Streaming giant Twitch has been a whole new platform as of late. Love or loathe the fella, but seeing Dr Disrespect (Guy Beahm to his mom and dad) get slapped with an RKO-banning from outta nowhere was a sign that things were changing on Twitch. So what happened, what was the final straw o the Twitch camel’s back that finally saw their patience run out with the controversial streamer?
Nobody knows, Twitch is keeping a lid on their decision to eject one of their most popular draws from their site and Beahm himself is still in the dark about his ousting. “Honestly, we just don’t know,” Beahm said to the Washington Post in a new interview.
It was a total shock. Imagine showing up to work and the doors are closed and you can’t get inside. 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.
Beahm had signed a two-year exclusivity deal with Twitch earlier in the year, with his ban coming on June 26. There’s no shortage of wild theories as to which line Beahm had crossed with his onscreen character and schtick, although a further interview with PC Gamer where he was pushed for answers surrounding his comments about English conspiracy theorist David Icke and the Coronavirus resulted in his publicist quickly stepping in to do some damage control:
PC Gamer: Sure, and I want to talk about that. But first, you did recently ruffle a few feathers after sharing a video during a stream of Dr. Thomas Cowen, and he was talking about some coronavirus theories. You’ve been open recently and sharing some of your own thoughts about coronavirus and even relating it to things like 5G networks. Even on your last stream, you were talking about David Ike and his documentary. I’m curious, in bringing up those thoughts—and I think it’s okay to call them controversial—did that ever result in Twitch saying anything to you or warning you?
Beahm: No.
So you don’t think that might be the cause?
Beahm: I don’t think so. In fact, I—
Beahm’s publicist: We’re getting really close to dangerous territory here. So, you know, Doc, we don’t know why Twitch banned him, and there is no formal warnings or reprimand on record. That’s all legal is going to let him say.
Victim of Twitch’s heavy-handed policies or cunning strategist looking to keep his brand relevant after losing his primary source of fame and fortune? You decide. As for where Dr Disrespect will end up next? It certainly won’t be Mixer, now that that platform is dead and buried.
Last Updated: July 17, 2020
Hammersteyn
July 17, 2020 at 12:59
One of the theories is money. They paid the doctor a two year contract so that they could keep him on Twitch and not Mixer. But Mixer died and Twitch decided it didn’t want to pay him anymore. So they fired him for breaking one of their vague rules.
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 13:11
Another theory is tax evasion…
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 19:20
But why would Twitch be bothered about tax evasion by their users? That was a huge issue that affected many of the IRL streamers, and I don’t think anything happened to those ladies?
Tax evasion would only really affect him and his dealings with the IRS.
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 19:20
Wouldn’t that make a legal case against Twitch more likely, because if they canned him because of Mixer dying? I don’t know, I doubt they’d be that idiotic. Most likely it came down to running foul of their user agreement – maybe he was just too controversial? Maybe he said something that he shouldn’t? That sounds to be the most likely scenario.
Hammersteyn
July 20, 2020 at 10:03
They’re probably gonna say they dumped him because of a breach of their T&Cs
Son of Banana Jim
July 20, 2020 at 15:48
I think that’s the most likely scenario, but I still think a lawsuit is heading their way.
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 12:53
There was a lot more to the interview than that. You are reporting on one part of it. How about the fact that he is basically being told to remain silent or he has read all the wild conspiracy theories and is kinda heart-broken over it. They are even considering suing Twitch. In my opinion, the selective nature of this article makes the guy look bad to those who only have a passing interest.
The D
July 17, 2020 at 13:16
Honestly, I think if he’s inviting people to do an interview and bringing a PR agent with him, that’s as fishy as can be. I’m not a fan of him and his schtick, and he’s clearly playing the victim here. Plus sharing debunked Coronavirus claims on his channel wasn’t cool to begin with.
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 13:22
I agree with you on the conspiracy stuff.
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 18:03
Better to have that stuff out in the open so that it can get debunked, rather then allowing conspiracy nonsense to go underground and gain a following because it’s “forbidden knowledge”.
