New Details Emerge on Dr Disrespect’s 2020 Twitch Ban for Inappropriate Messaging with Minor

The 2020 Twitch ban of Guy Beahm, known as Dr Disrespect, has garnered renewed attention with recent revelations from a former Twitch employee, shedding light on previously undisclosed details. According to Rolling Stone, Beahm admitted to engaging in inappropriate messaging via Twitch’s Whispers feature with a minor in 2017.

The former employee disclosed that despite the minor informing Beahm of their underage status, he continued to send sexually explicit messages, which Twitch deemed severe enough to warrant a permanent ban.

Twitch reportedly acted swiftly upon receiving initial reports about Beahm’s behavior, forming an incident response team codenamed “Gold Sparrow” to handle allegations of streamer misconduct in mid-2020. The platform’s decision to ban Beahm was characterized by the severity of his actions, as described by the former employee. Neither Twitch nor Beahm responded to requests for comment on these specific revelations.

YouTube, where Beahm currently streams, has refrained from commenting on the situation publicly. Ryan Wyatt, formerly of Google, indicated that YouTube did not offer Beahm a contract due to the rumors surrounding his Twitch ban, which allegedly involved inappropriate messages with a minor.

The situation gained renewed attention when former Twitch employee Cody Conners highlighted Beahm’s ban in a tweet, which led to further disclosures from other former employees.

In response to the renewed scrutiny, Beahm acknowledged the inappropriate nature of his communications with the minor in a statement on Twitter, asserting that no illegal activities or physical meetings occurred. He referenced a resolved 2021 lawsuit against Twitch concerning the ban.

Despite these assertions, several brands and partners, including Turtle Beach and the San Francisco 49ers, severed ties with Beahm following the revelations. Midnight Society, the game studio he co-founded, also terminated its relationship after conducting its own investigation into the allegations.