The cosplay community was rocked on Monday, February 11th when information surfaced stating that high-profile Southern California cosplay photographer Michael Benedict had allegedly admitted to using a spy cam to film individuals using changing rooms in a studio without their consent.
This controversial situation was made public by a number of groups, including the Cosplay Photographer Alliance Events Page. After waiting for the information to be vetted, and Benedict having been confronted by multiple individuals, the photographer apparently admitted that he had indeed used a camera to film people using changing rooms without their consent.
Following the revelation of Benedict allegedly admitting his disturbing actions, a member of the cosplay community known by the Twitter handle of Luciferbob posted screenshots of a conversation where Benedict allegedly admitted he had been filming the changing rooms of a studio with a spy camera.
The photog was Michael Benedict. A well known photog in the socal cosplay scene...
— Luciferbob (@LuciferBob) February 11, 2019
Why it's so important to always take a friend with you even if you trust them pic.twitter.com/v0lf7wxibc
The conversation in question seems to show Benedict admitting to and apologizing for using a spy camera in order to film individuals in changing room. Approximately 300 videos were found on the camera that Benedict had allegedly recorded. Benedict goes on to state that he will be leaving the cosplay community and photography.
Michael Benedict has not yet addressed the situation publicly at the time of this writing. His Twitter at @MBenedictLA appears to have been deleted.
This is a developing story that we will continue to keep updated with all of the latest information. If you have any information pertaining to this particular story, you can contact Twin Galaxies at [email protected].
(cover photo via Alicia Marie Twitter. DIsclaimer: Cosplayers shown not necessarily associated with main story)
