James Somerton is a Manipulative Liar and Thief | Non-Apology

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#Politics #Debate #Twitch

[@whitewarwolf]

“I never I hired Nick I simply asked him if he wanted to help me write these things and then I gave him money as compensation for helping me write the episodes” Is a hell of a statement

[@glennaschoeler]

he described an employee while denying that Nick was his employee. Just because you didn't interview him does not mean you didn't hire him, JAMES

[@nailinthefashion]

Whenever someone asks you what mental gymnastics is or doesn't realize they're doing it, show them that

[@Gloomdrake]

It’s important to keep in mind that 1) he never once said the word “plagiarism” in what’s ostensibly an apology for plagiarism. 2) he never once acknowledged the time he sent his fans to harass someone who called him out. 3) he completely glossed over the misogyny. Which is important, because he not only hates women, he hates women so much that he misgendered a trans man and a nonbinary person. He hates women so much that he’s willing to be transphobic over it

[@idaowens6237]

For #3, I might be wrong, but it looks like he tried to bundle up the misogyny into the stuff he tiptoed around blaming Nick for- whilst not /directly/ saying things that could be /proven/ as false. He really wanted that plausible deniability so he can play word games later, huh?

[@spacerewriter]

Yup. James is a bad person. The best thing that can happen is he leaves youtube forever and gets some therapy.

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

Yeah. I like how James covered the topics relating to LGBTQ and its history, yet he is nothing more than a "wolf in a sheep's clothing", regarding of his prejudice and misinformation.

[@MsMoonDragoon]

James the kinda dude to join the republicans even though they want him dead just because they both hate women.

[@Lucifersfursona]

He certainly hobbed around ak rowling’s knob enough for this James-vetted fake tran. Like lmao not remotely surprising

[@kacektv9405]

James"Ive lost my best friend cuz of this" Also James *Proceeds to throw that friend under the bus in this and continue to use him as an excuse or prop due to his friends Ace status*

[@haggisa]

Yup, that jumped out at me as particularly two-faced and just…galling. This guy has a loooot of nerve.

[@midgetwthahacksaw]

As an Ace it's disgusting.

[@joeyshears1483]

Gives real I can't be (insert blank)ist/phobic I have friends who are (insert blank). Like dude if you demonstrably say offensive or inaccurate stuff, haveing a token doesnt clear you of that.

[@RinsDesk]

James: "Women uses gay men as purses" Also James: throws ace friend under the bus and uses him as a prop

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

​@RinsDesk think he said 'purse puppies' but the sentiment is pretty much the same...dude probably got treated like an accessory by a straight cis female friend in high school once and has assumed they're all the same since

[@spiritsafe-ko4ee]

Its so weird that James just has this mighty need to live in this dark academia fantasy where he is this renowned professor teaching all the studies at the University of Gay when he seems to have zero idea of what it actually takes to produce work in an academic or academic-adjacent setting. Its like watching a man with untreated astigmatism and no driver's liscense continually kidnapping people with a van because he desperately wants to be a high end chauffeur.

[@statistical-cats-sophia]

DAMN what a metaphor. I'm here for it

[@perturbedsun5508]

Big Joel had the right idea: James should have literally plagiarized the entire Colleen Belanger apology, ukulele and all, said at the end of the song “But for real I’m sorry.” And disappeared from the internet. There is no coming back from this in terms of content creation, and going out leaving a humorous impression is legitimately his best move now.

[@HobbiesGamesChillin]

Would have been a power move

[@leitregjok2830]

Lol that wasn't an apology video. That was a new sales pitch from a 'marketing expert' using his former audiences potential concerns about his mental health to blame the people that exposed him. Absolutely disgusting.

[@CJMGalaxy]

One of the many things this whole shitshow did was make it clear that the whole "marketing expert" thing was a lie. Since the Hbomb dropped he has not made a single move that isn't the worst possible one from a marketing standpoint

[@Misora7303]

​@@CJMGalaxymaybe je is just really bad at it

[@BenjaminGlatt]

I waited 13 months for my mother-in-law to apologize for belittling me in front of my wife and got, "hope we can move past this," on my birthday. People have no understanding that an apology is centred on who you hurt and how you hurt them.

[@kappapi107]

It’s better that way. An apology is meant to be genuine, what’s the point to apologize if you don’t mean it? ( I don’t know maybe I am wrong but that’s how I feel)

[@WolfHreda]

Your mother-in-law sounds like a gem.

[@BenjaminGlatt]

@@WolfHreda yeah! ... Yeah.

[@littlemoth4956]

@@kappapi107 I suppose it is better in the sense that it exposes her for being a narcissist lol

[@iAstra]

@@kappapi107 I agree. I can't stand getting apologies without changed behaviour or an acknowledgement of what they did wrong without being prompted.

[@jaredt.murphy8257]

The blatant abuse of empathy by opening with a suicide narrative is SLIMY AF. You had it right at the start - ITS A PERFORMANCE! You had to record this, edit it, and post it. If you aren't ready for a video, then you wouldn't make it.

[@atomicgoblin]

"They're over-estimating how much money..." My husband, who's a Canadian duel citizen: "my dude, you moved TO Toronto. No they're not."

[@erraticonteuse]

Right? "Oh, I wrote a script that's extremely Nova Scotia specific, and despite Nova Scotia having a decent film industry, I just _had_ to move to Toronto to find actors!!" No, you had to _say_ you moved to Toronto to "find actors" so you could legally justify using the Telos funds to move.

[@Spamhard]

Even on the low end of esitmations, that guy was making potentially 8 to 10 times more than those of us suckers stuck on the min wage grind. Even if you take into account he split the money 50/50 with Nick (which is the claim), they lived in the same place so I assume paid 50/50 on the apartment, and therefore that split doesn't fucking make a difference. James was just genuinely deluded if he thought he wouldn't be found out eventually. Shoulda stayed someplace cheap and really squirrel that cash away for the inevitable fall out instead of spending it all on expensive living and overpriced cameras.

[@starksandrecreation]

Duel Citizen sounds like a yugioh reference lol

[@dontuserachelslurs]

Is James unaware that when you adapt a work you have to buy the rights from the creator?

