YouTube deletes account for impersonation, even with support from impersonatee

James Hoffman is a coffee YouTuber. From community post by James Hoffman:

I just wanted to write a quick update post about the Hames Joffmann channel. For those unfamiliar, it was a channel that recut and recomposed my videos delightfully and hilariously, and did so having asked and with my full permission. Recently, @YouTube removed the channel, citing a violation of its policy regarding impersonation. (Some people have asked if I had anything to do with the takedown - I did not.) The channel was clearly labelled as not being me, and they appealed against YouTube's decision. This was denied, and the channel was completely removed. I contacted YouTube through my partner manager and through their support channels, explaining that they'd made a mistake and advocating for the channel's return. The response from YouTube kind of broke my brain. I hope Hames has the masters and reuploads them to a new channel, but I'd understand if they didn't want to. It just seems very disappointing and also weird for YouTube to advocate taking legal action against them.

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Response from YouTube:

Hi James,

I've followed up with our internal team regarding the channel (@hamesjoffmann). Unfortunately, it seems the best course of action is to file a formal legal appeal.