Around four years ago, one of the biggest controversies in live-streaming occurred in the form of DrDisrespect's permanent ban from Twitch. This was a shocking development for everyone in the global community as he was one of the platform's most prominent names and had just signed a seven-figure, two-year exclusivity deal.
With fans, fellow streamers, and online users the world over perplexed, both parties did little to allay concerns, not revealing anything about what had transpired. In fact, DrDisrespect himself claimed to have been kept in the dark in several interviews after, saying the purple platform would not disclose why his account had been removed.
Now, almost four years later, two former Twitch employees have seemingly revealed the reason for his perma-suspension, and it doesn't portray the current YouTube star, real name Herschel "Guy" Beahm IV, in a good light. In fact, it has led to severe ramifications for the American and his relationship with the company he co-founded.
Getting back to the ban, a year after he was suspended, DrDisrespect told fans he was suing Twitch for monetary damages while revealing he finally knew it issued the ban. In 2022, the dispute was resolved, with the star content creator saying:
"I have resolved my legal dispute with Twitch. No party admits to any wrongdoing."
Since then, the 42-year-old former game developer has seemingly returned to a proper broadcasting schedule and got his career back on track on the red platform. Fans were also happy to see him move past the debacle and get back to doing what he loves best.
However, the latest allegations from the two former employees at the Amazon-owned streaming service suggest things not being as rosy as they appear. One of them, who chose to remain anonymous to protect themselves and their career, revealed to The Verge that Beahm had used Twitch’s now-defunct messaging system, Whispers, to contact a minor and make plans to meet at TwitchCon.
This person was working on Twitch’s trust and safety team at the time of the ban in 2020. These allegations backed up what was apparently a tweet pointed at DrDisrespect by another former worker, Cody Conners.
On June 22, the company's former strategic partnerships team member put up this tweet on X:
He got banned because 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.
— Cody Conners (@evoli) June 22, 2024
Case closed, gang.
While he did not name anyone, the internet was quick to connect the dots, as seen in the replies to the tweet. Beahm himself added a tweet evidently in response to this explosive post, saying:
"I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid."
Around the same time, the studio director at Midnight Society, Robert Bowling, posted an update for fans on X, saying an investigation was already underway:
"I'm now aware and I'm dealing with it."
For those not aware, Midnight Society is a game studio that DrDisrespect helped start and was developing Deadrop. It is an extraction shooter that many said was 'one of the most anticipated web3 crypto NFT games' and is intimately tied to his persona, meaning he was closely involved with its creation.
However, once the allegations came out, the company, after 'conducting its own investigation into the matter and speaking with parties involved,' terminated its contract with Beahm. This was its tweet disclosing the same:
On Friday evening we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founder’s Guy Beahm aka DrDisrespect .
— Midnight Society (@12am) June 24, 2024
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.…
This raised the ire of a lot of DrDisrespect's fans, many of whom have come out in support of his innocence since the allegations. They have also been the main driving force behind the marketing and publicity of Deadrop, and their flipping against the company raises questions about the future of the game, already without its inspiration and driving force after his termination.
Moreover, a while before this news came out, Beahm ended a live stream, saying 'he would be taking an extended break, or possibly driving into the sunset altogether.' He added that he was thinking about 'moving away from the limelight' and that 'there are 50 million other streamers you could watch right now.' It remains to be seen if he actually stops broadcasting or if new developments will unfold.
Brief on DrDisrespect 's recent live-streaming endeavors
The former NCAA Division II college basketball player has been with YouTube since August 2020. His (second) debut stream attracted a massive 335K Peak Viewers to break Ninja's record even though it was just a gas station and his pre-recordings without ever showing him on camera.
His YouTube channel is replete with gameplay videos of his most famous gaming series, Call of Duty, while he also plays a lot of other shooters. However, his most popular live stream from June 30, 2023, involved a live stream of his playthrough of Only Up!, a 2023 platformer game developed and published by SCKR Games that became a rage among content creators after its release.
He had revealed earlier this year that his Twitch ban led to his losing out on major sponsorships with Nike and Oakley. However, that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy with other endeavors, not least the development of the highly-anticipated Deadrop.
It was in December 2021 that he announced the launch of a triple A gaming studio named Midnight Society. He added that COD/Halo veterans Robert Bowling and Quinn DelHoyo would help him head the firm, with Sumit Gupta acting as the CEO.
The studio's mission was to create a "day-zero" community experience where players have the power to decide the games' 'feature prioritization, pivotal design decisions, and fuel innovation in the shooter genre.' Additionally, it would focus on online player-versus-player multiplayer games, with the free-to-play battle royale title codenamed Dead Drop being its first project.
Apart from this venture, DrDisrespect announced on August 17, 2020, that was writing a personal memoir called Violence. Speed. Momentum. It came out on March 30, 2021, including in audiobook format, but it was mostly given low to less-than-average ratings.
DrDisrespect Most Popular YouTube Streams
| Stream name and date | Peak Viewers |
|---|---|
| DR DISRESPECT - ONLY UP - TO THE TIPPITY TOP (June 30, 2023)
|
89 080 PV
|
| WARZONE LIVE EVENT - 12pm PT - Season 3 | !Memoir (April 21, 2021)
|
78 163 PV
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 - The Beginning (December 9, 2020)
|
76 222 PV
|
| DR DISRESPECT - WARZONE 2.0 - EXCLUSIVE GAMEPLAY (November 16, 2022)
|
71 216 PV
|
| DR DISRESPECT - WARZONE 2.0 - $100,000 TOURNAMENT (November 21, 2022)
|
64 150 PV
|
He also worked with Hi-Rez Studios to design a custom map and a DrDisrespect character skin for the third-person shooter video game Rogue Company in October 2020. The game free-to-play, team-based game was positively received as it 'combined facets from various successful FPS' to deliver a pretty enjoyable experience.
Lastly, the online star backed Bright Star Studios in a $2 million investment deal for the company's massively multiplayer online social sandbox game, Ember Sword, in May 2021. It is yet to be released, although players can pre-register for its beta launch when it happens on the official site.
What happens from here in DrDisrespect's career is anyone's guess, but with allegations still hanging over his head, it is certain fans will hear from him, even if he is taking a break from live streaming. Streams Charts will keep readers updated on any developments, and those interested in checking out his activity, streams, and more in detail can do so via our PRO subscription.
