Last Friday, a former Twitch employee sent the gaming and streaming world into a frenzy by apparently revealing the reason why popular streamer Guy Beahm, known to most as Dr Disrespect, was mysteriously banned from the platform in 2020. Now, Beahm co-founded gaming studio Midnight Society says it has ended its relationship with him, effective immediately, following the allegation that Beahm was banned from Twitch for his posts addressed to a minor.
The Midnight Society announced the news in a post on studio and individuals, we had to act.”
“While these facts are difficult to hear and even more difficult to accept, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of everyone involved, especially the fifty-five developers and families we have employed as well as our gaming community,” the statement said. The statement, which you can read in full below, continues.
On Friday evening, we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founders, Guy Beahm, aka Dr Disrespect.
We assumed his innocence and began speaking with the parties involved. And in order to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and individuals, we had to act.…
– Midnight Society (@12 p.m.) June 24, 2024
Robert Bowling, who co-founded Midnight Society with Beahm, previously commented briefly on the situation on Friday evening, writing on X/Twitter: “I am now aware of it and dealing with it. »
Beahm was live streaming Elden Ring at the time the statement was released. After remaining silent for a few minutes, Beahm ended the stream saying he might be taking a break after a “planned vacation,” adding that he was feeling “tired” and “exhausted.” He also specifically mentioned Midnight Society, saying, “Maybe I’ll walk away from there too. Remove myself from the scene completely. That’s what I need to do.”
The story first broke on Friday, June 21, with a social media post on X/Twitter from former Twitch employee Cody Conners, who was an account director of strategic partnerships before leaving the company in 2023 (Disclosure: Conners briefly worked at IGN in 2011). Although Conners did not mention him by name, it was widely believed that he was referring to Beahm, who was suddenly banned from the platform almost exactly four years ago, with no reason given publicly.
The ban, Conners claimed, came after Beahm allegedly used the now-defunct Twitch Whispers chat feature to “meet” with a minor at TwitchCon.
“He was banned because he was caught sexting a minor in the then-existing Twitch Whispers product. He was trying to meet her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read in plain language,” Conners wrote. “Case closed, gang.”
He was banned because he was caught sexting a minor in the then-existing Twitch Whispers product. He was trying to meet her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could be read in plain text.
Case closed, gang.
– Cody Conners (@evoli) June 22, 2024
“No one made the wrong decision, fuck him and his boys,” Conners added.
Beahm sued Twitch for ban in 2021And the legal dispute has been “resolved” in 2022, with Beahm saying in a statement that “neither party admits to any wrongdoing.” He now streams primarily on YouTube.
The claims made in Conners’ post were corroborated by a later report in The edge on Sunday, June 23, which cites two former Twitch employees who shared their accounts with the publication. One of the former employees worked in Twitch’s trust and safety team at the time of the ban and said Beahm used Whispers to “exchange messages with a minor and initiate a conversation about meeting at TwitchCon” , according to the report. The report adds that a “significant amount of time” passed between when the alleged messages were sent and when they were reported to Twitch’s moderation team.
For his part, Beahm firmly asserted on social media that “no wrongdoing was found.” He’s made a number of comments since Conners’ post on Friday, his first in response to esports commentator Jake Lucky after he shared the story with his followers.
Jake seriously…I understand, it’s a hot topic but it was resolved, no wrongdoing was admitted and they paid the contract in full.
– Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 22, 2024
Beahm issued a more formal response on Sunday, writing on Internet. I did nothing wrong, this was all investigated and resolved, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found and I was paid.
Look, I’m obviously bound by the legal obligations of the settlement with Twitch but I just need to say what I can say since it’s the fucking Internet.
I did nothing wrong, this was all investigated and resolved, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing found and I was paid.…
– Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 22, 2024
In the meantime, he also continued to stream on YouTube, starting his Elden Ring stream on Monday by briefly addressing the situation.
“For those looking to expand this weekend, I won’t. I’ve already said what I needed to say. I don’t care about this guy. he said, probably referring to Conners. “That’s it.”
Conners also offered his own response to the situation, particularly regarding why it took so long for the information to be released.
“The subtext of this sentence, again shameful, is that you are the last person who doesn’t know,” Conners wrote, in part. “The information had been so normalized, declawed in the circles in which I ran that it could be reduced to allusion and understanding. For everyone who has since said “this is fucked” — I agreed with you Friday night before you wrote it. I should have agreed with you earlier.
These three tweets deserve a reprimand. Maybe more than three – the Stans trying to dig things up were so disappointing that I assume they missed something. I apologize for all of this because it’s worth apologizing.
The subtext of this once again shameful passage is that you are…
– Cody Conners (@evoli) June 24, 2024
Despite the various developments over the weekend, Twitch has not officially responded to the situation. YouTube also has not commented.
IGN has contacted Twitch and YouTube for comment, as well as Beahm, Conners and Bowling for additional comment.
Thumbnail credit: David Becker/Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a senior news editor at IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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