The streamer Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm returned to live streaming last night on 07/08. After more than 40 days of break, over 500,000 people were watching him on YouTube at the peak. There he talked about his Twitch ban.
This is the situation:
- The character Dr Disrespect made his breakthrough on Twitch in 2017. The Doctor became one of the most important faces and representatives of Twitch in the following years.
- In March 2020 Twitch gave him a multi-year exclusive contract, after other top stars had switched to Mixer.
- In June 2020, Twitch banned the streamer from the platform and also dissolved the contract. There are no details regarding the reason for the ban.
Did nothing that justifies the ban
This is what Dr Disrespect says now about the Twitch ban:
You want to know what happened. Why did you get banned? Guess what. […] We still have no idea. We have no idea. […] As far as I’m concerned, we did nothing that justifies a ban. And certainly not the way they banned us. No communication beforehand, no outreach, nothing. Boom. Done.
The problem is: There are people in the community who are impatiently waiting for an answer. That creates a high urgency and leads to speculation. And I think that’s just the damn behavior of a cockroach. Period.
The last thing I’ll say about this: I’ve got to be smart in this whole thing. We’re talking about a big contract, about a lot of money […] There is a lot of money at stake. So let’s let the legal professionals do their job and let them do what they have to do. My conscience … I feel so good.
Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm
He later compared the Twitch ban to a threshold while he was in fifth gear in full throttle in a Lambo. But he made it clear: Now he is back at the wheel.
Later, Dr Disrespect added that the taxes this year had been tough and for a moment he thought he was in trouble. After all, he has expenses: He described his villa with many staff members who come from every corner to fulfill his every wish, and of course the powerful infinity pool.
Over 500,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube
How was the stream? In the first stream on YouTube, Dr Disrespect had to get back into it and get used to the changed conditions of the platform compared to Twitch. He said he could hardly follow the chat. It was visibly uncomfortable for him that donations over $500 were coming in, but he could not track who had donated to thank the donor, as is customary.
He initially watched videos by streamers on YouTube. Fans had already told him what to play next. He checked out these games:
- Summit1g played Rogue Company – Dr Disrespect found this exciting mainly because of the third-person perspective.
- xQc showcased Fall Guys – Dr Disrespect couldn’t handle the candy-colored game at all. Hardly had he been gone for a month and a half, gaming had transformed into this.
- He watched the trailer for Halo Infinite.
Later, Dr Disrespect played CoD Warzone himself. He hadn’t even played the new Season 5 yet.
The concurrent viewer numbers peaked early at over 500,000 concurrent viewers and then leveled off. The stream was typical for Dr Disrespect: The proven way he structures his streams has not changed.
Additionally, Dr Disrespect announced that he plans to open a production company.
Dr Disrespect could soon also stream on Facebook
Is Dr Disrespect now permanently on YouTube? No, Dr Disrespect himself had previously stated that he would not sign an exclusive contract.
The site The Verge cites anonymous sources that Dr Disrespect is also looking to experiment with other platforms like Facebook Gaming or his own website “The Champions Club”.
What’s behind this: Dr Disrespect’s statements regarding the Twitch ban strengthen a theory that has been circulating for a while and works in his favor.
This narrative assumes that Twitch banned the highly paid Dr Disrespect because they wanted to get out of the contract they had given him three months earlier. Because when Dr Disrespect was signed, Mixer was still a willing competitor that had lured away two stars, shroud and Ninja. After Mixer was shut down, Twitch viewed Dr Disrespect’s new contract as unfavorable and wanted to get rid of him.
This theory was circulated by the lawyer Richard Hoeg. He assumed that there would now be an arbitration proceeding between Dr Disrespect and Twitch. Because with such sums, one cannot simply refer to terms and conditions; it will have legal consequences.
The “speculations” that Dr Disrespect mentions are another theory, which has been represented by industry insider Rod Breslau. According to the theory, Dr Disrespect actually did something so serious that it cannot be publicly discussed for fear of legal repercussions.
A plausible theory for the ban of Dr Disrespect, which the streamer now also supports, is that of the lawyer Richard Hoeg. He does not see the Twitch ban as a ban, but rather as a dissolution of the contract. What the consequences will be and how it will proceed from here will be explored in this article:
This is the best theory as to why Dr Disrespect was banned from Twitch