[@jaredofmo]

Well, not exactly. 1. Standard licensing agreements involving financial transactions. 2. If you're both small creators, or if you're doing it for charity, permission might be granted for free, but you have to ask. 3. If the work is available under a creative commons license, you might not need to pay. 4. If the work is public domain, you do not need to pay for fees. In all of these cases, crediting the source is expected. James didn't even do that, flagrantly passing off others' work as his own. So you are correct, but there's further options. James is still a bad guy.

[@pm6127]

​@@jaredofmoplus, he bullied one of the authors who called him out a year ago

[@jaredofmo]

@@pm6127 That makes him extra despicable. KZbin suggested me some of his videos and I watched them. He has a decent narrating voice, but now that I know he was ripping people like me off (I'm a gay blogger), I wouldn't watch another video from him ever.

[@hattrickk15]

I love how James goes "There are so many gay movies that people my age or younger have never heard of" You mean like "The Cellulois Closet" the documentary YOU stole from and HID until you got caught? Like James' action ACTIVELY prevented younger queer people from finding these foundational pieces of media because, again, he HID the source. So like his actions were actively hindering the spread of queer media because HE wanted to be the gatekeeper of queer knowledge.

[@jonharris2135]

Would actually be better if he was just, “Ayyyyy, you got me. You right, my bad. I’m going to do something that’s not KZbin now. Keep it real out there, don’t do what I did.”

[@devinmaycry6843]

Big Joel had the right take, which others have said as jokes as well. But if done would legit make him a legend and thats copying Colleen song word for word and then leaving forever.

[@K.C-2049]

I don't want to invalidate peoples' struggles, but yeah prefacing an apology with "feel badly for me" is not a good look. Jessie Gender just released a small video on this on her alt channel basically saying "if you're not in a good place to make the apology about the people you've hurt rather than yourself, take the time to get there".

[@darkshadowrule2952]

She got the nail on the head with that one

[@science_bear]

The same Jessie Gender that abuses small animals and goes after queer content creators with harassment campaigns right? That Jessie Gender?

[@brandonrathbone3690]

@@science_bear why, exactly, are you on a crusade against Jessie Gender?

[@science_bear]

@@brandonrathbone3690 she's homophobic and an animal abuser

[@science_bear]

@@brandonrathbone3690 how about I turn this around on you, why would you defend someone that abuses animals and targets queer voices?

[@ayragon]

Final Girl “fell through” because the publisher of the book sent him a FAFO letter for his plagiarism…

[@cerebralisk]

get ready for james' 'why i left the left' arc

[@cyberpilate]

I truly believe you're a prophet on this.

[@barubary218]

Ya know I've thought about this. I'm not sure the Right would even want him. The only reason they'd take him is pure spite... which to be fair is the reason the right does anything these days so... fair point.

[@StoutShako]

I'm scared...

[@jazwhoaskedforthis]

OH MY GOOOOOD

[@erraticonteuse]

This is 100% his only remaining play if he wants to keep in the public eye.

[@mimosajd]

It’s fun how everybody was joking about him busting a ukulele out, but same time, if he plagiarized Colleen’s apology, it’d be a more genuine apology than what he did.

[@n0etic_f0x]

To think it does not even make the podium of the worst apologies given this year, like it is only the fourth worst apology of large KZbin culture and that is wild.

[@darkshadowrule2952]

I mean once you get musical instruments involved, it seems the bar has hit the floor, and people always aim for the bar

[@Crithosceleg]

@@darkshadowrule2952 I feel someone could take it lower with an apology kazoo, there's still time!

[@n0etic_f0x]

@@darkshadowrule2952 Opticly that was the worst I still think Blair has the overall worst public apology ever given. I mean Colleen Ballinger was childish but at least her appolgy did not have multiple counts of "I regret being your freind" and the publishing of documentation that caused multiple mental breakdowns and was followed through by trying to foreclose the house of a person you claim to love.

[@ZeroSum23]

Honestly, starting your apology by claiming you tried to off yourself at least puts this in the running. So much of the apology is him trying to drum up sympathy.

[@darkshadowrule2952]

@@n0etic_f0x honestly I'd have a hard time deciding which is more evil considering the ukulele was meant to brush off child grooming accusations, which she both monetized and pressed on copyright for, literally profiting off abusing kids. Blare has caused more direct damage following hers, but just the complete degeneracy of Colleen's makes it a hard call for me personally.

[@Gloomdrake]

I understand why there’s apprehension about him throwing Nick under the bus, but it’s important to remember that Nick DID write those lies and misinformation. Todd in the Shadows talked about it. Basically Nick admitted to writing stuff that felt true to him based on vibes, within any further research. Nick did NOT plagiarize, but what he did do was make shit up

[@danielbroome5690]

He didn't make things up whole-cloth as it were, he just didn't verify some of the things he attested, which is basically par for the course for most youtubers. So it's irresponsible use of anecdotes forming your opinions, but he wasn't making it up per se, he was just misconstruing his own personal opinions and perspective and applying it across the board. Still bad, but not as bad as actually knowingly making things up or plagiarizing.

[@Gloomdrake]

@@danielbroome5690 the buff Nazi thing had no basis in reality

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

​@@danielbroome5690what he said was he doesn't do research or read anything, so basically assumed what they had 'observed' was true and wrote for the videos based off that...thats still really bad for a writer. And given how long these two worked together and profited off either plagiarism or spreading misinformation how do we even know Nick was telling the truth about that? Nick was the one apparently into Marvel media and comics, and James's videos on those were full of misinformation and made up shit, Nick should have been the one to correct those? But no, he didn't...because what they put out for those sounded 'better' than the truth

[@bigbearkat2010]

@@gRinchY-op5vr I think people have been inclined to go easier on Nick because 1. he could at least be bothered to write his own material even if it was shitty, 2. he's had enough sense to realize the jig was up and not try to weasel his way back into the audience's pockets like James is doing

[@darkshadowrule2952]

I despise when people gaslight through their whole apology. Like is it really that hard to say "I've been trash, I've hurt people, Imma log off until I figure out how to make amends to my victims, I'm sorry I let my audience and my community down." It's easy, no ukulele, no forced crying, no having to spin complicated lies to try to cover up what you did, five minute video maximum for the actual apology, in this case a highlight reel at the end promoting the content of all the people you stole from would be a pleasant bonus, then just working on shit offline to pay back to the people you stole from or hurt. Are you gonna get back all the love and respect people used to have for you? Obviously not, but at least you wouldn't be a slimy coward

[@science_bear]

Oh like how Jessie Gender gaslit and blamed her abusing small animals on "toxic masculinity"?

