber community has been divided over a recent Nux Taku video which exposed a group of doxxers impersonating as VShojo, sending out emails to other streamers to get personal information and eventually “swat” them. The video, which went live on November 23, detailed how VShojo knew about the doxxing for a number of weeks but didn’t publicly tell anyone. Nux also “outed” the doxxers to try and warn other VTubers, and said he wanted “to really make this public despite people telling me not to.” However, the video was criticized by many. VShojo claimed the video could have tipped off the doxxers, and they were only given 30 minutes to draft a statement in response. Official VSJ Cybersecurity Statement 🔽 Link For Info 🔽https://t.co/S4fqX8uO8J pic.twitter.com/7f6OscPUgL — VShojo (@VShojo) November 24, 2021 Nux Taku took the video down after some of VShojo’s talent condemned the fellow VTuber for uploading it, claiming it was a threat to their safety. The streamers were not consulted before the video went live, they added. He initially said “VShojo threw indie VTubers under the best to protect themselves,” but quickly deleted that statement. “I got swatted once in the past and it scarred me. People die in these situations. When I brought [the doxxing] to the attention of VShojo, they told me they knew this was going on for a while. They never said anything publicly, and as a result I felt like VShojo put me and others at risk,” Nux explained in another statement after deleting the video. VShojo’s stars spoke out publicly, but most of their statements have since been deleted. “I’m so disappointed in you and hurt that you are doing this when you know full well what truly was going on. We asked you to take it down. We told you we feared for our safety and you didn’t care,” Ironmouse said in reply to Nux. “I’m hurt Nux posted his doxxing video. He flagrantly disregarded our team’s feelings and the facts our security department shared with him. I trusted and defended him, only to feel secondary to getting clicks,” Projekt Melody said in a now-deleted tweet. However, VShojo reportedly told Nux Taku the organization — not necessarily their VTubers — “had no problem” publishing the video. He shared screenshots of their DMs with VShojo staff before the video’s release to confirm this. Im so disappointed in you and hurt that you are doing this when you full well know what truly was going on. We asked you to take it down. We told you we feared for our safety and you didn’t care. — 💖ironmouse😈VSHOJO💖 (@ironmouse) November 24, 2021 Nux apologized for uploading the video, saying he acted as a “bad friend” towards the VShojo streamers by doing so. “When I was asked to delete the video, I did not take people’s feelings into account and I should have deleted it immediately. I messed up, and I was a bad friend,” they said. “I sincerely apologize for my actions, and lack thereof. I hope that I can work things out in private if I am given the chance but I understand if I’m not.” Read More: Hololive Generation 6, named holoX, revealed – VShojo streamer Froot apologized to Nux Taku for her statement following the video, and asked fans to stop harassing him: “Nux apologized to me privately yesterday as I apologized to him for sub-tweeting.” Nux apologised to me privately yesterday as I apologised to him for sub-tweeting — Froot💀VSHOJO (@LichVtuber) November 27, 2021 VShojo CEO Justin ‘theGunrun’ Ignacio issued a final statement on November 26, saying the group are continuing their investigation with law enforcement into the doxxing privately. He also asked for people to stop harassing Nux Taku over the video. “We recognize now that the complex priorities between Nux and VShojo will not always align when it comes to safety. We still maintain that taking down the video should have been done more immediately given our talent’s feedback and the recommendation of our security firm,” he said. “Within the short time-frame, we had little opportunity for foresight to bring in the talent earlier to contextualize their feelings on the matter. We can and will do better moving forward. “Our talent has every right to advocate for their own safety, and we will always stand by them.”

