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ALT SUMMARY: The Burrow is stepping away from hosting or being involved in the Contestant Choice Awards. It wasn’t an easy decision. Friday’s stream, where community members shared what The Burrow means to them and the values and space we’ve built together, led to a lot of reflection about the Burrow’s future and the recently announced Awards show. I originally imagined the event as a community-focused celebration of the people who make this scene special, especially creators who rarely get the spotlight. I didn’t have the resources to produce it myself, so I partnered with Ape Squad for production. The process quickly drifted far from that vision. It didn’t feel cooperative or community-focused. It felt aimed at building brand recognition for Ape Squad.

ALT SUMMARY: Neon had the most votes for Streamer of the Year but was swapped for another streamer last minute without my input. I told Neon privately afterward because he deserved the truth. He tried to resolve it privately with Justin and Sonsoyo, got no apology or accountability, and they blamed me. He went public after asking me first; I said it wasn’t my call since he was the wronged party. The public spectacle that followed put my integrity, role in the community, and community members up for debate and targeting. It died down, but neither Neon nor I ever got resolution or an apology from Apes. A few days after we announced the event with The Finals Central (TFC), they told us Ape Squad had reached out about doing their own awards show and suggested the three of us collaborate. I didn’t want to drag TFC into this, as they did nothing wrong, so I asked them to have Ape Squad reach out to me for a good-faith conversation about resolving last year’s issues.

ALT SUMMARY: Ape Squad didn’t respond for several days. Our options were to work with TFC and Apes or not host, so we proactively invited Ape Squad to plan with us. At our first planning session, they shared a draft “contract” clearly responding to last year. It would have kept voting numbers secret forever; let any one group block fraud audits from going public; barred anyone from saying vote fraud happened without everyone’s permission; banned criticizing the other groups or the voting process, even factually, extending to our mods, our Discord, and people who never signed; and required all disagreements to stay private. This announcement would have broken it. Nothing in it addressed voting integrity or running a fair event. Ape Squad never tried to resolve last year, acknowledge their lies, or apologize. The contract showed the only lesson they took from last year was that they needed a gag order to stop people discussing their mistakes.

ALT SUMMARY: I would have loved to host this event, and for Ape Squad to take accountability for last year so we could put on a beautiful show together. That seemed simple, but it didn’t happen, so we’ve chosen to withdraw. I love The Finals and its community, but I have to do what’s right. I don’t want to deepen divisions, but I can’t sign a contract like that. The Burrow isn’t a business focused on profits or brand recognition; it’s a community I run for fun, and we can afford to stand up for our values. We hold so much love for the TFC boys, who handled a horrible situation with incredible grace and compassion. They did nothing wrong and deserve only respect and support. I genuinely wish Ape Squad luck. The community needs events like this, run with the community in mind by people who prioritize doing the right thing. I hope the Awards go well. With love, always, Momma Gerbil