Guy Beahm, the popular streamer best known as Dr Disrespect, has issued a lengthy statement on the recent allegations that have emerged over his ban from Twitch in 2020.
It's the most substantial response Beahm has ever issued on the situation, which was reignited last week after a former Twitch employee said on X/Twitter that he was banned from the streaming platform for inappropriate messages with a minor on the Twitch Whispers feature, a claim corrobated by reporting in The Verge and Bloomberg. Beahm's response addresses that claim, as well as his recent ousting from the game studio he co-founded, Midnight Society.
— Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 25, 2024THE TWITCH BAN
Hello, I'd like to make a quick statement..
Lets cut the f*cking bullsh*t, as you know there's no filter with me. I've always been up front and real with you guys on anything that I can be up front about, and I'm always willing to accept responsibility... which…
In the statement, Beahm admits that there were indeed "twitch whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017." (The word "minor" was edited out from the original version of the post, but then added back in).
"Were there real intentions behind these messages, the answer is absolutely not," he adds. "These were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more."
He goes on to say that no charges were brought forward, and re-iterates that "nothing illegal happened."
"Now, from a moral standpoint I'll absolutely take responsibility," he says. "I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with. That's on me. That's on me as an adult, a husband and a father. It should have never happened. I get it. I’m not perfect and I’ll f*cking own my sh*t. This was stupid."
Beahm insists, however, that he's "no f*cking predator or pedophile," and that despite a previously announced "extended vacation," he seemingly plans to continue streaming.
"They want me to disappear... yeah f*cking right," he concludes.
IGN has asked Twitch, which has not commented on the situation in recent days, for comment.
As for his ousting from Midnight Society, Beahm says the decision for him to part ways with the studio was something he and the team came to "collectively." Shortly after Beahm posted his statement, studio co-founder Robert Bowling issued his own personal statement on X/Twitter, caveating that it had not been run through a PR or legal department.
"If you inappropriately message a minor. I can not work with you," Bowling wrote. "Period. I promised to only act on facts, and I did."
— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) June 25, 2024This is a statement from me personally. It does not reflect any of my companies and has not gone through any legal or PR approvals.
If you inappropriately message a minor. I can not work with you.
Period.
I promised to only act on facts, and I did.
Gaming headset and accessory company Turtle Beach also announced earlier on Tuesday, before Beahm posted his statement, that it would be ending its partnership with the streamer.
The situation surrounding Beahm's four-year-old ban from Twitch caught fire last Friday, June 21, thanks to a X/Twitter post by former Twitch account director of strategic partnerships Cody Conners (Disclosure: Conners briefly worked at IGN in 2011). Conners didn't mention Beahm by name, but it was both widely assumed and later confirmed in The Verge's and Bloomberg's reports that he was referring to the popular streamer when he wrote, "He got banned because got caught sexting a minor in the then existing Twitch whispers product. He was trying to meet up with her at TwitchCon."
"It should have never happened. I get it. I’m not perfect and I’ll f*cking own my sh*t.
“
Conners' post became massive news, shedding light on Beahm's mysterious ban that came down almost exactly four years ago. Twitch offered no specifics on the reason for the ban, and Beahm himself claimed not to have been informed why initially. He would go on to sue Twitch over the ban in 2021, and the legal dispute was resolved in 2022.
In the days following Conners' post, Beahm had issued a number of statements, but none as substantial as the one posted on Tuesday (he claims that he's able to offer more information "now that two former twitch employees have publicly disclosed the accusations"). In previous statements, he continued to stress that "no wrongdoing was found" in regards to his dealings with Twitch.
You can read Beahm's most recent statement in full below:
Thumbnail credit: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