VShojo star kson reportedly banned from collabing with NIJISANJI Twitch: ksonVShojo star kson has reportedly been banned from collaborating with any NIJISANJI VTuber, she revealed on stream. While the individual talents “are being so nice to [her] secretly”, the company apparently “hates her” and is blocking any crossover. Kson made a huge splash early in 2022 after the once-independent Japanese VTuber became VShojo’s first overseas talent alongside the newly-debuting Amemiya Nazuna. Having been reluctant to join an agency previously because “not every VTuber has the ability to do whatever they want”, she found a new home in the US-based group that allowed her the freedom to do just that. However there’s one thing she cannot apparently do in her current place, and that’s collaborate with NIJISANJI. While VShojo stars, namely Ironmouse and Froot, have collaborated with NIJISANJI numerous times before, kson is reportedly blocked in all capacity. “NIJISANJI hates me, so they’re not allowed to collab with me because they hate me,” she said with nervous laughter on stream. “I didn’t do nothing and they know it, so that’s horrible.” kson explained the situation further, equating the actions of AnyColor and the agency as “bullying”, but said the talents themselves had a lot of respect for the delinquent. “I don’t think it’s a good thing to try and kick out some individual… that ain’t cool. That’s just straight up bullying. But no offense to any of the VTubers there, it’s just the system I’m complaining about. They’re not the ones wanting to do that. The company is doing that. “They say it’s because of the political sh*t, but I’ve never said anything political before and everyone knows that. That’s a made up story by the people who hate me, and they did that because they hate me, and everyone knows that. They’re scared of them, and that’s why they can’t collab with me.” The VShojo member even claimed numerous NIJISANJI members talk to her privately, using non-company accounts. She didn’t name anyone, but she said they are very cordial behind the scenes. “They are being so nice to me secretly. Even if their company tells them not to do anything with me, they secretly message me how nice I am, how wonderful I am, and I have no offense to them. They are so nice. I have nothing against their talents.” Regardless, the move has rubbed kson the wrong way. It keeps her out of specific servers and collaborations that would otherwise be open to all. Through speculation, it seemingly means collab partners have to choose between kson or a NIJISANJI member, even for big events. She is respecting the rules for now, but is nevertheless annoyed there’s these artificial barriers — something she’s tried to avoid for so long — between her and the agency. “They’re company people, so they have their rules, and I respect that,” she continued. “But if they know that I haven’t done nothing [wrong], and they’re still doing that, I think that is [bullying]. I think I’m just someone here doing what I want, an individual, and I think that is just straight up bullying. “It doesn’t matter what race you are. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is. I thought nothing mattered in the VTuber world. But when it comes down to business, everything matters, and I hate that. Nothing should matter because we’re VTubers!”

VShojo members react to Silvervale and Veibae’s departure from the company VShojoIn a move that shocked fans all around the world, beloved VTubers Silvervale and Veibae announced that they were leaving VShojo to do their own, independent work. After a long chain of successful streams and an overall positive career, two renowned VTubers from VShojo’s cast have decided to step down from the company. Both Silvervale and Veibae have chosen to instead create content and stream independently. Many fans were saddened by the news, while others expressed excitement for what possibilites the future may hold for the two content creators. Some also took to social media wondering how the VShojo cast itself had reacted. Many well-known names from the company stepped up to respond, sharing well-wishes and other thoughts on the matter of Silvervale and Veibae’s seemingly abrupt departure from VShojo. Reactions from VShojo cast after Silvervale and Veibae leave The VShojo company took to Twitter earlier today to announce the departure of Silvervale and Veibae. They Tweeted out that the two VTubers chose to not renew their contracts, meaning that they would be moving on from the team following the end of their previously signed agreements. VShojo stated that they respected the girls’ decisions, wishing them the best. They also clarified that the two VTubers would be allowed to retain their IPs, meaning that both Silvervale and Veibae can continue to create content under their established, well-known names. Fans responded quickly, speculating about why the two could possibly have stepped down or where their careers would gravitate following their time at VShojo. Silvervale and Veibae’s former VShojo team members themselves took to Twitter to respond. Kson stated that they would all “still be friends forever,” with Zentreya leaving a similarly wholesome response in which she wished the two VTubers well. Saying that they would go on to do “amazing things,” she wrote that she is wishing them “the best future.” You both are gunna do amazing things and I am absolutely wishing you the best future!!! — Zentreya ⚡VSHOJO (@zentreya) April 26, 2023 💛 Apricot the Lich, better known as Froot, also responded to the situation by sharing that she is “devastated” the two were leaving VShojo but “will be happy for them wherever they choose to go.” Despite her kind words, many fans saw the Tweet as possibly back-handed. I’m devastated about Vei and Silver leaving Vshojo but I will be happy for them wherever they choose to go, new opportunities will open up for them and I will support them all the way 💪 — Froot💀VSHOJO (@LichVtuber) April 26, 2023 This is due to the drama that ensued between Froot and Silvervale after the latter had been harassed for playing Hogwarts Legacy. Regardless, it seems that the VShojo cast truly does mean the two VTubers well as they undertake their indie journeys as content creators.

