The ban of Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm from the streaming platform Twitch has now been almost two weeks. Viewers are still asking about the reason for the ban. The astonishing thing is that nothing more has come since. None of the parties involved speaks about the Twitch ban. Now there is a theory about what might be behind the silence of all parties involved.
What is so strange about the ban of Dr Disrespect: We have already reported on the ban of Dr Disrespect on MeinMMO. The really strange thing about the ban is that no one is talking about it.
Actually, it is not even known how long Twitch has banned the streaming star. It is only assumed that the ban is permanent because Twitch has refunded the “subscribers” of the doctor their money.
Normally, banned streamers try to create pressure. They mobilize their fans to achieve a reduction of the penalty. Or they at least inform their fans about the ban and keep them engaged as long as they are not on air. But in the case of “Dr Disrespect,” it remains mysterious:
- Twitch has only issued a statement that they treat every streamer as they see fit — no matter who it is. That is normal, they always react this way, except with the US President
- Dr Disrespect is also silent — apart from a short statement. During his last ban, he remained active on social media, kept his brand in the conversation, and even explained the ban later as a private person. Dr Disrespect was present: everyone knew exactly how he felt and why he was banned. This makes his silence even more striking.
- All possible insiders are also silent. There are no indications of the reason for the ban, no one is pushing information outward. At the beginning some hinted that they had more information. But they have also been silent for weeks now
Theory: Twitch is pursuing contract termination
This is the most exciting theory: The YouTube channel “Hoeg Law” is run by lawyer Richard Hoeg (via hoeglaw), who approaches the case from a different perspective than the common theory. Because it says: Dr Disrespect was banned by Twitch due to a “crime” about which everyone must now remain silent (via Forbes).
Hoeg says that one must be careful in attributing such a crime to a person. The silence could also have other causes (via YouTube). He views the ban of Dr Disrespect this way:
- it is less a “ban from Twitch due to a rule violation”
- but rather a termination of the multi-year exclusive contract that Twitch made with Dr Disrespect in March 2020. It probably concerns several million dollars that Dr Disrespect would be entitled to over the coming years.
The lawyer believes that in such a case of contract termination, it would be better for all parties involved not to talk about it in order not to give the opponent any ammunition.
If it involves as much money as in the case of Dr Disrespect, the silence is certainly not unusual but completely normal.
“One must understand that Dr Disrespect is an unusual streamer. He is represented by CAA (a major agency in LA that manages superstars like Tom Cruise). He is as much a business as one can be as an influencer and streamer. This means he operates like quite a high-end business.”
Richard Hoeg on YouTube
Dr Disrespect is certainly being excellently advised and therefore knows that it is best to remain silent on such matters.
If it is really a purely business matter, where Dr Disrespect wants to maximize his financial gain, it is entirely correct for him to keep quiet so as not to draw negative attention. He can only lose by speaking publicly and gain nothing. The same goes for Twitch.
According to Hoeg, Twitch does not have to inform the streamer why they are terminating the contract. The lawyer believes, however, that the streamer’s legal counsel will challenge the termination of the contract in order to recover part or all of the money he was contractually guaranteed.
The lawyer also assumes that Dr Disrespect’s contract with Twitch might contain a “confidentiality clause.” Whoever violates it would ultimately only be worse off than necessary.
Without Mixer, Twitch contracts are worth less
Why could Twitch want out of the contract?? The lawyer believes this could be due to the “changed ecosystem.” Twitch contracted Dr Disrespect after Mixer lured away two top stars from the platform, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “shroud” Grzesiek.
Now that Mixer is no longer a competitor, Twitch may have decided that Dr Disrespect’s contract is overly lucrative.
Moreover, the end of Mixer is supposed to have shown that the strategy of hiring top talents is not working at all. A streamer like Dr Disrespect could actually go nowhere else but stay on Twitch.
Here’s how the theory would continue: According to passages from Twitch’s “Affiliate Agreement,” the lawyer states that such contract disputes should be settled in arbitration. This is stipulated in paragraph 16 of the “Affiliate Agreement” (via twitch).
If it is indeed a contract dispute, the parties involved would undergo the arbitration processes provided for in the contract and probably remain silent:
- Twitch would want to prove that they could terminate Dr Disrespect’s contract because he violated agreements.
- Dr Disrespect would try to refute that and extract the maximum amount of money from the contract.
This makes the ban so special in theory: The lawyer explains why Dr Disrespect behaves differently than other streamers who raise alarms when they are banned from Twitch. Because for others, it ultimately comes down to nothing.
Dr Disrespect, however, has a “multi-year contract” — therefore, his behavior here is so different from what is normally expected from streamers. It is much more a “business matter” than anything else, from the lawyer’s perspective.
The lawyer and YouTuber believes that Twitch could indeed be in trouble. If they tried to escape a contract that promises the other “millions of US dollars” while Twitch could only refer to some “community guidelines.” In such a situation, cunning lawyers would be all too eager to fight the matter.
That’s why the theory is so good: The theory now explains the peculiarities of the ban:
- it explains why Dr Disrespect was banned despite there being no clear violation of the rules in any of his last streams – normally this is the reason for all Twitch bans
- it explains the unusual timing of the ban coming right after Mixer ended
- and it explains why Dr Disrespect is so silent
The only other possible, known theories would be a PR stunt to promote the Doc’s TV show, in which Twitch is playing along. But that seems far-fetched. Or really “serious allegations” against Dr Disrespect, which nothing at the moment suggests.
Most likely, it really seems that Twitch is seeking a contract termination. Regardless of what reasons they might cite.
Streamer Dr Disrespect is considered controversial. He was known in the games PUBG and H1Z1 for swearing in a strange fantasy language that somehow sounded “Asian” and was perceived by some as racist. Initially, Dr Disrespect defended himself against such accusations, calling them complete nonsense, but later made it clear that he would no longer perform in that language:
Even Dr Disrespect is becoming more politically correct on Twitch – No more “Chinese” language
