In his first public interview since being suddenly banned from Twitch last month, Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm, one of the platform’s most popular streamers, claims he still doesn’t know why.
“Honestly, we just don’t know,” Beahm told the Washington Post in a new interview published today. “It was a total shock. Imagine showing up to work and the doors are closed and you can’t get inside. You’re going, ‘What’s going on?’ And you’ve been told you’ve been fired. But you haven’t been told the reason why. We just weren’t given an answer. It was the worst feeling.”
Beahm told the paper he only learned of the ban after watching a friend’s Twitch stream and realizing he was missing certain features as a creator on the platform. He wouldn’t go into any more detail about what turned out to be a very odd final livestream, or speculate about why Twitch banned him, refusing to answer many of the Post’s questions on advice from his lawyers.
Beahm, who signed a two-year exclusivity contract with Twitch earlier this year, was banned on June 26. Since then, the only statement the platform has released on the matter is this:
“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.”
After the ban, Twitch refunded viewers who had paid to subscribe to Beahm’s channel, as well as revoked his partner status. The weeks of silence from both Twitch and Beahm that followed fueled speculation on the internet about whether the ban was part of an elaborate stunt or related to something Beahm may have done in the past that was only recently brought to Twitch’s attention. Beahm was temporarily suspended from the platform last year after broadcasting live from a public bathroom at E3.
Beahm declined to comment to the Post about what his next steps will be or whether he will try to begin streaming on other platforms like YouTube.
Update - 9:17 a.m., 7/16/20: Beahm also gave an interview to PC Gamer which published its interview questions and the streamer’s remarks in full. At one point, Beahm is asked whether some of his comments during his final stream about English conspiracy theorist David Icke may have had anything to do getting banned, but Beahm’s publicist stepped in before he could answer:
PC Gamer: Sure, and I want to talk about that. But first, you did recently ruffle a few feathers after sharing a video during a stream of Dr. Thomas Cowen, and he was talking about some coronavirus theories. You’ve been open recently and sharing some of your own thoughts about coronavirus and even relating it to things like 5G networks. Even on your last stream, you were talking about David Ike and his documentary. I’m curious, in bringing up those thoughts—and I think it’s okay to call them controversial—did that ever result in Twitch saying anything to you or warning you?
So you don’t think that might be the cause?
Beahm: I don’t think so. In fact, I—
Beahm’s publicist: We’re getting really close to dangerous territory here. So, you know, Doc, we don’t know why Twitch banned him, and there is no formal warnings or reprimand on record. That’s all legal is going to let him say.
Beahm did tell PC Gamer that while he’ll never be back on Twitch, he is looking into possibly streaming on YouTube, Facebook, or even natively from his own Champions Club website.