Back in 2020, fans were left stunned when Herschel “Guy” Beahm, better known as Dr. Disrespect, vanished from Twitch without a trace. With over 4 million followers, Dr. Disrespect was a colossal figure on the platform, making his sudden disappearance all the more shocking. Fast forward to now, and the truth behind his abrupt exit has finally surfaced—revealing that it was far more serious than mere streamer squabbles.
Dr. Disrespect’s ban came just after he inked a lucrative two-year exclusive deal with Twitch, reportedly worth eight figures. “To me, it’s pretty shocking, and it’s very obviously life-changing, rewarding,” he told The Verge. Yet, just two months later, Twitch initiated a massive purge of streamers facing allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct. Despite no accusations against him at the time, Dr. Disrespect found himself in the crossfire, leaving him bewildered. “It was a total shock. Imagine showing up to work and the doors are closed and you can’t get inside,” he lamented to The Washington Post. “You’re going, ‘What’s going on?’ And you’ve been told you’ve been fired. But you haven’t been told the reason why. We just weren’t given an answer… It was the worst feeling.”
Dr. Disrespect eventually resurfaced on YouTube, but the burning question lingered: Why was he banned from Twitch? In June 2024, the mystery unraveled when a former Twitch employee disclosed the reason—Beahm’s alleged inappropriate communication with minors.
Dr. Disrespect’s Twitch ban stemmed from allegations of inappropriate messaging with a minor, as revealed by former Twitch employee Cody Conners on X (formerly Twitter). “He got banned because he got caught sexting a minor in the then-existing Twitch whispers product,” Conners wrote. This claim was supported by another former Twitch employee from the trust and safety team, who confirmed to The Verge that Beahm used the now-defunct Whispers messaging app to arrange a meetup with a minor at TwitchCon.
Initially, Dr. Disrespect issued a brief, dismissive statement: “I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid.” However, days later, he provided a more detailed explanation, admitting to exchanging messages with a minor in 2017 but insisting they were “casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more.” Acknowledging his lapse in judgment, he stated, “I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with. It should have never happened.”
Despite no criminal charges, the fallout was significant. Dr. Disrespect was dropped from Midnight Society, a game studio he co-founded. “In order to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and individuals, we needed to act,” the studio stated. “For this reason, we are terminating our relationship with Guy Beahm immediately.”
Thus, the saga of Dr. Disrespect’s Twitch ban comes to a close, shedding light on the serious allegations that led to the fall of one of the platform’s biggest stars.