[@darkshadowrule2952]

@@science_bear honestly, it's been a while since I watched it, but from what I remember that story made total sense within the wider context of the video, when she was talking about how masculine expectations of aggressiveness led to her making pointless and hurtful aggressive actions before she got her head on straight. Of the things she's done to criticize, I'd say the far more reasonable thing to go after is the whole boosting people calling Shark a slur incident that happened recently and, as far as I'm aware, she hasn't really meaningfully grown from or done anything to fix the harm she did (pretty sure that was Jessie, feel free to correct me if I'm misremembering, I get my geeky trans femme KZbinrs mixed up sometimes).

[@platano8667]

it's so easy, i don't know why they complicate it so much lol. even if they don't give AF, this is the way to go - it gives you time to figure out your next move. It seems like somerton is either too proud to do that or is actually broke and can't go a while without youtube income. and god forbid they get another job!!! they'll do anything to avoid that, lmao. i feel no pity whatsoever for them

[@dodixaverius9176]

​@@science_bearof all things that I dislike about Jessie, this is not the thing you thought her fatal flaw. When taken out of context, it's a terrible act, but if you understand that as the basis of her journey into transitioning, it's clear that she was a bit messed up back then and since she thought that she thought she need to act like a man, she chose to show violence to prove that she was a man. It's not a good action and she herself said so. Her reasoning was also valid and even for someone who had a bit bias against her, I totally hated people brought up that tiny tidbit of info to attack her.

[@science_bear]

@@dodixaverius9176 she's still messed up though, defending the racist that went after shark3ozero

[@silver_crone]

It’s alarming how many people out there honestly believe ‘if it’s on the internet, it’s free for everyone to use’. 2 companies I’ve worked for in tech were like this. Would even open meetings with ‘so we all know that once something is posted on the internet, it’s open to use’. I was yelled at for standing up and saying ‘no, no that is not how that works at all’, with citations for Canadian copyright law. I left both places. But it brought to light that there are genuinely people out there who think this. And don’t think it’s wrong at all. James didn’t post an apology. He posted an excuse.

[@sophdog2564]

The thing is, he didn't just take stuff on the Internet. One of the first things he got caught for was reading a published book into the camera (Tinker Bells and Evil Queens) and copying a documentary based on a book (The Celluloid Closet)

[@silver_crone]

@@sophdog2564 This is true, thank you. I think I was still trying to believe there were shreds of decency in someone who, turns out, had none.

[@nicki0kaye]

Having had the honor of catching the comment section of his vid before he deleted it, I can confidently say that 80% were some of the most heartfelt and gentle requests for him to leave and never return. Everyone was v respectful of what could have been an absolutely fabricated sewerslide attempt, almost everyone was wishing the best for his mental health and career, and fucking everyone was saying 'just don't come back this time'

[@MonsieurBrideau]

I never trust anyone who cries an apology without there being any tears rolling down their cheeks.

[@derpkipper]

Lol that is oddly specific 😂

[@taranullius9221]

@@derpkipper No, it's the most obvious tell of insincerity imaginable. He's fake crying for 32 minutes with no visible tears. I said on the mirror I just watched at least cut up some onions before and get some real water going. Where has autoplay taken me? Oh it's Jake that explains the immature audience.

[@reform-revolution]

you can fake tears to be fair

[@MonsieurBrideau]

@@reform-revolution You can, but the fact that he didn't... bit of an oversight when he's aiming to dupe people. Again.

[@cheezbiscuit4140]

​@reform-revolution yeah but it's an acting skill you need to develop and can't plagiarize.

[@fiercerodent]

love the passive phrasing on everything. "there was no attempt made at citing anything". Gee, I wonder who it was that wasn't attempting the citations. I'm sure puzzled as to whose job that was.

[@worthythaneofross3925]

Well if HE didn’t do anything bad then it must’ve been his co-writer. Of course he’d never outright state it, but implying that his “best friend” was the one who did all the bad things is so much easier than accountability!

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

​@@worthythaneofross3925yes, wondering if they've parted ways because they ended up blaming each other more than anything?

[@nerddowellanderson8982]

There is no doubt in my mind that being Twitters villain of the week is emotionally draining, horrible, awful and damaging and if he did attempt something awful or had a break that's terrible it is. Hbomb said in his video not to harass any mentioned but it was the internet we know people did definitely say awful things and that sucks but it doesn't lessen the awful things he did. I have empathy for James' mental state but you can't expect that to be enough to forgive theft of ideas and very likely money too.

[@derpkipper]

Personally I don't believe anything james says but thats just me, lol

[@nerddowellanderson8982]

@@derpkipper and that's absolutely fair. Maybe its the fool in me, a big dumb midwestern heart, but having lost loved ones to self harm I hate thinking anyone could be drove to such extremes. But I can still compartmentalize and hope he's well mentally but also think he's given a God awful Non-pology

[@pm6127]

​@@nerddowellanderson8982fun fact: James bullied one author out of Twitter last year when they called him out for plagiarism.

[@tomatoherb]

@@nerddowellanderson8982I’m with you tbh. I buy that these are real emotions, but they’re a natural consequence of his own bad behavior so I don’t feel sorry for him.

[@shoepixie]

oh I absolutely believe it's the truth. public shame is one of the most psychologically damaging things there IS. I mean, doesn't mean there shouldn't be consequences or one's actions. but will it make someone so bereft of ego they don't know how to function? absolutely. I was left utterly annihilated by just getting shunned by like, one social scene. it's real. @@derpkipper

[@tai31415]

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was hurting people". Dude people told you numerous times that you were hurting them. You also knew otherwise you wouldn't claim that you didn't plagiarise.

[@gabriellavedier9650]

Canadian Revenue is going to love taking him down over that Telos scam. That's some BIG money he (allegedly) embezzled.

