On Oct. 9, 2023, Italian Call of Duty cosplayer Inquisitor took to TikTok and live streamed what very much appeared to be his own death, hanging himself just out of view of an audience of digital onlookers.
The video, which has since been scrubbed from the platform, purportedly displayed a dark and featureless room, followed by the sound of breaking glass, CPR being performed, and cries of frustration and anger in Italian. Videos uploaded by users claiming to have inside information in the days that followed claimed that the intervention came too late, and that the 23-year-old internet personality had died.
Inquisitor, also called Inquisitor Ghost and Inquisitore3, has gained a following of close to 200,000 devotees on TikTok, thanks to his series of posts cosplaying as the character Simon “Ghost” Riley from the Call of Duty franchise. His content often incorporates song, dance, and the regular addition of a red lightsaber to the traditionally Sith-free ensemble.
In September, allegations that Inquisitor had displayed grooming-adjacent behavior hit the message boards. The source was the TikTok star’s former editor, a 17-year-old who posted screenshots of their alleged conversations, in which Inquisitor made comments about loving the teenager and wanting to marry her.
The internet being a terrible place, it wasn’t long before further text messages were uploaded, this time allegedly between Inquisitor’s former editor and her boyfriend, in which the two conspired to bait the cosplayer by drumming up flirtatious interactions in order to get him canceled. Both Inquisitor and his former editor became targets of harassment online as a result of these posts. At present, everything about this story – the texts, the other texts, and even the live video posted by Inquisitor – are all unverified in any official capacity.
Fans respond to the reported death of Inquisitor
That hasn’t stopped fans from expressing concern. In a two and a half minute video, TikTok user hellomrfranco called the treatment of Inquisitor “one of the most evil things i could think of to do to someone” and called for all involved parties to be held accountable. Other followers memorialized the content creator, and sent prayers for Inquisitor’s safety and wellbeing.
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