Over the past few weeks, one of the biggest stars in the streaming firmament has been falling at terminal velocity, with insiders wondering more than anything how big the crater will be when it ends. Dr. Disrespect, a well-known figure among fans of “Call of Duty: Warzone” and first-person shooter (FPS) games have been hit by a scandal that has caused him to lose followers, sponsors and even the distancing of the studio he founded. It is a somewhat confusing saga, but here we explain it all.
Who is Dr. Disrespect?
Herschel ‘Guy’ Beahm IV began his career as Dr. Disrespect in January 2010, posting videos on YouTube where he commented on videos of “Modern Warfare 2,” the most popular FPS at the time, as well as other titles such as “Halo.” He has commented on occasions, He created the character of ‘The Doc’ based on the heroes of the 80s movies, with an exaggerated masculine appearance represented by a mullet hairstyle, a bushy mustache and his ever-present dark glasses.His toxic ‘gamer’ attitude, as well as sarcastic humor full of irreverent comments, soon began to gain him followers and even led him to become a creative partner with the then-well-known entertainment company Machinima, Inc.
In February 2011 he put his streaming career on hold to join Sledgehammer Games – creators of some of the “Call of Duty” games – as a community manager, although he soon returned to his streaming career on the Justin.tv platform, precursor to Twitch. By the end of 2015 he had quit his job to devote himself full-time to his streaming career, Riding the wave of battle royale games like “PUBG” to become one of the biggest names in its field, winning the Trending Gamer award at The Game Awards 2017.
The controversies
But despite the streamer’s success, his career has not been free of difficulties and controversy, although that is to be expected when your character is based on the stereotype of a toxic video game player and a name that alludes to disrespect.
So in 2018 he took a break from making videos after revealing that he was having marital problems caused by his infidelity, while in 2019 he was suspended from Twitch after filming inside a bathroom at the E3 video game conference, exposing a minor to his tens of thousands of viewers. This is without even counting the countless occasions where he made inappropriate comments during his live broadcasts, including spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus in the midst of a pandemic.
But despite these setbacks, or perhaps thanks to them, ‘Doc’s’ popularity continued to rise meteorically and in March 2020 Beahm signed an exclusivity contract with Twitch for an unspecified sum, but which was rumored to be at least eight figures.
However, on June 26, 2020, just three months after Twitch paid a multi-million dollar sum for ‘Doc’ exclusivity, The platform permanently suspended him without much explanationonly noting that they had taken “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 their status or prominence in the community.”
For his part, Beahm denied knowing the reason for his expulsion from Twitch. “It was a total surprise,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post in July 2020. “Imagine coming to work and the doors are closed and you can’t get in. You wonder: ‘What’s going on? And they tell you that you’ve been fired. But they haven’t told you why. They just didn’t give us an answer. … It was the worst feeling.”.
Despite this setback, Dr. Disrespect soon found his platform on YouTube, where he continued to stream with great success until a few weeks ago.
What did ‘Doc’ do now?
The uproar surrounding Dr. Disrespect is not related to a new mistake by the streamer, but to revelations about the reasons why he was suspended from Twitch in 2020.
And it is that a former Twitch employee named Cody Conners revealed on June 21 on X (formerly Twitter) that the suspension against Beahm It was because in 2017 it was discovered that the streamer had been in communication with a minor. via Twitch’s messaging service Whispers, with the intention of meeting her at that year’s TwitchCon conference. “The top brass could see this coming. Case closed, gang.”
In his first responses, Beahm insisted that had not committed anything illegalalthough as pressure mounted against him he finally admitted that he had communicated with a minor in 2017, but denied that “there were real intentions behind those messages.”
“Those were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too far into the inappropriate, but nothing more,” he said on X on June 25.Nothing illegal happened, no images were shared, no crimes were committed, I didn’t even meet the person. I went through a lengthy arbitration in connection with a civil dispute with Twitch and that case was resolved by settlement. To be clear, this was not a criminal case against me and no criminal charges have ever been filed against me.”
What consequences have the new accusations had?
Beahm’s defense has not been enough to offset the wave of criticism against him and several of his sponsors, including the Turtle Beach gaming headset brand and the San Francisco 49ers football team. The NBA 2K video game has also removed a character that shared his appearance from the game.
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His peers have also turned their backs on him, with streamers such as TimTheTatman, Ninja and Nickmercs issuing statements distancing themselves from the controversial figure. “I only have two things to say. Anything involving a minor, in any way, regardless of the circumstances… is not right. “It’s a mess and it’s illegal,” Ninja, whose real name is Richard Tyler Blevins, said during one of his videos. “They did their own investigation behind the scenes and found enough evidence to fire him from the company. No administrative leave, no ‘we’ll deal with it later.’ If that’s not enough evidence… they found something, is what I’m trying to say.”
Additionally, the video game developer he co-founded in 2021, Midnight Society, has also decided to cut ties with Dr. Disrespect, citing “upholding their principles and standards as a studio and individuals” as the reason.
But perhaps the most painful blow is YouTube’s decision to demonetize Dr. Disrespect’s channel, where Beahm has more than 4.5 million subscribers, following serious accusations against the streamer that violate the platform’s Creator Responsibility policy.
Beahm for his part has been defiant in the face of the forces against him and He indicated in his statements on June 25 that he will return after an extended vacation with his family.“They want me to disappear… no f@cking way.”