[@n0etic_f0x]

Yeah happy I didn’t have the money to donate to that scam.

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

Yeah... the Canada Revenue Agency is gonna be comin' for his arse _hard_

[@humanbeing2420]

He accepted over $80K, and all he did for one and a half years afterward was to file the papers to formally organize Telos as a company.

[@mortomultiverse8778]

​@@humanbeing2420And also make 30 fake movie posters using stock images, I feel that is an excellent use of the money

[@UberNoodle]

At least he doesn't seem to have plagiarised his tears. Those tears appear to be paraphrased.

[@zsofiandrassy5874]

Top tier comment

[@fusionspace175]

Y'all think the arcs are done, but we're just getting started. Jan 1st the new content house will drop. Blair finally got her landlord house open and they're all here, James Somerton as Minister of Truth, SSSniperWolf as head of security, Collen Ballinger out on the porch with her ukelele, Pearl Davis not being allowed to play her guitar, and what the hell, does Chris Chan need a place to live? Get ready for the worst content of your lives.

[@spiritsafe-ko4ee]

My human heart is not ready but my demon brain 100% is

[@rambbler]

Call that the Haunting of Hype House.

[@cheng2006]

Don't forget Jirard the Completionist handling the house's bills

[@fusionspace175]

@@cheng2006 I knew I was forgetting one, too, when I was writing it. Busy season.

[@idiotwithopinions581]

I would hate watch the shit out of that

[@R1ngbanana]

He plagerized the apology if you’ve seen Laura Lee’s apology.

[@jasonspitz3922]

Gotta admit he's consistent.😂

[@sweetsirenaine]

Please for the love of cob tell me you're joking

[@snakesnoteyes]

Lol

[@joelnicholson]

The world's greatest, and most honest apology, remains Homer Simpson's: "But Marge, I swear I never thought you'd find out!".

[@suburban-vampire]

all abooooard, the TOXIC GOSSSIP TRAAAAIN

[@gabriellavedier9650]

Why bother with toxic gossip? The real, documented cases of plagiarism and the alleged embezzlement are perfectly valid topics.

[@14Juicyhearts]

@@gabriellavedier9650 They're making a joke/play on Colleen Ballinger when she made an "apology song" with a ukulele and that was a part of the "chorus."

[@sigmascrub]

I was looking for this 😂

[@redearth55]

this is the bike/stick meme if I've ever seen it

[@JothanGurr]

Watching someone turning their apology video into an advertisement for future potential Griffs is really hard. I don’t wish James any harm however, I really don’t want him to become successful in the field He cheated in at the expense of so many people who he”s stolen from.

[@rustkitty]

"I've lost my best friend because of this, Nick" Oh no, the We Don't Do Research research group has split up?! 😱😱😱

[@floraposteschild4184]

I just saw Jessie Gender's video about this. Agree that an apology should be about the victims, not the victimizer. Who was harmed, how were they harmed, and what will be done to repair it? That it; not what the victimizer is going through. And if it's too soon to make an apology like that, take some time off and reflect.

[@science_bear]

Jessie "the cat smasher" Gender doesn't have moral high ground, especially given that they blamed their animal abuse behavior on toxic masculinity.

[@thewrongsorcerer]

I wonder if she ever apologized to that cat

[@science_bear]

@@thewrongsorcerer if she did it wouldn't be in earnest, she'd be sarcatsic

[@donnacasey8890]

What’s fascinating to me is his repeated use of “trust me” when what he is “apologizing” for destroyed his credibility

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

Yes, like we can trust anything he says now?

[@markvonwisco7369]

Nobody held a gun to Somerton's head and forced him to plagiarize other people's content! Also, the passive voice is doing A LOT of work here!

[@tomatoherb]

lmao “I’m sorry the plagiarism took place”

[@markvonwisco7369]

@@tomatoherb "Mistakes were made..."

[@-eight-]

Also it just struck me that all the big bouts of “crying” and voice breaking cropped up around stuff relating to himself. He was so much less emotional when he was vaguely talking about the people that he hurt and “explaining” himself, just sniffles and an affected tearfulness to the voice. But when he talked about his attempt, how much he missed Nick, or that most people probably wouldn’t want to watch his videos now we got more emotion. His priorities are still the same.

[@thedarkone246]

He hasnt seen anyone blow their nose before so he doesn't know how to do so himself.

[@kaylafoxx41]

The one and only youtuber apology I can think of that was good was iDubbbz. Came across genuine, explained what was bad, and showed real change after.

[@K.C-2049]

yeepppp and then people like Penguinz "you don't have to apologize for using slurs for comedy" 0 Charlie came out of the woodwork 🙄 I was surprised by iDubbbz as well, he really seemed to get it.

[@BlueKitsune72]

Cinnamon toast Ken made a decent apology about off colour jokes from the past. First he stopped making those jokes, and in a couple recent(ish) videos said a couple sentences saying he knew better and that that sort of thing is hurtful

[@NomastiAfricanWarlord]

@@K.C-2049 You really don't. Apologies are only really valuable when done to an individual for a specific wrong that was done to them. Apologizing to the community because your sense of humor was cringe a few years ago is highly unnecessary and performative.

[@everfluctuating]

​@@NomastiAfricanWarlorddisagree. just bc youre in the community that was affected and you personally dont care about what was done doesnt mean it didnt have a negative impact that was worth addressing and apologizing for

[@wrazzberrie1197]

@@NomastiAfricanWarlord ". Apologies are only really valuable when done to an individual for a specific wrong that was done to them." I don't know what value an apology is supposed to have. Seems kind of weird term to use, considering seeking anything from an apology defeats the point. Apologies only matter when they're sincere, and the only people who get to decide if they accept or "value?" it are those who were impacted. Yes apologies are usually for individuals because most of our actions and interactions are with and impact people individually or in small groups. Obviously the things content creators produce will have a larger reach, and impact more people. At the end of the day, it isn't any more preformative than any other apology because that's literally what an apology is. Something you perform to show regret, again the sincerity being the point.

[@thehangedwoman8893]

The worst offence in my opinion is how he weaponized his audience and deliberately sent them to harass anybody that was on to him, also how he told his audience to harass nebula, he knew what he was doing and he kept on attacking anybody that showed him an ounce of rejection, that behaviour is unforgivable no matter how much he credits people…..