Gavin Mannion
July 17, 2020 at 13:22
I watched half of one of this guys streams and that’s enough… he’s a horrific human being (proven by live streaming from the E3 toilets) and I for one am ecstatic he’s been de-platformed. The less of this sort of garbage around the better.
And then today I find out he’s been spreading 5G conspiracy crap, lock him up and throw away the key.
PestControl
July 17, 2020 at 13:57
I also read the entire interview and it might just be me, however I think he’s lying about not knowing why he was banned – I think he knows 100% why he was banned. I think the only reason why it isn’t public knowledge is because Twitch knows that it will paint DrD in a bad light and that in turn might reflect badly on them for having him on their platform (especially with the exclusivity deal) – so they probably told him that they won’t say anything if he won’t say anything.
Granted… I’m not a fan… so I might just be biased 😀
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 13:27
Time will tell, I guess.
Gavin Mannion
July 17, 2020 at 13:27
Not really, time has already told us he’s awful, granted he may get a new platform and will always be richer than me. But that isn’t going to change him being an awful person
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 13:27
I mean in the sense that once we know what actually went down. It will get out.
Mark Treloar
July 17, 2020 at 13:31
Clearly Twitch saw some value in him. One mans trash is another mans treasure.
Original Heretic
July 17, 2020 at 13:46
Twitch saw the value in money. They got someone controversial and (somehow) popular, to bring in more.
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 17:48
You WANT people to get deplatformed? What the hell happened to you Gavin? You know that sort of thing cuts in all directions, right? That’s the whole problem with cancel culture, you may agree with the targets now, but when that pendulum swings the other way (and it will), YOU might get cancelled. Some idiot might decide that because of your current views, you don’t deserve a job, or to be ever employed, or because you wrote some woke article in the 2020s, and things shifted in another direction in 2040, now you’re fair game?
I mean I don’t really care much for the guy or his content, but I don’t want to see him completely removed, and deplatformed.
What happened to just disagreeing with someone, or ignoring a vacuous talking head (which this dude clearly is), or just having a healthy little tit-for-tat on a forum or on disqus, or battling it out on retarded platforms like Twitter, instead of going scorched earth because you don’t like their views, or you think they need to be completely destroyed because they cheated on their wife (I mean, if that’s true, who’s business is that really? It’s between him and his wife….
If that’s ultimately the reason he lost his twitch account, that’s pathetic…
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 17:56
And if he’s been doing the 5G conspiracy crap, it’s best to have that stuff out there so that it can be thoroughly debunked – rather then allowing it to go all underground like Alex Jones, and then filter out every once in a while on Facebook – from the usual assortment of meatheads.
Gavin Mannion
July 20, 2020 at 11:33
Unfortunately thoroughly debunking baseless conspiracy theories doesn’t work, allowing people to publicly endanger people for lol’s is the reason Trump and Boris are destroying countries and killing people.
We need a new law that enforces that people aren’t allowed to spread knowingly dangerous and incorrect things.. problem is that can’t exist as assholes and politicans.. same thing… will use it to silence real dissent.
The guys an asshole, his persona is an asshole, it’s fine to be the asshole but it’s not fine to spread dangerous, knowingly false, conspiracy theories that literally kill people.
If you think hate can be countered by online discussions or even IRL discussions then maybe you need to go back and read what happened in Rwanda and how it came about.
People are literally dying right now because assholes are allowed to say masks hurt their personal liberties… gtfo
Son of Banana Jim
July 20, 2020 at 15:41
I still don’t agree, and I definitely don’t think laws that curb freedom of speech will help either. Have you dealt with the average government official recently? The amount of bureaucracy that surrounds them? And do you really want to give politicians the power to silence any one? I’m old enough to remember Apartheid, and that sort of power absolutely horrifies me. A top down approach like more legislation is actually the worst way to deal with pseudoscience, fake history, misinformation, group propoganda etc.
And also, let’s say you have a law that deals with “fake” or “dangerous” views, that will still depend on some authority figure to decide what is “fake” and “dangerous”. And, let’s not remember that not so long ago in South Africa, a certain president called Thabo Mbeki was certain that HIV/Aids wasn’t a syndrome, but rather a function of lifestyle, diet etc. Even governments fall pray to bad information and bad interpretations, and I’d rather not have them with all that power.
