Top Streamer Dr Disrespect Responds to Twitch Ban: ‘I Will Not Be Returning’
Roughly a month after being removed from streaming on Twitch, top gaming broadcaster Herschel Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm broke his silence and said he doesn’t plan to return to the platform.
Often called the mustachioed “face of Twitch,” Beahm had over 4 million followers on the platform before he was kicked off June 26, and averaged about 180,000 views per post according to Twitchmetrics.
Twitch booted Beahm off the platform several weeks ago, and at the time offered no explanation to both press and Beahm as to why. “I was on a buddy’s stream and out of nowhere, features started to disappear from my dashboard. Before I knew it, I was locked out [of Twitch],” Beahm said in emails to TheWrap. “Social media started going nuts so I jumped on a call with my team and one email later, it was all over. It was a terrible feeling. Imagine showing up to work and the doors are locked. I was shocked… Worst yet, I still don’t know why.”
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Various speculations have swirled around the circumstances of Beahm’s ban, including theories that Twitch owner Amazon was cleaning house and terminating contracts with potentially problematic streamers, to conspiracy theories that Beahm was taking the Doc character to a rival streaming service or even looking to start his own. Beahm has had brushes with controversy in the past — he admitted to infidelity in a public stream in 2018 following allegations and took a short break from the platform — but none of these rumors about the reason for Beahm’s ban can be substantiated.
Twitch told TheWrap at the time of the ban, “As is our process, we take appropriate action when we have evidence that a streamer has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. These apply to all streamers regardless of status or prominence in the community.” The company declined TheWrap’s requests for further comment and has been tight-lipped on the matter since issuing the ban against Beahm.
A person close to the matter who requested to remain anonymous because of potential litigation noted that Beahm’s now terminated deal to stream for Twitch totaled eight-figures. “That’s genuinely crazy-talk,” the source said of theories that Beahm would forfeit that “easy money” to start a new venture less than three months after signing the contract. In an interview with TheVerge at the time of his contract announcement, Beahm called the deal “life-changing money.”
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The source implied that Beahm could sue Twitch to try and recoup some of his lost wages in the contract. Beahm said he is considering his options and hasn’t yet taken any legal action.
“I will not be returning to Twitch,” Beahm said. The streamer does operate his own merchandise website, ChampionsClub.gg, but has yet to branch out into distributing his own content on the site. Beahm also clarified that he isn’t looking into any other exclusive deals similar to the previous Twitch contract. “Doc will absolutely be back and while I’m not immediately considering an exclusive deal, all cards are on the table. For now, I can’t wait to get back into the chair, start streaming and serve the Champions Club with awesome content.”
Beahm plans to return to streaming on several platforms including YouTube soon, and will experiment with different features and viewer demographics in an effort to rebuild his brand and audience. It’s possible he could enter into another exclusive deal with another streaming service later.
“As Doc always says, we’re at the tippity top of the mountain and only halfway up,” Beahm said.
Read original story Top Streamer Dr Disrespect Responds to Twitch Ban: ‘I Will Not Be Returning’ At TheWrap
