Dr Disrespect admits inappropriately messaging minor which led to 2020 Twitch ban
Last Updated on: 25th June 2024, 08:15 pm
Dr Disrespect, one of the most popular video game streamers in the world, was permanently banned from Twitch in 2020 in a move that shocked millions of fans. This came just months after the ‘Two-Time’ signed a reported 8-figure deal with Twitch to stream exclusively on the platform for multiple years.
At the time of the ban, no reason was given by either Twitch or Dr Disrespect, but the streamer did eventually elaborate that he knew the reason for the ban and he was in the middle of a legal battle with the streaming platform. It has since been made public that the lawsuit resulted in Doc being paid out in full for the contract that he signed in March 2020.
This news came to light following a former Twitch employee, Cody Connors, publicly stating why Dr Disrespect was banned, although he did not name Doc in his post 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.”
This once again put the spotlight back on the 2020 ban and led to other ex-employees as well as gaming and esports journalist Rod Breslau replying stating “I didn’t lie,” which was in response to his 2020 post that alluded to him knowing the reason that Dr Disrespect was banned but wasn’t comfortable with stating the reason why.
“look: for several hours now I have been told from credible sources the reason DrDisrespect has been banned. however due to the importance and sensitivity around the subject I have refrained from going on it. i don’t feel comfortable with it currently”
Following these allegations coming to light, Midnight Society, the gaming studio co-founded by Dr Disrespect, parted ways with the streamer saying,
“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.”
Dr Disrespect has now publicly released a statement regarding the allegations, which he claims he is now allowed to do as it has become public knowledge. In the statement, Dr Disrespect admitted to inappropriately messaging a minor in Twitch’s private messaging feature, although the streamer claims it never went further. You can read the full statement below.
“Lets cut the f***ing bullshit, as you know there’s no filter with me. I’ve always been up front and real with you guys on anything that I can be up front about, and I’m always willing to accept responsibility… which is why I’m here now.
First and foremost I do want to apologize to everyone in my community as well as those close to me, my team, and everyone at Midnight Society Game Studio.
A lot of people have been left in the dark about what happened yesterday with Midnight Society and I, and we made the painful decision collectively, to have me step down. Our team is full of incredibly talented and good people that have high career ambitions and families and i’d never want jeopardize the culture we have carefully crafted.
Everyone has been wanting to know why I was banned from Twitch, but for reasons outside of my control, I was not allowed to say anything for the last several years. Now that two former Twitch employees have publicly disclosed the accusations, I can now tell you my side of the story regarding the ban.
Were there Twitch whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017? 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.
Now, from a moral standpoint I’ll absolutely take responsibility. I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with. That’s on me. That’s on me as an adult, a husband and a father. It should have never happened. I get it. I’m not perfect and I’ll fucking own my shit. This was stupid.
Now, with all this said, don’t get it f***ing mistaken, I’ve seen all the remarks and labels being throw around so loosely. Social media is a destruction zone. I’m no fucking predator or pedophile. Are you kidding me? Anyone that truely knows me fucking knows where I stand on those things with those types of people. Fuck that. That’s a different level of disgust that I f***ing hate even hearing about. Don’t be labeling me as the worst of the worst with your exaggerations. Get the fuck outta here with that shit.
But I think I’ve said what I needed to say regarding the ban itself. That’s it. That’s why Twitch made the decision in 2020.
To my team, community, industry friends that have supported me, I apologize, I wish I could’ve said all this sooner. You guys have always showed me and my family love and support throughout all these years we love you guys like you can’t imagine. I have the fucking best community and circle. If any of this has made you uncomfortable, I get it. You don’t have to support me anymore but just know you have always been greatly appreciated.
But trust me when I say this…to all my haters that live and breath social media with zero real life experience, I don’t give a f**k about you.
Finally, if you’re uncomfortable with this entire statement and think I’m a piece of shit, that’s fine. But I’m not f***ing going anywhere. 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.
They want me to disappear… yeah f***ing right.”
Robert Bowling, the Head of Doc’s former game studio, Midnight Society, took to X to respond to the admission saying,
“This is a statement from me personally. It does not reflect any of my companies and has not gone through any legal or PR approvals. If you inappropriately message a minor. I can not work with you. Period. I promised to only act on facts, and I did.”
Now that Dr Disrespect has admitted to the allegations, although downplayed the severity of them, it will be interesting to see how YouTube responds, the platform that he moved to following his Twitch ban. It is unclear at this time whether YouTube will continue to allow him to stream or post content on the website.
As this story develops we will continue to update you with the latest information.