[@humanbeing2420]

The plagiarism was pretty bad too. So was stealing $80K through his scam movie studio. As were the many conscious lies and falsehoods contained in his videos. The misogyny too. And the repeated lying about all of this, both in the apology and on many previous occasions, was also very bad.

[@humanbeing2420]

Man, that guy is a dirtbag.

[@jakethorne8336]

It's so weird to me, because he got caught plagiarizing not something really high up there on the Evil scale like writing a racist article or SAing someone. How hard is it to say "I took the easy way out and I didn't think I'd get caught" It's not like he's gonna go to prison, stop crying James you got caught being shitty just take the L.

[@quietreason8679]

Well, he's also being criticized for the mysoginy and acephobic content in some of his videos, and then there's the accusations of scamming people out of money with the Telos project. It's a little more serious than just plagiarism. Oh, and I'd probably be crying too if HBomberguy made a video about me, where he laid out all the reason I suck.

[@haggisa]

I don’t think his ego could take admitting he couldn’t write his own essays, so he stole. He strikes me as incredibly egomaniacal and fragile.

[@christophergreen6595]

I mean... he stole a LOT of academic work. Still not the same scale, but in terms of volume it's clearly a massive fraud

[@pm6127]

The problem with serious accusations is that most of the times there isn't a solid proof or it gets muddled up in politics surrounding the issue. Here, Hbomberguy left no stones unturned in showing his theft. And the audience that James had cultivated care deeply about such stuff. So, it became a killer blow. Had it been some Sigma male or redpill content creator, the fanbase would've just dunked on Hbomberguy.

[@kippiedraws]

There was also the aspect of it where he was deliberately erasing queer history and getting queer creators harassed by being a cry-bully. Many, MANY creators that leveled the MOST GENTLE CRITICISM POSSIBLE often got their DMs and mentions bombarded for harassing James when all they had done was say "hey, you said there's no queer creators on Nebula but I'm here? I make videos?" or "hey, that thing you said about asexual people not experiencing conversion therapy or corrective r*pe is dangerously incorrect, here's how we would prefer you discuss our issues going forward".

[@Urmumlel7025]

"I swear om my dead mom-" Don't.

[@10Gpixels]

I see people saying "Hbomberguy caused Somerton's attempt" but what is important to note, is that if Hbomberguy wouldn't have done it, someone else would have. It is entirely Somerton's fault for his own house of cards collapsing, and therefore his own fault for creating the situation where he felt there was no way out. Of course, I wish that Somerton does not khs, we just have to acknowledge that Hbomberguy is not responsible for Somerton's actions.

[@erraticonteuse]

Here's the other thing: Somerton had previously claimed the Evil Queens plagiarism call-out had also resulted in him getting death threats. This is literally just the same tactic, only he is the one threatening his own life. IF he genuinely attempted, I hope he gets the help he needs, but his history of lying is so bad that there is literally precedent for him pretending his life is in danger when he's caught plagiarizing, there is absolutely no way we can trust what he says in any context.

[@CapitalExpression]

this is my feelings toward it. It might sound cruel but this is just my personal feelings. I don't believe James when he said he attempted to take his own life. The guy lies about everything and that's why even if he really did, its his fault that I don't believe him. He says he was in the hospital and had someone else answering emails. This to me is him pre-emptively covering his ass if/when people look into his actions taken after Hbombs video dropped and before this video.

[@10Gpixels]

@@CapitalExpression I don't blame for for feeling that way. You can only cry wolf so many times before people don't believe you, and Somerton is out of tries. Still though, I'd rather be safe than sorry in regards to events like these. A mental health specialist once told me something along the lines of: "treat every mention of a suicide attempt as seriously as a real one, even if it could be a lie, or an attempt at attention or sympathy, because losing someone is much worse than offering a liar the benefit of the doubt."

[@jannecapelle_art]

surely, SURELY youtubers know by NOW that it does not ever help to come back with an "apology" where you just sob the whole time and talk about how you yourself feel about the situation. SURELY. usually im someone who cries very easily when i see another person cry, however when he warbles about having been in the hospital, all i can think about is the podcast by the Ace Couple who talked about how they payed james 1500 dollars!!!!! to make a queer short film specifically with ace representation, that in the end he never gave updates on and now never will ever finish or honestly even start. and theyll never get their money back. 15 hundred dollars is a LOT of money intended for a GOOD cause that now just is...nowhere. probably spent so james could move to a bigger city and a more expensive house (which he did while asking his patrons for more money so he could "make his short film and pay people" mmhmmm okay. yeah so im having a real hard time feeling sorry for him here.

[@HellecticMojo]

Other people did it, so he copied it. lol

[@bradigan]

Reactivate patreon so people don't get billed? You know what else would do that? Not reactivating patreon. What a scumbag.

[@mlhjlhify]

This dude has a history of weaponizing his audience, in order to avoid taking any accountability. This isn’t the first time plagiarism came up. He just bullied smaller creators into silence.

[@humanbeing2420]

I'm coming to this late, but here's a helpful compendium of points he made in his defense: - he's sorry - he feels so badly that he's sort of crying, almost kinda - he didn't apologize sooner bc he was in the hospital - he was in the hospital bc Hbomberguy almost made him die - he lost his best friend - he made much less money than people think - Toronto is expensive - now he has to move back home bc of Hbomberguy - he's really sorry - he didn't know he was hurting anyone - Nick did it too - some videos were not plagiarized - he's very sorry - most videos were done only bc his audience demanded them - he will reactivate the videos and give the money to the original authors this time - he promises it will never ever happen again - he swears on his mom's grave that he will always cite the authors whose work he reads verbatim going forward - he didn't know he was hurting anyone

[@yoskibroski3446]

*If* James did make an attempt, that only says to me that he would rather DIE than take responsibility for his actions. He would rather take his own life than own up to the fact he stole shit from his community. But just as easily as I can see someone making a genuine attempt to take their own life after having ONE dude call you out, I can just as easily see someone *saying* they tried to take their life for sympathy.

