Guy Beahm, the popular streamer best known as Dr Disrespect, has released a lengthy statement regarding the recent allegations that have surfaced regarding his 2020 Twitch ban.
It’s the most substantive response Beahm has ever given to the situation, which 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 Twitch Whispers. confirmed by reports in The Verge and Bloomberg. Beahm’s response echoes that claim, as well as his recent ouster from the game studio he co-founded, Midnight Society.
BAN FROM TWITCH
Hello, I just wanted to give a quick comment..
Let’s cut the bullshit because you know there’s no filter with me. I have always been upfront and genuine with you in anything I could be upfront about and I am always willing to accept responsibility… which…
— Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 25, 2024
In a statement, Beahm admits that in 2017, there were indeed “rumors of a single minor.” (The word “minor” was dropped from the original version of the post, but then added back).
“Were there real intentions behind these messages, the answer is definitely no,” he adds. “They were casual, one-on-one conversations that sometimes veered too far into being inappropriate, but nothing more.
He goes on to say that no charges have been filed and reiterates that “nothing illegal happened.”
“Now, from a moral point of view, I take full responsibility,” he says. “I should never have had these conversations. That’s on me. That’s on me as an adult, a husband and a father. It should never have happened. I get it. I’m not perfect and I’m going to own it.” my shit that was stupid.”
However, Beahm insists that he is “no fucking predator or pedophile” and that despite the previously announced “extended vacation” he appears to plan to continue streaming.
“They want me to disappear… sure, fuck it,” he concludes.
IGN has reached out to Twitch, which has not commented on the situation in recent days, for comment.
As for his dismissal from Midnight Society, Beahm says the decision to part ways with the studio was something he and the team came to “together.” Shortly after Beahm released his statement, studio co-founder Robert Bowling released his own personal statement on X/Twitter, saying it had not gone through PR or legal.
“If you inappropriately message a minor. I cannot work with you,” Bowling wrote. “Period. I promised to act only on the facts, and I did.”
This is a statement from me personally. It does not reflect any of my companies and has not undergone any legal or PR approval.
If you inappropriately send a message to a minor. I can’t work with you.
Time.
I promised to act only on the facts, and I did.
— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) June 25, 2024
Gaming headset and accessory company Turtle Beach also announced on Tuesday, before Beahm released his statement, that it would end its partnership with the streamer.
The situation surrounding Beahm’s four-year-old Twitch ban flared up last Friday, June 21, thanks to an 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 widely assumed and later confirmed in The Verge and Bloomberg reports that he was referring to the popular streamer when he wrote, “He got banned because he was caught having sex with a minor in the then-existing Twitch whispers product He was trying to meet her at TwitchCon.”
Conners’ post became massive news and shed light on Beahm’s mysterious ban, which came down almost exactly four years ago. Twitch didn’t offer any details on the reason for the ban, and Beahm himself claimed he wasn’t initially told why. He would sue Twitch over the ban in 2021, and the lawsuit was settled in 2022.
In the days following Conners’ post, Beahm released a number of statements, but none as substantial as the one released Tuesday (he claims he’s able to offer more information “now that two former Twitch employees have gone public with the allegations”). In previous statements, he has continued to stress that “no wrongdoing has been found” regarding his dealings with Twitch.
You can read Beahm’s latest statement in full below:
Preview by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Alex Stedman is IGN’s senior news editor, overseeing entertainment coverage. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.