James Somerton, a Canadian YouTuber known for his video essays on queer literature, had over 330,000 subscribers when Harris Brewis, also known as “hbomberguy” on YouTube, accused him and others of repeated plagiarism in a four-hour video with over 17 million views.
Brewis’ video delves deeply into Somerton’s behavior, highlighting numerous instances in which he appears to have lifted entire passages directly from other people’s articles, books, and online posts, or seemingly altered and restructured words to present them as his own content.
James Somerton posted a 43-minute apology video on his YouTube channel
Following this, Somerton’s YouTube subscriber count fell to 255,000, prompting him to withdraw from online platforms, hide his videos from public view, and deactivate his Patreon presence, which allowed supporters to pay monthly fees ranging from $20 to $100 to gain access to exclusive content.
Somerton posted a 43-minute apology video on his YouTube channel. Many people online felt Somerton’s apology fell flat.
While defending his use of entire passages verbatim from what people had said, Somerton stated that he believed that would be the most accurate way of presenting their views to the world, as he was unable to fully understand someone else’s experiences.
“I’m a cis, white, gay man. No matter how much I try to be a good spokesperson, I can never truly understand the life experiences of other, far more put-upon members of our queer community. This is one of the reasons why I would use their own words,” Somerton explained in the video.
His apology video quickly went viral, prompting a flood of reactions on social media.
