Twitch Issues Statement on Dr Disrespect Ban

Twitch has issued a statement on the banning of well-known streamer Guy Beahm, better known by his streamer persona as Dr Disrespect. The mustachioed streamer’s channel went dark on Friday with the normal signs that it’d been banned, but aside from some initial speculation, there was no known reason for why the ban was being enforced this time. Twitch still hasn’t provided an explanation for what Dr Disrespect has specifically been banned for and instead cited the streaming platform’s community guidelines and its terms of service. The company also said these rules apply to everyone regardless of their prominence which indicates that the streamer’s infraction, whatever it may be, won’t be taken lightly just because of his popularity.

News of Dr Disrespect’s ban quickly spread via social media and within the streaming community after people saw that his channel had gone offline. The “Unless you’ve got a time machine, that content is unavailable” message is what greets people now when they visit the streamer’s channel, a tell-tale sign that someone’s been banned if only for a while.

In response to the ban, Twitch has issued the following statement that cited its policies and its usual processes for banning entertainers.

“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,” Twitch told CNN Business reporter Shannon Liao. “These apply to all streamers regardless of status or prominence in the community.”

A similar statement has been shared with others regarding the streamer’s ban. Another of Twitch’s policies is that it doesn’t discuss the specifics of streamers’ bans nor does it often talk about their punishments, so it’s expected that we won’t hear directly from the platform why the streamer was banned or for how long.

That hasn’t stopped people from speculating about why the streamer was banned and how long he’ll be gone. Esports consultant Rod Breslau cited sources familiar with the matter and said the streamer had been banned permanently and that it wasn’t because of DMCA violations many streamers have been hit with recently. Twitch streamer ShannonZKiller cited her own sources and said Dr Disrespect is “indeed done, and not just on Twitch.” She said she new the reason why he was banned and that it’s a serious one but that she couldn’t say what that reason is.

Word typically travels fast about these matters in the streaming community, so expect it to be known soon enough why Dr Disrespect was banned. The streamer has not yet issued a statement himself.