[@blacksesamecandies]

I think there is more info he is leaving out. He speaks about this Nick guy who was a co-writer, best friend.. possible lover that seems like he lived with him - got pissed they got exposed and broke up. Probably because they both knew the lifestyle they had profiting off of KZbin would not longer give them money most likely (I don't think they give that much of a shit about integrity or how they appear to others) and decided to distance themselves or whatever. That's probably the reason for James unaliving attempt, but if he gave full details of "Hey my bff/lover/co-worker ditched me cuz we're gonna be poor now since we plagarized too much and some popular youtuber called us out" it wouldn't sail. The fact he focuses solely on himself instead of the allegiations foremost says a lot.

[@amandarose4469]

He possibly did, he should be getting therapy over it, not using it in an apology. That is calculated.

[@haggisa]

@@blacksesamecandiesNick is asexual, so it’s not probable they were lovers.

[@rambbler]

​@@haggisawe only hear he's ace and not aroace. There's a chance he's homo/pan/biromantic but I also doubt they were anything more than roommates who worked together. It just doesn't hold much weight imo.

[@haggisa]

@@rambbler Yes, he indeed identifies as a gay asexual man. So yeah, there’s a chance they were a couple, but 1) that really doesn’t matter, when it comes to the whole scandal, and 2) both of them identify their relationship as a friendship and a professional partnership, so the lover speculation has no basis.

[@floof_hair3857]

Somerton doesn’t seem to understand that using peoples work without permission and paraphrasing still fall under plagiarism… Almost every large university library has a citation guide, most of which are freely accessible online. For someone who “loves research”, he sure doesn’t seem to do a whole lot of it.

[@downstairs2508]

James did nick so dirty if they were that close and in a relationship like its subtly implied I feel like Nick is going to have trust issues for years now. Basically set him up to be his criticism shield and looked to set him up as his fall guy for stolen content. That's toxic AF, yes that's on top of all the other people he stole from and profited off their labor but what he did to nick just feels so personal. My heart goes out to Nick.

[@HellecticMojo]

Don't feel bad for Nick. He's a serial bullshitter too. He just makes up facts over stealing them.

[@StoutShako]

​@@HellecticMojo I have to watch that video again. I thought James was responsible for that too

[@apolloscorner6011]

i'd like to point out the part in his apology where james says that the videos he'd put out would be misogynistic because he was WRITING TOO FAST AND DIDN'T THINK??? okay james, so when you're trying to put out content, your FIRST INSTINCT is to write misogyny???

[@-eight-]

YUP. Not the ironclad defense he hoped it was

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

He's basically putting misogyny down to not thinking? As opposed to...hating women? 🤨

[@stellason92]

I think the part that gets to me the most is when he says "I'm not sorry I got caught but sorry that I ever did it" Even though he was called out multiple times in the past by the authors telling him that he stole their work. Then sent people to attack them and keep them quiet. Not only that, but was literally saying that Hbomber guys video was lies and not the truth before hbomber guy released it. Then a few days later he finally apologized for something..after years of being called out. So full of shit

[@rougarouteepell4801]

Not him saying he understands he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt but getting upset that everyone assumes him to be a scammer and doesn’t trust him. It’s so fucking unserious.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

As someone who has struggled with mental health issues myself, and has known people who hid behind their own mental illness to excuse their bad behavior, this non apology nauseates me on multiple levels. I can't even give him the benefit of the doubt, because it comes across as his only putting on the waterworks to make people feel sorry for him and give him money. An important part of any apology is explaining how you plan on making things right, but this has to be the umpteenth apology that actively makes the problem worse.

[@takke9830]

Even when caught he doesn‘t get that he can‘t just copy paste stuff from other people and monetize it. You need to reword it in your own words in order to really make it original. Sourcing isn‘t the same as copying something. And James doesn‘t seem to understand that. Or doesn‘t want to. I also think it‘s telling how he‘s like: „All these people think I hate women and other minorities. I don‘t ppl trust me!“ like no you show that with your actions and if you were actually sorry you‘d at least say that and make an effort to examine why you are doing that. But then again if someone is convinced they aren‘t capable of being a bigot, like some gay men seem to be, they won‘t be able to take that criticism. Cause he can‘t even see that his criticism about straight women being into gay media and the voiced frustration comes off as if he thinks women aren‘t allowed to enjoy media not made for them. Wich is a thing he only critisizes women for in his takes. And this has also always been a thing that seemed like a red flag to me before all of this came out about him. I even remember trying to tell him about the fact that a lot of straight women do fawn over queer romance or nsfw material because the straight material often times dehumanizes and dominates the women sometimes even brutally wich in turn creates a situation where straight women seek out queer media because it feels more genuine to them than the mysogynistic media that paints women as empty husks wich to women isn‘t relateable. Not to mention also that any person can enjoy media even if it isn‘t about them. Straight people can enjoy queer media and so can queer people enjoy straight media. So really he was blaming the female audence for the studios focusing on them because they were a big part of the audience. I also think it‘s funny that he claimed it‘s always straight women because I know many queer women who were also into queer media about gay men wich is a thing because, unlike how he wanted it to be, before steven universe, lesbians in media especially well written ones didn‘t really exist in most media so where else should they have turned to? It‘s like Somerton was always fine when straight men or gay men would get into media including queer women, ya know the mountains of fetishistic lesibian media made for straight men, yet he doesn‘t mention that because punching down on women is easier than men. And he as a man probably also doesn‘t care about any other minority group other than his own. I mean clearly he doesn‘t because he only mentiones other queer groups in negative ways if at all. It‘s the typical thing with guys like him. Using his identity as a weapon and shield and throwing all other minorities under the bus for his own sake and when the accountability train comes he flails, does damage control and instead of trying to understand the criticism and how he went wrong, he‘s gonna roll in his own ignorance acting like a confused little baby so people pity him.

[@dansyourjor5813]

Very well said 👏👏👏 people like James love to gatekeep things, such as media, in their community while complaining that there’s a lack of accessible popular media about it. They love to blame women and afab people for consuming content they like and chalk it up to fetishization while refusing to look any deeper. Like you said, it’s easier to blame women and afab ppl, and a lot of queer men who are like James (not all ofc) use their queer identity to hide behind while they spew blatant misogyny

[@eljayism]

Did he literally just turn on the camera and start rambling? That's what this feels like.

