In 2020, Twitch streamer DrDisrespect was banned. Now, in June 2024, the alleged reason is said to be known. The now 42-year-old streamer sent sexual explicit messages to a minor at that time. But the situation is complicated, says YouTuber Charles White.
These are the allegations:
- A senior former employee of Twitch has dropped the bomb: DrDisrespect was banned at that time for having sent “sexual messages” (sexting) to a minor via Twitch’s whisper system and for wanting to meet her at TwitchCon.
- Twitch employees saw it and banned DrDisrespect.
- So it was not a mistake by Twitch.
Source held a central position at Twitch
Who is the source: Cody Conners was Twitch’s “Strategic Partnership Account Director”. This is a central role. He was responsible in this position for the parameters on how Twitch employees manage the biggest streamers.
2 known individuals reinforce the accusation
Is it credible? During the discussion, two people spoke up who hold considerable weight in the scene:
- Nathan Greyson was at the time the Twitch expert for Kotaku (and the trigger of the GamerGate scandal): Greyson says he heard this from various sources multiple times. He says he heard the same story about DrDisrespect at least 4 times. However, Greyson states: Everyone he spoke to had “only heard” the story, and no one could substantiate it.
- Rod Breslau, an e-sports journalist and insider known as “Slasher”, had already commented on the ban in 2020 and said he had more information. However, it is a “delicate matter”; he does not feel comfortable sharing it. At that time, he was accused of boasting. Now he feels vindicated.
Twitch bosses are conspired to tell the story
Why didn’t they tell it then? Greyson shares a post from a colleague, who says:
- A journalist needs multiple sources to confirm such a story.
- The decision-makers at Twitch seem to be just a small group and tightly conspiratorial. None of them wanted to spill internal matters – because then it would be immediately clear where the internal information came from.
- Moreover, it is difficult at Twitch to even find someone who knows such information.
This means: So far, some well-informed journalists have heard the rumor but were unable to get to the bottom of the story.
DrDisrespect refers to a legal agreement that binds him
How does DrDisrespect respond? He has already commented on the allegations twice. He states: He is under NDA; he cannot say anything. However, he refers to an agreement at Twitch that there was no “misconduct” and that he received his full contract payout.
Nothing illegal happened.
Expert sees many discrepancies in the current discussion
This is what an expert says. One of the biggest opinion bloggers on the internet, Charles White, explains why all this is so mysterious:
- If DrDisrespect really sent sexual messages to a minor, Twitch would have had to report it and forward it to the authorities. Twitch is obligated to ensure the safety of children on Twitch. This casts a very bad light on Twitch.
- That Twitch apparently simply reads the private messages of streamers, he considers normal – that is the reality.
- He interprets DrDisrespect’s statements as “legal jargon” – he does not understand how DrDisrespect can be so bound that he cannot simply say: He exchanged no such messages with any minor.
According to White, the discussion now raises many questions again. He believes that either there will soon be a clarification or that the incident will remain unresolved for several more years.
The Twitch streamer Asmongold says: The story that DrDisrespect harassed a minor is certainly not something that can be cleared up through arbitration.
He believes it may be possible that, for whatever reason, the minor was not cooperative, and thus nothing happened.
Did DrDisrespect do a MontanaBlack?
What could be a possibility? One possibility is that both are true. DrDisrespect may have sent sexual messages to a 16-year-old, which is socially frowned upon but not illegal in the legal sense.
Because the “Age of Consent” is 16 in 31 states in the USA – not 18.
A very similar case, albeit without legal consequences, was seen a few weeks ago with one of the largest German Twitch streamers: 21-year-old recounts how MontanaBlack supposedly stole his 17-year-old girlfriend.
