LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 17: Dr. DisRespect is interviewed at the Call of Duty World League … [+]
This publication was updated on 6.27.20
Twitch abruptly banned Guy “Dr. Disrespectful” Beahm celebrity coil last night, leading to a day of speculation about what remains mysterious circumstances today. At this point, it’s unclear why Twitch took the extraordinary step of abruptly ban one of their most popular, albeit more troublesome, streamers, and Disrespect has yet to make a statement on Twitter or any social media channel, although his wife made a now-deleted statement on her Instagram referring to a “sample of support “from her husband’s community of fans.
Twitch has yet to specify a reason, rather than respond with a vague statement about the community guidelines.
“As is our process, we take appropriate action when we have evidence that a transmitter has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. These apply to all transmitters, regardless of status or importance in the community.” .
This is Disrespect’s second suspension: The first was only temporary, after he came out of the bathroom at the Los Angeles Convention Center during E3. At the time, many calls were criticized by the company for lightening the punishment of disrespect due to its celebrity. While Twitch has not been clear on the length of this suspension, insider streaming and esports industry insider Rod Breslau reports that this is permanent:
If true, it would be a surprising decision considering Disrepect’s exclusivity agreement with the platform. While Beahm still has a YouTube channel, he hasn’t updated it since the incident. Collectible statuette maker Lamo also appears to have removed its image from its offerings, although it remains available in third-party stores. Discord also reportedly ended its partnership with him, and Twitch took the unusual action of reimbursing subscriptions to his broadcasts.
Interestingly, Game Fuel still shows disrespect in its banner image on Twitter, and it continues to appear on the gaming peripherals maker Razer’s wesbite.
What we can see are the last moments of Beahm’s final broadcast, where he seems visibly shaken by something he sees on his phone, and remains unusually quiet for an extended period. That time is at 2:00 in the next video, but he seems restless for the rest of the video until he curses and abruptly ends the broadcast. Strong language warning below:
The video game streaming industry and the industry at large have been embroiled in allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and sexual misconduct in the past week. It is unclear if the Disrespect ban is part of Twitch’s major effort to clean up its service. In a recent statement, the company said it had begun the process of acting on the toughest allegations:
“We have prioritized the most serious cases and will begin issuing permanent suspensions based on our findings immediately.”
Right now, few seem to have much detail beyond a general sense of gravity surrounding the situation. There is no indication if there are criminal charges involved or not.