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

Well, he doesn't have Nick to write for him anymore and he couldn't find a decent apology to plagiarise so 🤷‍♀️

[@jdprettynails]

Ah yes...the Killing Stalking video. The video that made me unsubscribe from him because all the rampant misogyny and general hatred towards all AFAB people for the things they like. I left a comment on that video that blew up with responses from his fans telling me that I'm "sick" for enjoying dark stories or that I should be put on a watchlist. All the videos that are solely his words contain some sort of rant against perceived "straight" women (usually bi women or trans men actually).

[@directAction3389]

It's not often you get hear someone apologize for their entire career. What a treat.

[@dreaxuslordofdecay]

We didn't get here either, we just got a sob story, an attempt at a marketing ploy, and him throwing Nick under the bus while swearing he would never throw Nick under the bus.

[@directAction3389]

@dreaxuslordofdecay True. Unsurprising but true. Sad that Capitalism outright encourages this type of behavior.

[@Tjnovakart]

22:00 I’m gen Z and I’m still a boomer when it comes to XQC lmao. His appeal will always be a mystery

[@BaronVonQuiply]

00:23 In the 4 hour epic, I actually misinterpreted a section and thought that he had already plagiarized an apology.

[@animalxINSTINCT89]

No ukulele - 3/10 apology

[@amethystimagination3332]

At first I was able to give him a little credit, his entire channel was gone a day or two after the H Bomber video came out. I thought he at least had the intelligence to realize he wouldn’t come back from this and quietly dip out with his tail between his legs. Boy was I wrong.

[@-eight-]

I was also feeling hopeful at first, but once I realized his channel had been privated instead of deleted I began to realize he was gonna try this shit. Even so. I still can’t believe he was trying to pull the comeback thing literally inside of his apology video. I at least thought he’d wait a few months after apologizing to let things die down. Jeezus.

[@Spar10Leonidas]

As I briefly mentioned in the comments of your video reacting to Peter Coffin's take on this, the truth is that Hbomberguy is a big enough KZbinr that Somerton couldn't simply sweep this under the rug like he did with the previous allegations. I'm not sure how big Somerton's audience was, exactly, but someone like Hbomberguy calling him out, who pulled no punches while taking an in-depth look at his history of such allegations, Somerton's responses, changes (or lack thereof) in his behavior since, etc., it was all impossible to ignore. Somerton couldn't weasel his way out of this one like he did previously, and it's a real shame that it took this long for him to finally get the backlash that he deserved for it. Like Hbomb, I don't know how to fix this problem that allows people like Somerton to get away with what he's been doing for so long, but it really is a damn shame. At least regarding Somerton, though, the best thing for everyone is for him to just forever leave the internet and find a new career. Preferably one where he can't so easily get away with cheating or stealing.

[@-eight-]

For me it’s this man who has been utterly and viciously resistant to even the hint that he might be doing something wrong for YEARS now saying “and I’m not just sorry because I got caught.” Someone who is sorry before their shit blows up in their face doesn’t behave like that before it fucking blows up and then pivot this hard after. The only thing I can’t tell is if it’s all cold calculated manipulation or if he really convinced himself in his soul that he just made some wittle mwistakes and he’s learned now, uwu

[@rustkitty]

Nobody can convince me he didn't dope his nasal cavity with something to be extra mucous for this video.

[@jamesoblivion]

'i liked doing the research. Reading articles....' ...copying them verbatim, giving no credit, you know...RESEARCH!

[@mtlewis973]

if he was sorry he did it rather than being sorry he got caught, he’d have been crying in all of his videos.

[@UnifiedField77]

It's interesting to me that Patreon doesn't have a policy regarding plaigarism. I suppose they don't want to spend the effort and money it might take to substantiate such a claim.

[@SuperPhoneDialer]

halfway through and I have thoughts. He is simultaniously(?!) downplaying and up-playing the severity of the situation by starting of with telling us he ALMOST KILLED HIMSELF or he ACTUALLY MADE AN ATTEMPT A WEEK AGO AND WAS... SAVED!!!!.. by his dad?! HE WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD!!!! IF IT WASNT FOR HIS DAD?! At the same time he downplays it to "I didn't know I how important crediting was!!! I'll do better!" Like, if that's all you think you did, why the fuck (sorry) did you literally try to die a week ago? Why would you try to kill yourself because of that? Ok you might be getting bullied, but damn, if internet bullying does that to you you should MOST CERTAINLY NOT BE A CREATOR holy SHIT. I am so damn upset. This is so banal and almost frightening. I grew up with a narc mom who constantly threatened suicide when we didnt do as she pleased and I am getting that. I might be harsh but a lesson I learned is narcs would never, ever kill themselves. they just KNOW YOU and they leverage your love towards them. This man was SO IMPORTANT to alot of queer youth, teenagers who might know all to well about being suicidal and they will be so so affected by this performance. They will absolutely support and sympathise because he is important to them. I am so mad. Sorry rant over

[@SuperPhoneDialer]

At minute 40 now and holy hell the defensiveness. I didnt write it, we didn't want to make these videos our audience pushed us, Nick was 50/50 on this, I didn't know, I didn't write any of the misinformation, I didn't mean this that and the other. He is so self absorbed I really believe he thinks this is valid. He is so self absorbed he can't see himself clearly. Everything he says in this video so far comes across as an attempt to get back into making videos and earning money. What an absolute twat

[@beautydraugr]

He literally already deleted it

[@sneakysnek572]

Dude the way he opened up with the guilt trip about a suicide attempt boils my blood. I’ve lost someone that way before, AND I’ve had to deal with people threatening that as a form of manipulation, and the fact that James is using this as a way to get sympathy is so horrible. If he really did attempt, my heart goes out to him and I hope he heals both mentally and physically, but even so you don’t open up with that. You don’t use your struggles to shift the blame. Hell, wait a lot longer before posting again because your mental health comes first in an emergency like this. Fuck off James, god.

[@rockduded8925]

At least he credited the man who ended his career. He really is learning!

