Twitch bans popular streamer Dr Disrespect

Twitch banned popular streamer Dr Disrespect, aka Guy Beahm, on Friday. The disciplinary action is notable not just because of the streamer’s popularity — Dr Disrespect’s Twitch channel boasts more than 4 million followers — but due to Beahm’s exclusive arrangement with the streaming platform.

The reason for Dr Disrespect’s ban is unclear. Reached for comment, a Twitch representative did not specify what led to disciplinary action or clarify the length of the ban, and instead offered the following statement:

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.

Beahm has not publicly addressed his ban on his Dr Disrespect Twitter account or YouTube channel, where he has 1.5 million and 1.6 million followers, respectively.

Beahm’s channel was banned previously in 2019, when the streamer entered a bathroom at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which was hosting E3, and streamed video footage of the incident to Twitch. The timing of Dr Disrespect’s second ban comes amid a series of high-profile bans of streamers accused of sexual harassment and abuse, although there is no evidence to suggest that Beahm’s ban is related to Twitch’s recent crackdown.

Update (6 p.m. EDT): According to esports reporter Rod Breslau, citing sources, “DrDisrespect has been permanently banned from Twitch.” Breslau also addressed speculation that Twitch’s action against Beahm was part of a wave of bans related to DMCA takedowns, tweeting, “it is not DMCA.”

Polygon reached out to Twitch to verify the reasoning and reported permanence of Dr Disrespect’s ban, but the company declined to comment.