On Friday evening, we made the decision to temporarily shut down goSupermodel. This was the result of things getting so out of hand our volunteers ended up being targeted by people within the community, and the moderator team and staff no longer being able to keep up for the platform to be a safe place for everyone.

We understand it may have seemed like an attempt to silence the story being spread about the Eurovision Song Contest charity event that was not the case, however there was a need to heavily limit misinformation from spreading and stop the disrespectful and malicious posts. The shutdown was the result of everything that came after the ESC story, not the story in itself. 

It is true that planning of the charity event had begun, and it is true that it was supposed to have happened during the ESC week. It is also true that the reason for it not going the way it had originally been planned was due to Momio celebrating ESC and we felt it would not come across as a genuine attempt to raise money for Palestine, if we organized an official boycott on one platform, yet celebrated it on another. 

What was communicated to those volunteers involved was that the charity event (specifically for Palestine) would be moved to later, as charities are also a large part of our strategy. goSupermodel still stands firmly for human rights and has spoken out in support of Palestine before. We must also emphasize that our main focus on this platform is fashion and being a fun and safe place. 

Over the weekend, we have seen a lot of downright hatred towards many if not all of our volunteers and staff. It is incredibly saddening to see people wish the worst upon others. We understand the changes have unleashed a lot of emotion in everyone, but to attack people over it is simply unacceptable. The only option we had left was to give everyone a moment to breathe by temporarily shutting the website down.

With the site reopening, we expect everyone to be respectful towards each other. Sharing opinions, emotions, and feedback is always okay, as long as it does not break any of our rules. Going forward, we have zero tolerance for hate, harassment, or any behavior that creates a toxic environment. We will take a stricter approach to enforce this, so please continue to be mindful of your words and actions.

With love and dedication,