What's Going On With James Somerton? The Controversial YouTuber's Death And Hoax Rumors Explained

Content Warning: Portions of this article make mention of suicide, which some may find difficult or upsetting. If you need support or are dealing with suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website or call 1-800-273-8255.

The latest development on James Somerton's alleged suicide story, which has been circulating online since March 2024, is that Somerton hoaxed his death in an attempt to rebrand his name to distance himself of the HBomberguy vs. James Somerton Plagiarism Scandal that erupted online in late 2023.

If you'd like to recap the events of this messy story, check out our explainer on the topic.

Now, if you are trying to put the puzzle pieces together to understand all the plot twists in this controversy, here's how Twitter (X) uncovered Somerton's alternative account on X and how this links to theories about him faking his death.

Why Is James Somerton Being Accused of Faking His Death?

On May 8th, 2024, X user @GreatCheshire claimed that on the same day Somerton posted about allegedly faking his death he "rebranded his alt account from @Theachilleanboy to @thatgayyouknow, then posted about tv shows and horny posted." The user also posted some screenshots of the alternative account, with its creation date in December 2023 matching the same period of the HBomberguy vs. James Somerton plagiarism scandal.

What Was James Somerton Allegedly Tweeting On His Alt Account?

X user @GreatCheshire continued to share evidence that Somerton used his alternative account to argue with X users in defense of himself, saying that what he did wasn’t that bad and didn’t hurt anybody because the things he plagiarized were “like a decade old” and blaming “the cult of Hbomb” (screenshot below).

How People Reacted To James Somerton's Alleged Suicide Hoax?

People weren't happy with the latest evidence about Somerton's suicide hoax, especially regarding what the YouTuber was posting on his alt account while people thought he was dead. Like user @fearaidfangs, who posted the Chef Skinner reading a letter meme paired with the caption "me just now reading about how james somerton was posting ass and ball pics on an alt at the same time that he posted a suicide note and went dark on his main account."

Somerton's leaked alt account also became a viral topic on Reddit, as some users started to joke about the YouTuber using his alternative account to defend himself, like Redditor Tayo826 post (shown below, left) captioned “I'm The Achillean Boy and I think James Somerton did nothing wrong.”

For the full history of James Somerton's suicide hoax, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.