Updated 6/26/24. See update below.
Dr. Disrespect—aka Guy Beahm—has been in the news again, nearly four years after he was banned from Twitch in 2020, the online streaming platform where he made a found fame and notoriety. Now it sounds like the popular streamer may be calling it quits indefinitely.
The reason for the ban was never revealed by Twitch or Dr. Disrespect, though the latter took the streaming platform to court over the ban, while the former paid out Beahm’s contract. Years passed. History became legend. Legend became myth.
Then, on June 22nd, 2024 former Account Director of Strategic Partnership at Twitch, Cody Conners, tweeted “[Dr. Disrespect] got banned because [he] got caught sexting a minor in the then existing Twitch whispers product. He was trying to meet up with her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read in plain text.”
Beahm responded to this allegation on Twitter:
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“Listen,” he tweeted, “I’m obviously tied to legal obligations from the settlement with Twitch but I just need to say what I can say since this is the [bleeping] internet.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid.”
He also responded to media personality Jake Lucky with a strange non-denial, tweeting: “Jake seriously... I get it, its a hot topic but this has been settled, no wrongdoing was acknowledged and they paid out the whole contract.”
Then, during a stream on June 23rd, Dr. Disrespect received a message that appeared to dispirit the streamer. During the end of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree session, Beahm indicated that he might be stepping back from streaming altogether, explaining that "I'm just feeling burnt out."
“Maybe it’s time to start something new, something different,” he told his viewers.
“But I think, first and foremost though, I did have a bit of a planned vacation coming up, but I might extend that starting today. It is what it is. People get fatigued. To be honest, I don’t know how long my vacation is, but maybe I extend that. We’ll see.”
This came just before the game studio he co-founded, Midnight Sons, announced it would be severing ties from the streamer. The company’s statement reads:
On Friday evening we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founder’s Guy Beahm aka Dr Disrespect.
We assumed his innocence and began speaking with parties involved. And in order to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and individuals, we needed to act.
For this reason, we are terminating our relationship with Guy Beahm immediately.
While these facts are difficult to hear and even more difficult to accept, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of all individuals involved, especially the fifty-five developers and families we have employed along with our community of players.
As with the Twitch ban nearly four years ago, much of this remains shrouded in mystery. Twitch has not commented on the matter, and Beahm has certainly announced that he’s quitting before—whether that’s streaming or just streaming specific games like Call Of Duty. He always seems to come back. Some have also called into question tweets made by Conners promising to reveal why Dr. Disrespect was banned if Conners sold out three of his upcoming shows last year. However, another former Twitch employee backed Conners’ statement—as an unnamed, anonymous source—to The Verge.
How none of this has come out in nearly four years is another big question, and more than a little shocking in an age of online leaks and gossip.
Update:
Just after publishing the above piece, Dr. Disrespect issued a lengthy statement, admitting to inappropriate messages with a minor, though he denies that it involved anything illegal and pushes back against accusations that he is a predator.
“Were there twitch whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017?” Beahm writes. “ The answer is yes. Were there real intentions behind these messages, the answer is absolutely not. These were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more. Nothing illegal happened, no pictures were shared, no crimes were committed, I never even met the individual. I went through a lengthy arbitration regarding a civil dispute with twitch and that case was resolved by a settlement. Let me be clear, it was not a criminal case against me and no criminal charges have ever been brought against me.”
Beahm adds, “Now, from a moral standpoint I'll absolutely take responsibility. I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with.”
He also forcefully denies that he’s a predator or pedophile, writing: “Now, with all this said, don't get it f*cking mistaken, I’ve seen all the remarks and labels being throw around so loosely. Social media is a destruction zone. I'm no ****** predator or pedophile.”
The streamer added that he’s changed since 2020, and that he’s not “going anywhere” writing “I’m not the same guy that made this mistake all those years ago. I'm taking an extended vacation with my family as mentioned on stream and I'm coming back with a heavy weight off my shoulders.”
The profanity-laden statement can be found in full in the tweet below:
Now, at long last, we know without a shadow of a doubt why Twitch banned Dr. Disrespect in 2020. It may not be the final chapter in this saga, but it’s something. Without access to the messages or more information on the matter, we still can only speculate at this point. We only have Beahm’s word on the matter. Until the messages are released—with the other party’s name and identity redacted, obviously—we don’t know just how serious this really is. Twitch has yet to make a statement on the matter, and it’s unclear whether the company will do so.
What do you think about all this? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.
Update 2 — 06/26/2024
The reaction online—even on the Dr Disrespect subreddit—has been pretty universally one of disgust, despair and resignation.
Already, sponsors are dropping the streamer and big names in the streaming community are distancing themselves from Beahm.
The game Disrespect was working on with Midnight Society, a studio he co-founded, an extraction shooter called Deadrop, is going to face an uphill battle, with many players calling it DOA. The game, which featured controversial NFTs, has seen the price of those NFTs nosedive in the wake of Doc’s admission.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of followers have unfollowed the streamer on Twitter and YouTube.
Doc’s friend and popular streamer Tim “TimTheTatMan” Betar has called Beahm’s actions “inexcusable” in a Twitter video where Betar is visibly upset.
The only holdouts seem to be fans who say that maybe the messages with the unnamed underage person are just ribald jokes or off-color remarks rather than sexual or flirtatious. I wondered this as well, but Doc’s line about “intentions” strikes me as an enormous red flag. And regardless of the content of the messages, any inappropriate messaging with a minor is indefensible and wrong. At best it’s a question of degree at this point, and that isn’t saying much.
I think the best thing for Beahm at this point would be to sail into the sunset and leave his streaming career behind him. He’s defiant in the statement above, but that defiance will lead to nowhere but more controversy and a gaming community that’s almost entirely united against him (or at least unwilling to support him) outside of a small but vocal slice of his fanbase. Most fans on reddit are just massively disappointed and feel incredibly betrayed and disenchanted with someone they looked up to for such a long time.
Time to give up the ghost, Doc. Go tend to your family. Forge a new path. Enjoy your wealth and make something new.