[@laurent5176]

“There were plenty that didn’t have any uncredited stuff in them…” The word is plagiarized. And I sincerely doubt that any of his videos are plagiarism free. If James were capable of formulating a thesis, doing research, and writing a script where the only use of other authors’ content is through proper citations used to support his own ideas, then why wouldn’t he do that in every video? James’s scripts didn’t contain one or two segments of plagiarized content in an otherwise wholly original script; his scripts were comprised of huge chunks of plagiarized material from a variety of authors, all stitched together like some weird attempt at verbal quilting. It’s hard to say what was actually original to James (and Nick) other than the ‘lies and misinformation,’ that James has denied writing. So, even the parts that weren’t plagiarized weren’t James’s work, according to him.

[@kofthel]

the last youtuber apology video I watched was the supermega videos where they took an incredible amount of accountability, however they also werent supervillains like james somerton is

[@sugarfrosted2005]

"I never wanted to hurt anyone" says a person who weaponized his fans against people by claiming they were sending him death threats. What a monster

[@tegantalks9612]

I don’t blame Nick for getting the hell out of dodge as soon as the video came out. Based on the video it seemed like James has been sowing the seeds for Nick to be the fall guy for a few years. Also James pretty much spends a good chunk of this video throwing Nick under the bus. As Todd pointed out, Nick isn’t entirely innocent here either, however unlike James, Nick actually did do a decent apology and owned up for his part in the videos.

[@figlet6427]

I don't wish harm/that kind of depression upon anyone, but man, even if taken at face value, starting out an apology like that is just soo freaking manipulative💀 shit just take the christmas off, everybody's busy anyway, calm down and come back with a comprehensive apology. This is just gonna get him clowned on even more, which helps nobody

[@Shinypotatochip]

Can he swear on the grave of someone whose gender he doesn’t hate?

[@mimsycookiiess]

Someone in the video mentioned this already but the ace couple made a great video on James and it provides great new context on how bad of a person he is and what he did to them

[@mobwatch8119]

Hypothetical second apology video: "I'm so sorry I didn't research YT apologies properly." "I know some things I said angered people. Those were all Nick's ideas."

[@lotorsempire90]

Why can't people just hire a PR guy to write them an apology.

[@derpkipper]

Sniperwolf did lol

[@QuantumTelephone]

"I'm sorry that you made me gonna die!"

[@lizzfrmhon]

‘I thank hbomberguy for setting up the fund… for those that were wronged’…… those that were wronged instead of THOSE THAT I WRONGED. This makes me not believe anything he says. The pity party and not even use words to admit guilt.

[@djalexander968]

after being lied to and deceived for weeks enjoying OTHER PEOPLES WORK, i didnt even bother giving him the view on the youtube standard apology video, glad to have someone else cover this, because any man who will lie that often and that blatantly isnt worth my time or attention oh and if you thought he had any shame left 15:20 go search for those numbers really quick, and apparently patron's who havent BLOCKED him, might still be screwed by the last day of the month if he decided to get any greasier

[@palinahudok9029]

“I would like to become a really really good example of giving proper credit to writers and journalists” This is so frustrating You shouldn’t be doing that because you want to have a bunch of baby writers looking you in the mouth you should be doing that because it’s decent. It should be enough

[@christinescreativitycabine280]

It's like saying, after you get your license back after a DUI, "I want to become a really good example of not driving drunk!" No, dude, that's not something they give out awards for, that's baseline.

[@palinahudok9029]

@@christinescreativitycabine280 yeah "the baseline"! you said it even better thank you

[@MystLunarabne]

All this "apology" does is clearly show he literally only cares about himself.

[@wovensystem1782]

"i myself am owed an apology" wow having that context for that makes it hit harder now wow

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

Tbh it makes Hannah's deafening silence on the Plaigarism discourse make more sense, especially this video.

[@echoecho4590]

The ace stuff was well explained by The Ace Couple - they have a podcast. (ETA: someone explained this in the chat 😊) But he references that Nick is ace so he uses that to excuse his takes. (I literally knew only H Bomber guy out of all these people before this popped up!) and also he said oh I’m sorry ace people felt upset. Gross.

[@diabreadstick]

I don't feel sorry for James losing his source of income over this because he's literally a business school grad, dude already has a significant advantage over most other queer people when it comes to putting his foot in the door for other career opportunities--most certainly a significant advantage over all the queer creators he stole from.

[@TheIdealisticCynic]

I love that this was uploaded so soon because James Somerton deleted his apology video. LOL

[@fedos]

He's seriously continuing to blame Nick even though hbomberguy's video showed that the plagiarism existed before he hired Nick and that it was James's writing and not Nick's that was plagiarized.

[@katiecat9353]

17:00 - Who wants to bet he provides zero evidence that any of the money he makes goes to the people he stole from?

[@Calcprof]

He still seems to be completely unaware (or aware, but dissembling) of the difference between fair use, with proper attribution, and simply reading someone else's work and presenting it as his own. the amount of pure quotations (unattributed) in his videos in NO WAY is fair use, EVEN if the authors are properly cited.

[@WolfHreda]

I'm annoyed that one of my best, most sincere comments of the year got wiped away with everything elae when he took this video down. Especially now that I know I could've just stolen someone else's comment and mentioned their name at some point! Dammit. 😂

[@lern2reed]

James crying with the plucky KZbinr music in the background is too funny

[@user-bk1dr1sd8g]

I love the part where James said "It's Plagiarizin' time!" And plagiarized all over those guys

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

Business majors I swear

[@f1mbultyr]

It's amazing how he still don't seem ti understand what he actually did wrong. Stealing people's shit doesn't become not stealing when you mention the name from whom you stole your shit, James.

[@senbrandybuck4492]

Idk what happened with the Telos donations, but James’s use of past tense is unnerving: “the donations WERE going to be used to pay queer actors and creators” “the donations were not going into Nick and my pockets”- Like, okay James, if they’re not going into your pockets, and you haven’t hired anyone cuz you haven’t made any of your promised films yet, why “WERE”? Why not “that money IS so we can hire queer actors”? Where did it magically disappear to?? If it hasn’t been used for its intended purpose surely it’s still sitting in some Telos fund ready to be paid to queer talent right???

[@jochenkraus7016]

Talking about donations going somewhere made me think of Completionist :-o