VShojo part ways with Amemiya Nazuna after VTuber agrees mutual termination VShojoAmemiya Nazuna has left VShojo after both parties agreed to mutual termination just a year and a half after the VTuber first joined. VShojo’s Japanese branch was created in July 2022 when both Kson and Amemiya Nazuna first joined the agency. This idea was an immediate success with both talents bringing in impressive viewership on Twitch. Following this success story and the departure of several established talents, VShojo did not waste time expanding its ranks. An additional five VTubers have joined the agency including K9KUro since July 2022 bringing its headcount up to twelve. However, that number is now set to drop again with Nazuna leaving the company after both parties agreed on a mutual exit. Amemiya Nazuna leaves VShojo after parties agree mutual exit VShojo announced that Amemiya Nazuna would be leaving VShojo in a tweet posted on December 28, 2023. The tweet confirmed: “…we are mutually concluding our contractual arrangement with Amamiya Nazuna on December 31, 2023.” Clarifying what this means for Nazuna, VShojo elaborated “Amemiya Nazuna will maintain ownership of her intellectual properties and assets as she continues her creative endeavors,” before thanking her fans for supporting her during her stay. Nazuna herself responded the following morning: “Thank you for always supporting me, and I apologize for surprising you. After many discussions with everyone at vshojo, I have decided to graduate. Thank you very much to all the viewers and staff for your help It was fun! See you soon.” The reaction to both posts has been positive albeit emotional. Many of her fans harbor mixed feelings with them being upset that she is leaving VShojo but remaining optimistic about what the future holds. Truth be told, for many this announcement was expected with Nazuna having already dialed back her VShojo activities in August. Even so, the timing has caught some fans off guard with them not anticipating this outcome.

VShojo members react to Nyanners surprise exit from Vtuber agency NyannersVShojo members have been reacting to Nyanners’ surprise exit from the Vtuber agency, offering their support and wishing her the best. On April 26, it was announced that Silvervale and Veibae had left VShojo with both talents deciding against renewing their contract. Veibae followed up on her exit insisting that it was a strictly financial decision. Meanwhile, Silvervale’s comments focused instead on her strained relationship with Ironmouse. Another exit was confirmed on May 1, with VShojo’s Nyanners also choosing to not renew her contract. This shock exit has prompted VShojo members to chime in. Fellow members react to Nyanners leaving VShojo Following Nyanners’ decision to leave VShojo several other members of the agency took the opportunity to offer their support. Fan favorite Ironmouse wished Nyanners the best moving forward: “Love love love my sister Nyan and I wish her nothing but the best on her new journey!” As for Haruka Karibu, she praised the catgirl Vtuber: “I love you so much Nyanchi, and I know you’re gonna do amazing things. This is a new chapter in your life, and I’ll be cheering for you no matter what. You’re gonna kick ass Nyanchi! You got this queen! We gotta play games soon!” Zentraya was equally positive about Nyanners’ decision: “Nyan you’re gonna do awesome stuff, you’ve always been able to do amazing content and I am always cracking up at each video, especially the screaming, and I can’t wait to see what you do next! Keep pushing forward!” Nyanners exit from VShojo leaves the agency with just eight members. There are six members in VShojo’s English branch and two in its Japanese branch. Neither Vshojo nor its representatives have commented on the departure of its talents. Also, the Vtuber agency hasn’t yet announced any plans to recruit new members following the exits.

