Dr Disrespect Responds to Twitch Ban

Drew Taylor |

Jul 20, 2020

The situation up until recently concerning Twitch streamer Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm had been one of life’s biggest mysteries.

For those unfamiliar, Dr Disrespect was reportedly banned from Twitch. No reasons were forthcoming from Twitch and Dr Disrespect had not made a statement.

The ban was quite surprising given that it had recently been reported by Rod Breslau that Dr Disrespect had re-signed to Twitch in an “exclusive multi-year streamer deal.”

The mystery surrounding Dr Disrespect’s reported ban thickened when a new trailer titled “Alleyways” dropped on Doc’s YouTube channel.

The trailer features a silhouetted Doc standing in an alleyway, presumably contemplating his next move.

The song is by independent artist J+1, and it channels the 80’s style synth sound often found in shows like Miami Vice.

Truth be told, the song is instantly catchy. I’ve listened to it myself probably 10 times.

As expected, the trailer caused a ton of buzz, and is over 1.7 million views.

While people were speculating what this meant, it didn’t take long for Beahm to speak. He discussed the recent Twitch ban in an interview with PC Gamer.

When asked what was going on the past three weeks, Beahm said it’s been tough and indicated that he and his team are working on a return.

Beahm stated, “You know, while it’s unfortunate that I’m off Twitch, we’re definitely working behind the scenes on what a Dr return might look like. In terms of the specifics around that, we’re not interested in exclusive at this point.”

He added, “We’re exploring our options and, honestly, just can’t wait to get back into character soon. We have a lot to do, and I’ll be wherever fans want me to be. And, you know, that’s been our approach.”

He would later elaborate, “Well, let’s just say all the cards are on the table. I’m more focused on just making sure whatever we do next, whether it’s a platform move or not, that it’s the right decision for the community and Champions Club that follows me.”

Beahm continued, “And that makes sense to what I want to continue to accomplish with this character in terms of taking things to the next level, and whether it’s streaming or outside of streaming. So it’s just being conscientious of that decision.”

PC Gamer indicated that in a follow-up email, Doc told them he’s considering streaming to his Champions Club website, YouTube, Facebook gaming, or a combination of the three.

Doc would also reveal how he found out about the ban and what his reaction was.

He explained, “Well, to be honest—okay, so we got the news, you know, it was just… it was completely… it was a total shock. Imagine just going to work one day and the door is closed and you can’t get inside and you’ve been told that you were fired, and you weren’t given a reason why, you know? And so, for me, it was just an initial shock.”

“The way I discovered it, too, I was on a buddy’s stream, and some of the features started turning off while I was just in the chat and everything, and then all of a sudden social media was blowing up. I got on the call with my team, and after one quick email, it was all over.” Beahm elaborated.

He then stated, “At that particular moment, it was more of just kind of shocked, like, what just happened, you know? And both my wife and I are just like, what’s going on?”

“So that’s kind of how, initially, how things kind of went down. And then from there, you’re sort of just digesting it. You’re still not getting any answers. So that’s kind of why I had… I wouldn’t have known what to say, you know? We put out the one tweet, our statement, and that’s kind of where things are at,” he added.

Beahm would also confirm that there still hasn’t been any communication from Twitch.

He had previously stated in June that Twitch had not given him a specific reason for their decision to ban him.

He would also indicate he will not return to Twitch, ” Obviously, for legal counsel, I have to be careful here. But I can say however, that I will not be returning to Twitch, so, I mean, that’s it.”

Beahm also hinted that his team might take legal action when asked why he hasn’t been more outspoken on social media.

He explained, “Uh, well, I mean, I’m trying to take the best and appropriate steps as possible, and there are things behind the scenes in terms from a legal standpoint that, you know, I can’t… that’s where it’s at.”

“And so, I don’t want to go on social media and say the wrong thing or the right thing—or whatever it is—and, like, we made our statement. And that’s, you know, that’s where things are at now,” he elaborated.

Ht then firmly stated, “We are considering taking legal action.”

He also indicated there may be some changes to the character and the viewer experience, taking Doc to a new level.

As for the final moments on his stream, Beahm stated, “Again, I’ve seen all the types of theories and speculations out there. And it’s gut wrenching and disheartening, but, in terms of that particular piece, I could speak directly to, like, that was just… I was in a moment where I was just sort of taking in what’s going on in the world, you know?

He continued, “If people had context of that clip going into it, and then coming out of it, like, all I was talking about was just the state of the world that we’re in dealing with, dealing with the protests, and the coronavirus, and everything that was happening.

“It’s just like, man… And at that particular moment, I think I was just kind of going through a, you know, like, when can we break this funk of 2020? It was just me being real on stream. That’s pretty much the context of that,” Beahm concluded.