James Somerton Re-Emerges, Plagiarizes Again, Disappears

In December 2023, YouTuber James Somerton found himself at the center of controversy. Prominent YouTuber hbomberguy had just published his four-hour video essay about plagiarism, focusing heavily on Somerton’s work.

Later that month, Somerton published an apology video. However, the video only made things worse for him as he received massive pushback. In May 2024, Somerton published what appeared to be a suicide note on social media. This prompted many to worry about his safety, but fortunately, friends confirmed he was safe shortly after.

However, this raised more questions about this authenticity. Users discovered that, during this crisis, he was posting normally on alternative accounts. Critics accused him of faking the crisis to gain sympathy and attention.

Either way, that same month, he shuttered his account entirely, and Somerton seemingly disappeared. His name largely fell off the radar.

That is, until last week.

In a post by Nilofer Khan on The Phoblographer, it appears that Somerton did attempt a comeback, this time as a wedding photographer.

However, even after everything that has happened up to this point, he still couldn’t avoid taking credit for the work of others. As a result, he has once again closed up shop and deleted his presence from the site.

What happened should be a warning to all trying to come back after a plagiarism scandal.

The Wedding Photographer

Somerton had created a profile for himself on the ender directory Wedding Wire. He advertised himself as a wedding photographer with fifteen years of experience shooting events. Though he listed the name “Memory Media,” he used his real name as the company’s lead.

However, it wasn’t Somerton’s name that drew attention to this. It was the fact that his sample images were stock photos, not taken by him.

To be clear, the stock photos were likely legal to use as long as Somerton complied with the license. However, those images are meant to represent the photographer’s work, meaning they were supposed to be taken by the photographer.

As such, he was directly taking credit for photos that weren’t his.

To put it mildly, this is gobsmacking. It is abundantly clear that Somerton hasn’t learned anything even after one and a half years after the original scandal.

A wedding photographer might have been a good profession for him to transition into. It uses many skills he likely gained as a YouTuber, but it is separate from the previous plagiarism allegations.

However, he couldn’t stop himself from turning to plagiarism to solve his problems. As a result, he has now burned bridges in yet another field, further harming his prospects as a creative.

A Tough Question

At this point, James Somerton is probably the least sympathetic person imaginable. Not only was his YouTube plagiarism extremely clear-cut and significant, but repeating the mistake in a different industry shows that he was never sorry and had no intention of changing his ways.

But I have to ask a difficult question: What would have happened if the images had been original? Would he still be called out as a plagiarist? Would he be given a chance in this new field?

The answer is that, at the very least, he would have faced struggles in this field no matter what. Being branded a plagiarist, especially so publicly, was always going to complicate things. Famous plagiarists have always struggled to move on.

Jayson Blair, for example, has found a new career as a life coach. Kaavya Viswanathan has become a lawyer, and the list goes on.

Most of the time, famous plagiarists struggle to find new work in their field or adjacent fields. For those who can pivot, this usually works out well in the long term. But those who can’t continue to struggle.

So, while this doesn’t apply to Somerton, there are more significant questions about when we allow plagiarists to work again, especially if they learned their lessons.

As for Somerton, going back into hiding is likely the best thing for him.

Bottom Line

There is no defending Somerton here. Even the most charitable interpretation paints him in a truly terrible light.

One would think that after the events of late 2023 and early 2024, Somerton would have learned a lesson or changed his ways. He clearly didn’t.

If he were ever going to rebound from his plagiarism label, it would be through radical transparency and complete honesty. Instead, he did the opposite. He repeated the same mistakes in a different field.

This was an entirely predictable outcome. This industry has a long history of rooting out those who use fake or plagiarized images in their portfolios. The best example is Corey Ann Balazowich’s site, Photo Stealers. (Note: Balazowich tipped me off to this in her weekly newsletter, which is well worth subscribing to.)

Photographers are always looking for fakes in their field and quickly call them out.

In the end, this could have been a redemption arc for Somerton. If he had entered the field, presented himself honestly, done good work and earned a new reputation, it could have been a turnaround for him.

Instead, he’s now back to where he was a year ago. He’s back in hiding and is a pariah in another field.

That will make it all the more difficult to move on to something else. Whatever he chooses next.