VShojo CEO claims Japan expansion will “break down barriers” in VTubing Twitter: VShojoVShojo has made its first big expansion in two years, bridging into the spiritual home of VTubing, Japan, with Kson and Amemiya Nazuna. It’s more than just two new talents to CEO Justin ‘theGunrun’ Ignacio, with the aim to “break down barriers” across the fandom. Among all the top VTuber agencies, VShojo has been an anomaly. The company hasn’t opted to expand with new waves every few months, rather focusing on a “talent first” approach to enable a small group of creators at a bigger level. When they announced their first expansion into the Japanese market after two years in the business, it was made all the sweeter due to this scarcity. However, the debuts of Kson and Amemiya Nazuna were a success even beyond the wildest dreams VShojo had. From the moment Kson stepped on stage cosplaying herself at Anime Expo, hype has been swirling around two of the biggest pickups in VTubing across 2022. The former broke 30,000 viewers on their first Twitch broadcast under the American agency, while the latter cracked 50,000 as fans from all backgrounds — not just those based in Japan — watched on. It was a monumental moment for the agency, CEO theGunrun told Dexerto, but it reinforces some core values behind the agency that sets it apart from others. “Debuting Kson and Nazuna to the world has been a fever dream,” he said. “We never imagined Anime Expo would provide us such a large stage to pull off Kson’s debut in person — and in full cosplay — to share with the world that she was now part of our organization. We could never have imagined the incredible whirlwind of reactions and support for Nazuna’s reveal either. “Our partnering with Japanese-speaking VTubers reflects our core value of Talent First. Talent deserves freedom of expression regardless of borders, which is what we offer all our creators.” The “talent first” approach might seem like a buzzword. Upon hearing it, you’d think every VTuber agency is about the talent — those who bolster the brand to make it what it is. VShojo puts the philosophy to action to an unseen degree though. There’s big things, like giving talents creative control which ended up being a big reason why Kson decided to hop on board despite an insistence to remain independent. The small stuff matters too — even just simple things like forgoing generations have special meaning. That’s not to say the rest of the industry is wrong for going in different directions, but there’s a noted difference between the approach VShojo takes versus others. “By expanding VShojo through signing Kson and Nazuna, we are staying true to our company philosophy of focusing on talent first by building and growing each individual instead of launching multiple generations. Kson and Nazuna are now part of the same generation as the rest of VShojo. We will continue to support as we onboard new talent.” Bridging the gap between virtual and reality With VTubing exploding worldwide, there’s something to be said about bridging a gap in audiences. Hololive and NIJISANJI have explored this with collaborations across various waves regardless of language barrier or location. VShojo took it a step further with their Japanese expansion. Subtitles and live translation was included on Nazuna’s debut stream, which allowed English-speaking viewers to watch on in real-time rather than waiting for fan-subbed clips. “We are breaking down the location and language barriers between VTubers and their ability to interact with the world like non-VTuber creators,” Gunrun continued. “As testament, we introduced our live translation subtitles tech through Nazuna’s debut stream, and aim to bridge the gap between the Japanese and English VTuber communities.” They’re also bringing the virtual into reality. Their fan meetups at Anime Expo, including the little segway rolling across the showfloor with star idols propped up onto a tablet, made VTubing feel tangible. The reaction it received from both sides was overwhelmingly positive: “Being able to see the fans’ reactions as they got to meet their favorite VTubers is a surreal experience. In the future, we will continue to find new and innovative ways to bring VTubers and the fans together.” However, all of this wouldn’t be possible without the fans and creators that make VShojo the VTubing powerhouse that it is. The support doesn’t fall on deaf ears, and it’s pushing the company to continue advancing the industry beyond what people dreamed of just six years ago when it was truly in its infancy. “To see and hear everyone’s support, especially after how supportive the fans maintained throughout Kson and Nazuna’s announcements and debuts, has been tremendously humbling,” Gunrun said. “It is the fans’ talent and support that drives all of us to do our best and keep pushing on and upwards.” And, truth be told, it’s a two-way street between star creators and fans: “Being able to see our VTubers be so impacted by meeting their fans through our VIRL [virtual IRL] tech has been humbling. “We are now even more driven to keep innovating and iterating to bring more of these experiences to future events and more polished systems.”

