Renowned battle royale streamer Dr Disrespect was recently banned from Twitch, just as a new wave of the #MeToo movement shakes up the gaming industry.
Popular streaming service Twitch has begun the mass banning of streamers, as a wave of sexual misconduct allegations sweeps the video game industry in line with the renewed #MeToo movement.
Internet celebrity Herschel “Guy” Beahm IV, better known as “Dr Disrespect,” was one of the more high-profile streamers to be hit with a ban, though the reason for the heavy sanction remains a mystery.
Dr Disrespect took it to Twitter to address the situation, thanking his fans (who he likes to call the Champions Club) for their support, and informing them that Twitch has yet to disclose the particular reason behind his ban.
Champions Club,
Twitch has not notified me on the specific reason behind their decision… Firm handshakes to all for the support during this difficult time.
-Dr Disrespect
— Dr Disrespect (@drdisrespect) June 28, 2020
Twitch’s recent banning frenzy
Earlier this month, the platform left its streamers reeling after implementing sanctions en masse for old videos containing copyrighted music.
Now, it seems that Twitch is purging more of its partners, as the revived pressure from the #MeToo movement forces the streaming giant to take action against the mounting cases of alleged sexual misconduct coming to light.
Twitch made an official statement through their blog discussing their investigations towards the reported cases of abuse, as well as detailing the revisions being made to their tools and policies.
An update on our investigations into the recent allegations of sexual abuse and harassment involving Twitch streamers and actions we’re taking. https://t.co/OLJzU9LEVU
— Twitch (@Twitch) June 25, 2020
Has Twitch truly cut ties with Dr Disrespect?
According to professional eSports and gaming consultant Rod Breslau, Dr Disrespect’s ban is reportedly a permanent one and does not involve the DMCA, much to the speculation of some of the streamer’s fans. Breslau broke the news of the ban yesterday on Twitter.
Sources: it is not DMCA
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) June 26, 2020
Since no official statement has been released regarding Beahm’s permanent exile from Twitch, Breslau’s statement should be taken with a grain of salt. Though the streaming platform’s recent actions seem to lend truth to the rumors.
According to eSports site Dexerto, Twitch has canceled and refunded all the subscriptions made to Dr Disrespect’s channel, and have removed all of his emotes.
Twitch have cancelled subscriptions to Dr Disrespect's channel and are sending out refunds. His emotes are also no longer available.
Here's the email sent out to all subs: pic.twitter.com/YPBkzoV7nP
— DEXERTO.COM (@Dexerto) June 27, 2020
Fellow Twitch personality Shannon “ShannonZKiller” Plante chimed in on Twitter, stating that Dr Disrespect was “done” as an internet celebrity. Plante mentioned that she knew the reason behind the ban, which she is not at liberty to divulge.
For those who didn’t see pic.twitter.com/uV3HfSIbHJ
— Tito Snabitz (@briggzyy) June 26, 2020
The Twitch Community Manager of Education has since deleted the tweet after being accused of “clout chasing”—jumping on the permaban hype train without providing a reason.
Hey, I totally get that it turns out ppl didn't want more confirmation that it is a permanent ban without the reason and felt the tweet was clout chasing, so I will respect those perspectives and delete the tweet.
Thanks for putting me in check!
— Shannon (@ShannonZKiller) June 26, 2020
Dr Disrespect isn’t the only high-profile streamer to recently get axed by Twitch, as fellow celebrities Samuel “iAmSp00n” Earney, Brad “BlessRNG” Jolly, WarwitchTV, DreadedCone, Stephen “Wolv21” Trackim, Jr. were also banned for reasons undisclosed.
Image courtesy of Dr Disrespect/Twitter