Dr Disrespect Allegedly Banned from Twitch for Sexting a Minor

Four years after Dr Disrespect, a prominent gamer celebrity and streaming star, was banned from Twitch for undisclosed reasons, new reports have emerged alleging that he used the platform’s direct messaging feature to send sexually explicit texts to a minor. The internal response to these alleged conversations, which have long been the subject of speculation, is now coming to light.

In June 2020, the gaming community experienced a #MeToo reckoning, with numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and assault leveled against high-profile streamers, esports broadcasters, and game developers. Twitch, in response to the outcry, promised to take immediate action on credible allegations against their creators.

Five days after Twitch’s statement, Dr Disrespect, also known as Guy Beahm, was permanently banned from the platform. Known for his flamboyant persona and popularity on Twitch, Beahm had signed a major multiyear deal with the company earlier that year. The reason for his ban remained a mystery, leading to years of speculation and conspiracy theories.

Recently, former Twitch employee Cody Conners tweeted what many interpreted as an explanation for Beahm’s ban. Beahm denied any wrongdoing in a subsequent tweet. However, Rolling Stone has learned from internal Twitch communications and interviews with sources that Beahm was allegedly banned for sexting a minor through Twitch’s messaging feature called Whispers, even after learning she was underage. He also allegedly inquired about her plans to attend TwitchCon.

Following Conners’ tweet, Beahm was fired from Midnight Society, the gaming studio he co-founded. The Verge and Bloomberg have also reported on Beahm’s case, matching the details to Conners’ account. Multiple sources confirmed that Beahm had been banned for sending sexually graphic messages to a minor and inquiring about her plans for TwitchCon.

Beahm, in a statement on Twitter, admitted to having “mutual conversations with a minor that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate.” He denied any illegal activity, sharing that he never met the individual and that the case was resolved through a settlement with Twitch.

A former Twitch trust and safety employee, who worked for the platform at the time of Beahm’s ban, confirmed that Beahm continued to send sexually graphic messages to a minor he knew to be underage. This employee also stated that Beahm was made aware of the individual’s age during the conversation but continued regardless.

Twitch created an incident response team called “Gold Sparrow” in 2020 to investigate and take action on reports of sexual misconduct. The decision to permanently ban Beahm was made relatively quickly due to the severity of his behavior.

Beahm returned to streaming on YouTube in August 2020 but did not receive an exclusive partnership due to rumors surrounding the circumstances of his Twitch ban. Several high-profile streamers and organizations have condemned Beahm, and he has been cut off from promotional roles with the San Francisco 49ers and the NBA 2K video game franchise.