Kson, Amemiya Nazuna join VShojo as VTuber agency expands into Japan VShojoVShojo is branching out into Japan with the American-based VTuber agency making a big pickup in Kson, as well as a newly-debuting Amemiya Nazuna. The duo mark the start of a new chapter for VShojo as their first major expansion since their 2020 launch. VShojo have quickly become one of the biggest VTuber agencies in the world — not by talent numbers however. The team of seven expanded to eight in 2021 with the inclusion of Veibae, but hasn’t really grown past that. However, after Ironmouse eluded to new talents coming soon, the American VTuber agency has finally revealed two new stars joining their roster: Kson and Amemiya Nazuna. [🔔 ANNOUCEMENT 🔔] Please welcome our newest members and the NEXT steps for VShojo!! Debut Streams: July 16th#VShojo #VShojoNext pic.twitter.com/VFT9xHJwus— VShojo (@VShojo) July 2, 2022 It was with glitz and glamour as VShojo had center stage at Anime Expo 2022 for the big announcement. Kson walked onto stage to mass applause, cosplaying as herself while her introductory lore video played in the background, topped off with her classic “hey motherf**kers” call sign. Kson boasts around 150,000 followers on Twitch and 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, with more than 600,000 fans following her on Twitter as well. And while it’s not officially confirmed, it’s basically an open secret that Kson was part of Hololive as Kiryu Coco. She graduated a year ago, with her final stream amassing 6 million views as one of the most-watched VTuber broadcasts ever. The second talent, Amemiya Nazuna, is an unknown quantity. A new character debuting for VShojo, their identity remains masked. Since being revealed at Anime Expo, they’ve already amassed thousands of Twitter followers. The two talents, both hailing from the Japanese side of the industry, will bring VShojo into a new era. Their eight current members are all deeply involved with the English-speaking world but this is the next step for the agency. Kson and Amemiya Nazuna will debut under the VShojo banner on July 16, 2022.

VShojo announces $11 million funding round as VTuber agency expands VShojoVTuber company VShojo, the biggest based outside of Japan, has announced it’s raised $11 million in funding to keep pushing their brand — plus their eight stars — further. The funding will go towards expanding VShojo’s content both virtually and in real life. VShojo has taken over Twitch as its premier VTuber group. Its talents have a combined following of more than four million on the platform, with leader Ironmouse amassing more than a million by herself thanks to her recent subathon. However, the company has big plans to expand even further in 2022. VShojo has announced it has successfully raised $11 million in funding from a number of venture capitalists to help push its content forward. This includes growing the VTuber group’s presence both online and in real life. “VTubers are the future of the content creator industry,” VShojo CEO Justin ‘theGunrun’ Ignacio said. “Since the medium is built upon animated personas, it is more accessible and scalable than being a traditional creator, especially as the technology becomes more widespread. “We are now in a better position to support and grow talent in this market with more innovative technology, extensive promotion, and the ability to assist with content creation and distribution.” Ironmouse previously revealed VShojo was set to expand in 2022 with more members hopping onboard. The $11 million will go a long way to help that, but the company’s sights are also set higher. They want to bring VShojo to anime and gaming conventions across the world “in order to expand visibility for the VTuber community.” The company has also professed a “new gameplan” to try and give creators more resources to develop new content in the space. This includes lore videos, something that is gaining traction in the VTuber community, especially since the debut of Bubi, which Ironmouse participated in. VShojo recently celebrated their first anniversary in November 2021 and raised more than $100,000 for Project HOPE in a March charity stream.

