Project Foundation Addresses Several Concerns Regarding Agency's Management

Southeast Asian VTuber agency Project Foundation (Project F) speaks out against several rumors surrounding their management of past talents and staff. In a statement released on Twitter/X Sunday December 24 local time, the company aims to set the record straight as it addresses the following points:

• Departure of an ex-staff member
• Circumstances surrounding the hiatus of former talent Solus Ataraxia
• Reasons for the graduation of former talent Kawakami Kuwa, and
• Incidents of uncooperative behavior from former talent Lorelai Loch.

The agency has also provided screenshots of conversations leading to their actions—an unusual move for a VTuber agency at a time when smaller agencies get scrutinized publicly for their management actions.

Project F's statement comes after they ceased their partnership with Lorelai Loch 3 days prior.

At the Moment: The matter with Lorelai Loch

VTuber NewsDrop reached out to Project F prior to the release of their statement to clarify the situation surrounding them and their former Stygian generation talent Lorelai Loch—now independent VTuber Stabi Tabi.

The character Lorelai Loch debuted November 11 and retired a month afterwards.

Project F said that the current Lorelai Loch account on YouTube is "compromised and does not reflect the stance" of the agency. However, Stabi—who handles the said account—came forward and confronted the agency in public for their inaction over an "illegal and unenforceable" contract, removing her association with the company.

NewsDrop received a copy of Project F's timeline with Loch which was also mentioned in full in their latest statement.

• Project F said their management team typically has access to all talents' accounts. However, they said that Lorelai removed access to her account by changing the account's password; then she took a break, her manager said.
• Two days after this, Lorelai returned with her lawyer and refused to communicate except through Project F's legal team, asserting that there was an issue with her contract. Her manager asked for the specific problem and notified her to clarify the issue, but she did not provide any further details.
• The agency attempted to settle the situation by communicating the matter to their lawyers, who were then asked to provide clarification on the alleged flaw in the contract between them and Loch, which she did not want to disclose.
• Loch imposed a deadline for the agency to reply, which the agency said that their legal advisor responded within that time frame. Even so, Lorelai insisted on speaking to Project F's lawyer, contacting their office at 4:00am.
• Loch left Project F's Discord server and went to post her own graduation notice right away, leaving no time for the agency's legal team to address or respond to her concerns.

Tabi clarified that she did not hijack her accounts, asserting that she created those accounts, and the agency never had access to them. She further stated that her contract with Project F did not mention their ownership or control of the said accounts.

Hours after Project F's latest statement was posted, Tabi commented on the way it was delivered including the mentions of screenshots: "I'll just say this: no lawyer would have encouraged them to show those screenshots or post those notices to the public."

Prior to this, she made it clear that Project F's statement regarding the termination of their contract with her carries false information and was made with a purpose to harm her reputation. She is advised by her legal team not to say anything at the moment. Tabi will carry on with producing content starting December 28.

Other Matters Addressed

Ex-Staff Departure

They first addressed the departure of one of their former staff who was said to be in charge of booking and managing asset production for the agency.

• Said staff is said to be missing deadlines which was attributed to the "increasing demands of opening a new flower shop" even though the said staff member has committed to the company full-time.
• Project F in their full statement said while they hired additional support to assist with their workload, they still resigned soon after.

Solus Ataraxia's Hiatus

The agency said that one of its former talents, Solus Ataraxia from its first generation Celestia encountered difficulties maintaining her streaming schedule and engaging with her peers, to which her manager suggested her to take a break to refocus.

• Early in her hiatus, Solus gave her intent to resign, which was accepted by the agency. It was agreed with Solus' consent that the reason for her hiatus was that she broke her back. However, the agency noted that she had broken her contract for leaking her own reasons prior to conducting her graduation stream.
• She was said to conduct two final streams but these did not proceed due to the said leak. She was officially terminated on October 10, almost 8 months since her debut steam.

Kawakami Kuwa's Graduation

Another Project F talent mentioned in the statement was Kawakami Kuwa who debuted alongside Solus and graduated two months after her debut stream. The agency publicized her departure as due to depression. She is the first Project F talent to graduate properly.

• Project F told the public that Kuwa has been cooperative until her final phase with them.
• Kuwa notified the agency that she had faced challenges over her mental well-being, two days after she abruptly disappeared without any notification. Her manager offered a one-week break after this.
• She also told the agency of her new full-time role in a different position, to which the company suggested a parallel pursuit of her streaming and other career paths. However, the agency said she declined the suggestion following a two-week absence, as her full-time role gave her no time to accommodate streaming.
• Even with the lack of communication and clarity to fulfill Kuwa's responsibilities, the agency committed to protecting her upcoming career.

Rumors of Lack of Support for its Talents

Project F addressed the rumors regarding lack of support for its talents, providing screenshots proving that they offered to provide PC peripherals, covered personal bills, provided and paid for a dedicated mental health assistant, and offered to provide streaming studio and setup at no cost to the talents.

The agency extends its sincerest apologies to any and all affected by these issues, and commits to stand by supporting its talents and backing them up regardless of what happens to them in the future.

"No matter what happens to our agency, our goal stats unchanged—to uplift and support our talents in all their endeavors. [More] Importantly, we call upon our community to continue their invaluable support of our individual talents regardless of the outcome, who have been the center of our past successes and who will play a vital role in the journey forward."

Project F ended their full statement by leaving their fate in the hands of their cherished viewers.

At the time this piece was published, current Project F talents Miya Mareena, Aishii Ai, Xin Asura, and Aozora Furia suspended their streaming activities until further notice. However, Miya and Ai have participated in a major VTuber Christmas concert following such notices.