Dr Disrespect Banned from Twitch -- Permanently
Dr Disrespect is undeniably one of the most prominent streamers on Twitch’s platform. Although perhaps I should say “was” now, as out of nowhere, the video game streaming platform suddenly dropped Dr Disrespect like the hottest potato straight from the oven (with no mitts).
Herschel “Guy” Beahm IV was certainly one of Twitch’s most prominent streamers, with a following 4.5 million strong, an exclusivity deal with Twitch, and as of late last year, even a television series in the works. It’s safe to say that after Ninja left (or likely even before), Dr Disrespect became nearly synonymous with Twitch for many viewers. All of that might have changed today.
It should be mentioned that Beahm has been banned before. At that time, he was temporarily suspended for broadcasting live while in a public restroom during E3 2019, where his E3 badge was also revoked. Well-known eSports and game streaming insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau reports that his sources say this ba is permanent. He does so in a rather blunt manner too, which I appreciate.
Beahm had built much of his following based on disguising racist comments as comedy and pulling toxic stunts and calling it content. Though Twitch has been mostly silent about the whole affair, they have provided a few different video game outlets with the following generic statement:
"As is our process, we take appropriate action when we have evidence that a streamer has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. These apply to all streamers regardless of status or prominence in the community.”
Twitch also released a statement on the Twitch Blog. In this post, Twitch states that they are making a commitment to making Twitch a better platform by reviewing their policies, and their streamers and taking necessary actions against violators. The following is a snippet of that statement; for full statement please click here:
We want to provide an update on our investigations into the recent allegations of sexual abuse and harassment involving Twitch streamers and actions we’re taking. We are reviewing each case that has come to light as quickly as possible, while ensuring appropriate due diligence as we assess these serious allegations. We’ve prioritized the most severe cases and will begin issuing permanent suspensions in line with our findings immediately.
Twitch is facing a reckoning of sorts (that word has been going around a lot lately), as numerous streamers and fans speak out about the different forms of harassment that have been going on for years. Twitch higher-ups have seemingly been turning a blind eye to many of the more popular Twitch Partners, like Beahm. Recently, streamers IamSp00n, BlessRNG, DreadedCone, and WarwitchTV were all banned after allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, while many others on the platform were accused of the same. A #TwitchBlackout took place Wednesday, June 24, wherein many Twitch streamers refused to stream and many viewers didn’t watch, leading Twitch to finally step their game up and take real action.