VShojo announces Henya The Genius, their second original VTuber Twitter: Henya the GeniusVShojo, the US based VTuber talent agency, has announced their second original VTuber, Henya the Genius, will be making her debut on May 13. Their first original VTuber, Amemiya Nazuna, debuted in July 2022. She was initially launched as part of the agency’s Japanese unit, VShojo NEXT. Amemiya’s announcement was in contrast to the agency’s tendency to sign independent VTubers into their roster. Despite having a date and time for Henya’s debut, it is unsure if she would be on the English or Japanese speaking branch. However based of her tweets, which are in english, it could be speculated she is joining the english branch. Henya’s debut was teased across several animated videos, inspired from shows like Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls, which showed her background story. Which concluded in the announcement tweet. Showing her story intersects with Zentreya. Henya’s twitter account also brought in alot of fanfare. Her first tweet writes, “no one can see me yet because no one knows my Twitter account. So~ I can say whatever I want right now?” To which she followed it up with a very simple tweet which says, “BOOBS!” VShojo has had a rough past month. The VTuber agency has seen some of their biggest streamers leave the company due to the talents opting out of renewing their contracts. Silvervale and Veibae announced they were leaving the agency on April 26, and days later on May 1 Nyanners announced she too was leaving for the same reason. Veibae and Nyanners would go on to sign onto Mythic Talent.

Voyboy reveals new evidence against Hashinshin after he pleads for Twitch unban VoyboyLeague of Legends streamer Joedat ‘Voyboy’ Esfahani claims to have found new evidence against Robert ‘Hashinshin’ Brotz, as the latter eyes a Twitch comeback following a permanent ban. Back in July 2020, popular LoL streamer Hashinshin received a permanent ban from Twitch after accusations of grooming minors within the game’s community came to light. Many big streamers like Voyboy and Mohammad ‘Yassuo’ Abdalrhman took a public stance against Hashinshin as the accusations surfaced. The former accused Hashinshin of being a “manipulator, predator, and worst of all pedophile” in a tweet on July 20, 2021. Hashinshin is a manipulator, predator and worst of all pedophile who used his platform to abuse so many underage girls over the years. There’s multiple sources of undeniable proof and he admitted it himself. He is SCUM and deserves NOTHING. Keep these monsters away from our kids. https://t.co/ukZKr0n016 — Joedat (@Voyboy) July 21, 2020 Since then, Hashinshin has begun a new campaign to rally his remaining followers to help him get unbanned from the platform in an attempt to revive his streaming career. Voyboy’s new video on Hashinshin In response to Hashinshin’s recent attempt at being unbanned from Twitch, Voyboy has made a new hour-long video that compiles the claims of seven accusors that state Hashinshin groomed them as minors. Voyboy kicks off the video explaining: “The reason I’m recording this video has nothing to do with me personally. From the beginning, I’ve simply wanted to give a platform and voice to the victims who either might not have one, might not get their word out there. “Might get their stories overshadowed, might get harassed and attacked by all the gaslighters and manipulators out there that continually deny the victims of a predator’s stories and proven accounts.” The lengthy video goes through seven different accounts of alleged victims who claim Hashinshin manipulated them while they were minors. Voyboy rifles through tons of privates messages that span across Discord, Twitter, and Twitch. Voyboy also claims that Hashinshin is trying to benefit from the drama of the moment, saying: “He’s trying to create a ‘Voyboy vs. Hashinshin’ drama” as Voyboy shows the tons of response videos Hashinshin has made with Voyboy’s name in the title. Hashinshin’s attempts to be unbanned from Twitch remain unanswered as his channel still has a permanent ban placed on it, at the time of writing.