In June 2020, Dr Disrespect was permanently banned from
Twitch for then-undisclosed reasons.[2][3][4] He returned to streaming on
YouTube a month later.[5] In June 2024, Dr Disrespect confirmed that the ban was the result of him sending
"inappropriate" private messages to a
minor using Twitch's Whisper feature in 2017.[6][7][8] Following this, YouTube suspended him from the platform's partner program and demonetized his channel.[9]
On January 12, 2010, Beahm published his first
YouTube video on the "Dr Disrespect" channel, which is a variation of then-popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 commentary videos. It mixed clips of him
trash talking over gameplay footage with real-life footage of him in costume as
Dr Disrespect, a bombastic and body-armored "champion".[14][15] Beahm had purchased the character's signature wig, mustache, and glasses from a costume shop. The video's success led to Dr Disrespect becoming a partnered creator with
Machinima, which was then one of the most popular gaming channels on YouTube.[13]
In February 2011, Beahm announced that he was taking a hiatus to be hired, on March 16, 2011, as the community manager of
Sledgehammer Games.[13][16] At Sledgehammer, he expanded his role to include level designing for the 2014 game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. He joined
Justin.tv (which later became
Twitch) while he was working at Sledgehammer, and quit the studio at the end of 2015 to focus on a full-time livestreaming career.[13]
On June 11, 2019, Dr Disrespect's Twitch channel was suspended as he was
livestreaming while attending the 2019 edition of the
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in
Los Angeles,
California. Dr Disrespect and his cameraman went into a public restroom (Dr Disrespect re-entered the bathroom on two occasions, with filming still going on) at the venue in violation of Twitch's privacy rules.[24][25] In addition, E3 organizer
Entertainment Software Association revoked Dr Disrespect's E3 pass, banning him from the event.[24][26] Twitch reinstated his channel on June 25.[27][28]
Permanent ban from Twitch and fallout
Dr Disrespect signed a multi-year deal with Twitch in March 2020.[29] On June 26, 2020, his account was banned from Twitch. Twitch's official statement on the ban said, "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".[30] That same day,
Discord removed Dr Disrespect from their partnership program, citing violations of their Code of Conduct.[31] Neither released their exact reasons initially, and Dr Disrespect
tweeted that he was not informed of Twitch's "specific reason behind their decision".[32] On July 16, he broke his silence in interviews with PC Gamer and The Washington Post, insisting that he still did not know why Twitch banned him, stating that his contracts were still in good standing, debunking "crazy speculation" and
conspiracy theories he had allegedly entertained, and was focusing on "Doc 3.0" and returning to livestreaming.[31][33] On August 7, he returned to streaming on YouTube.[34][35]
In August 2021, Dr Disrespect stated that he knew the reason for his ban and was suing Twitch.[36] In March 2022, Dr Disrespect and Twitch announced that they had resolved their legal dispute, with neither party admitting to any wrongdoing.[37] In a follow-up tweet, he clarified that he would not be returning to Twitch.[38] In April 2024, Dr Disrespect called Twitch "slithery disgusting purple snakes" and criticized the ban for costing him "a lot of big deals, a lot of sponsorships; shit, we had
Nike, we were talking to
Oakley, and that's no joke: I can bring up Oakley prototypes right here".[39]
On May 29, 2024, Dr Disrespect revealed there was a $10 million annual offer to stream on
Kick, an
alternative livestream platform criticized for hosting controversial content creators, including banned Twitch streamers, and a more lenient approach towards content moderation.[40] He claimed that the offer was "gracious", "humbling" and "appreciated", but he would need $50 million from the platform to join it and declined. He stated that he was "not interested in moving" and that his channel was "looking good". The head of strategic partnerships Andrew Santamaria said that "he’s an amazing streamer, but we need to ground things in reality".[41]
On June 21, 2024, former Twitch director of strategic partnerships Cody Conners alleged on
Twitter that Dr Disrespect had been banned for inappropriately messaging a minor on Twitch's Whispers messaging function and attempting to meet the minor at a
TwitchCon event. Another former employee corroborated the story to The Verge. Dr Disrespect responded by stating that the legal case was settled and "no wrongdoing was acknowledged".[42] On June 24, Dr Disrespect ended his livestream of
Elden Ring, announcing that he was "burnt out" and considering leaving his business ventures. Shortly afterwards, Midnight Society, the game development studio co-founded by Dr Disrespect, released a statement stating that after speaking with parties involved, it would be terminating their relationship with Dr Disrespect effective immediately.[43][44][45]
