Technology
Dr Disrespect went away and Twitch will not tell you why.
This afternoon, with his account disappearing from the site, Dr Disrespect disappeared from Twitch, rumors of being prohibited. Two days after Twitch told us it would begin to suspend streamers permanently, as it attacked charges of harassment and sexual misconduct. The disappearance happened.
Dr Disrespect was not banned, because Twitch wouldn't confirm, or if it could be permanently banned. Twitch had signed a two-year contract for an unrevealed, though "life-changing" amount in March with Dr Disrespect. The streamer also agreed to create an animated TV series around its character with a production company.
Dr Disrespect, Herschel 's real name "Guy" Beahm, is renowned for his exaggerated persona who streams in character as a person who takes gaming to a certain extreme and is among the 10 most followed accounts of Twitch, a list that includes several people like Ninja who no longer use the site. The potential ban would be a huge statement from Twitch, should it be confirmed by Twitch. It would signal that the platform will begin to take more seriously the behavior of its streamers both on and off stream, following a week of complaints about sexual harassment & assault.
Beahm doesn't seem to have been among those accused of harassment or other misconduct, but in the past he was a controversial figure. Last year Beahm was banned for streaming from a men's bathroom at E3. He was criticised during streaming in 2018 for performing racist caricatures.
Twitch suggested that in an email to The Verge, Beahm had violated the site's community guidelines or terms of service, but would not specifically say so. As is our process, when we have evidence that a streamer has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service we take appropriate action.
These apply to all streamers irrespective of community status or prominence, a Twitch spokesperson said in an email.