There will always be idiots, with idiotic views, and even more so when people are in a group or decide to isolate themselves from others. The fact that you as a normal individual can walk up to one of the fools without a mask and say “Listen buddy, why aren’t you wearing a mask?” And then having a conversation about it, is really the only way that you can make changes. Granted of course, you’re not going to convince anyone if your first word out of your mouth is “you’re an asshole”. One of the interesting things about confronting people and calling them names is that you just reinforce their ideas, because in their minds, you are the asshole.
By the way, what happened in Rwanda isn’t really applicable, because the bulk of the anger that was aimed at the Tutsis by the Hutus was because of the privileges that the minority Tutsis had during their colonial period. At best, Rwanda is really good lesson for us in South Africa.
Skyblue
July 17, 2020 at 15:55
Agreed. Complete idiot. Also proved it when he cheated on his wife on a Vegas trip and he got bust. Cried like a little girl online saying he was taking a break to sort out “his problems”. Sticking your dick into other people (no matter how willing they are) without your wife’s permission isn’t “a problem”, it just makes you an immoral scumbag.
Kervyn Cloete
July 17, 2020 at 13:31
I read the full interview now, and I don’t think he’s being told to remain silent. It just sounds like he’s playing it safe and will rather not say something that will lead to more trouble.
“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 just to add as a qualifier, I do not have a horse in this race. Don’t really have an opinion on the guy one way or the other.
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 13:31
Oh, Ok. I got the impression that he was being told to not say too much.
Kervyn Cloete
July 17, 2020 at 13:36
Look, he could very well still be getting muzzled at the moment, because not being told why you’re being fired sounds kinda far-fetched.
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 13:41
Yeah, I don’t buy that for a second. In all honesty, I think there is a dark reason for this whole thing. I guess my biggest flaw is I am a forgiving person, I used to be a big Doc fan and I don’t mind him, but I grew out of it. It may be one of those confusing situations where you see someone you admire fall from grace, Kinda like Hansie Cronje. But the reality of the situation is there are bigger problems in the world and this is a side distraction of little consequence.
Gavin Mannion
July 17, 2020 at 14:24
Still not forgiven Hansie for what he did… don’t think I ever will
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 14:44
Yeah, He turned us into the laughing stock of the Cricket world.
Skyblue
July 17, 2020 at 15:33
I don’t think he did. I think the rest of the cricket playing nations were just as shocked but not as disappointed and saddened as we were.
MechMachine
July 17, 2020 at 15:56
Yeah, what I mean by that is every time we choke at a world cup, it has an accumulative effect on our psyche as Cricket nation. Maybe it’s just me, but there is a shame there.
Skyblue
July 17, 2020 at 16:58
India, Pakistan and Australia have all been caught doing worse and most of those players were allowed to return to international levels of play. He was a disgrace though and in turn disgraced us as a nation, I’m not going to defend that.
Skyblue
July 17, 2020 at 15:33
He paid the ultimate price. Public humiliation and he would never had been on that plane if it wasn’t exposed. Compared to SA government, the man was a saint. He did break our hearts though.
Gavin Mannion
July 17, 2020 at 15:55
Everything doesn’t have to be compared to the next worst thing… he sold us down river
Skyblue
July 17, 2020 at 17:41
I can’t defend that but it just feels like a lifetime ago already. I let go of it a long time ago as we have just have so many other problems here in SA. At least you got out in time, focus on that because shit is getting real here very fast. Stay positive man, just not too positive ;-p
Kervyn Cloete
July 17, 2020 at 13:36
Look, he could very well still be getting muzzled at the moment, because not being told why you’re being fired sounds kinda far-fetched.
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 17:41
Once again, DarkSydePhil outlives another… In the end, there will only be DSP.
Son of Banana Jim
July 17, 2020 at 19:03
(Having read the full interview)
It sounds to me that the reason he’s not saying anything is because he’s contemplating taking legal action against Twitch, rather than something that he’s allegedly done (which was the rumour that circulated for a while).