On June 25,
Turtle Beach ended their partnership with Dr Disrespect that extended back to 2020.[46] The same day,
Bloomberg News corroborated previous reporting with three sources, who said that the messages in question were sexually explicit. According to two of those sources, Dr Disrespect had asked a minor about her plans when attending TwitchCon. The messages were reported through Twitch's own reporting service. A spokesperson for Discord clarified that it had taken action against Dr Disrespect in 2020 after receiving a report from an unidentified "trusted industry peer".[47] Later that day, Dr Disrespect published a statement on Twitter, acknowledging that he had sent private messages to a minor using Twitch's Whispers messaging function in 2017 and admitted that these messages "sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate".[6] After posting his statement, he made multiple edits to the post, firstly replacing the word "minor" with "individual", then adding the word "minor" back. The former Twitch employees responded that it was inaccurate, characterizing the messages as "graphic".[23][48]
On June 27, Rolling Stone published an article in which a former Twitch trust and safety employee with direct knowledge of the matter said that Dr Disrespect had been made aware of the minor's age, indicating that it was not a problem, and yet continued to send messages with a similar level of explicitness as before.[23][49] YouTube's former global head of gaming partnerships,
Ryan Wyatt, said that Dr Disrespect was not offered a contract when he returned to streaming on YouTube in 2020 because they had become aware that Twitch's decision had been in relation to inappropriate messages to a minor, but YouTube did not have enough access to evidence that would justify a terms of service violation.[23] The next day, YouTube suspended Dr Disrespect from the platform's partner program and demonetized his channel.[9]
Video game development and other ventures
In August 2020, Dr Disrespect announced that he was writing a personal memoir called Violence. Speed. Momentum. The book was released on March 30, 2021.[50]
In October 2020, Dr Disrespect worked with
Hi-Rez Studios to design a custom map and a Dr Disrespect character skin for the third-person shooter video game Rogue Company.[51]
In December 2021, Dr Disrespect announced the launch of a "
AAA game studio", Midnight Society,[53][54][55][56] which was headed by him along with Call of Duty and Halo veterans
Robert Bowling and Quinn DelHoyo, as well as Sumit Gupta acting as
CEO. The studio's mission is creating a "day-zero" community experience where players might decide the games' "feature prioritization, pivotal design decisions, and fuel innovation in the
shooter genre", and would focus on online
player versus player multiplayer games.[57] Their currently in-development free-to-play
battle royale title, codenamed Project Moon and later Dead Drop and DEADROP,[58][59] sparked criticism around
the sale of "Founder's Access" NFTs.[60][61] On June 24, 2024, Dr Disrespect was terminated from the studio after learning about the allegation for sending inappropriate messages to a minor.[62][45]
Beahm's character, Dr Disrespect (also known as The Doc and The Two-Time[a]), is usually depicted during livestreams as bombastic and provocative. Originally, he was depicted to have "a very serious, dark tone".[66] His supporters and fandom are said to be part of the "Champions Club".[31] He is often regarded as an entertainer in the streaming industry, rather than a professional gamer.
ESPN described him as "a
WWE character in the competitive gaming world" and Beahm said that he "created a character who plays multiplayer video games, and he's considered the most dominating gaming specimen".[66]
While playing as Dr Disrespect, Beahm wears a black
mullet wig, sunglasses, a red or black long-sleeved athletic shirt, and a red or black
tactical vest. He sports a mustache he has nicknamed "Slick Daddy" and "The Poisonous Ethiopian Caterpillar".[67] He collaborated with professional wrestler
The Undertaker for a
G Fuel commercial, which was portrayed as a "mystery"
feud.[68][69] Beahm's family, if they make an appearance during a livestream, is also occasionally mentioned as part of Dr Disrespect's persona, with his wife portraying "Mrs. Assassin" and their daughter as "Baby Assassin" or "Baby Disrespect".[13]
Personal life
Beahm is married and has a daughter. He resides in
San Diego County,
California.[23][70] In December 2017, Beahm confessed on a livestream to having
cheated on his wife, and he stopped streaming for several months before returning in February 2018.[71][72][73]
^Browning, Kellen (December 12, 2023).
"Gambling, Risky Pranks and Lucrative Contracts: Inside the Streaming Site Kick". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2024. Until recently, Kick employed a laissez-faire approach to content moderation, which attracted controversial characters like Mr. Ross, who was banned from Twitch earlier this year. Other streamers have filmed themselves committing apparent crimes, like trespassing and sexual assault.