Image: Dr Disrespect
Dr Disrespect has now admitted that the allegations of him texting a minor were true.
Streamer and content creator Herschel ‘Guy’ Beahm, AKA Dr Disrespect has now admitted that he was banned from Twitch in 2020 after texting a minor with messages that, “leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate.” Allegations against Beahm first surfaced over the weekend, when an ex-Twitch employee accused the streamer of being, “caught sexting a minor in the then existing Twitch Whispers product.”
Beahm has now published a lengthy statement to address the allegations, admitting that he did message “an individual minor back in 2017,” even if there were no, “real intentions,” behind the messages.
Dr Disrespect addresses Twitch ban allegations in new statement
Beahm has published a lengthy statement on Twitter/X to address allegations regarding his ban from Twitch in 2020. This follows three ex-Twitch employees corroborating reports that he had been permanently banned from the platform after using its now-defunct Whispers messaging system to text a minor. This week, the streamer was also fired from Midnight Society, a game studio he co-founded in 2021.
In the statement, Beahm wrote, “I've always been up front and real with you guys on anything that I can be up front about, and I'm always willing to accept responsibility... which is why I'm here now.” He then went on to apologise to, “everyone in my community,” and the people close to him, his team and Midnight Society’s staff, before acknowledging his departure from the latter game studio:
“A lot of people have been left in the dark about what happened yesterday with midnight society and I, and we made the painful decision collectively, to have me step down. Our team is full of incredibly talented and good people that have high career ambitions and families and I'd never want [to] jeopardise the culture we have carefully crafted.”
He explains that he was not, “allowed,” to say anything about the Twitch ban for the last several years, “for reasons outside of my control.” Now that former Twitch employees are coming forward to disclose the allegations, however, he writes that he can, “now tell you my side of the story regarding the ban.”
Dr Disrespect writes:
“Were there Twitch Whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017? The answer is yes. Were there real intentions behind these messages, the answer is absolutely not. These were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more. Nothing illegal happened, no pictures were shared, no crimes were committed, I never even met the individual. I went through a lengthy arbitration regarding a civil dispute with Twitch and that case was resolved by a settlement. Let me be clear, it was not a criminal case against me and no criminal charges have ever been brought against me.”
In other words: the allegations were true, to a point. While the streamer seems to deny sexting or pedophilic behaviour on his end specifically, he does admit to messaging a minor and having conversations that, “sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate.” He continues, “Now, from a moral standpoint I'll absolutely take responsibility. I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with. That's on me. That's on me as an adult, a husband and a father. It should have never happened. I get it. I'm not perfect and I'll fucking own my shit. This was stupid.”
And then the statement gets decidedly more antagonistic:
“Now, with all this said, don't get it fucking mistaken, I’ve seen all the remarks and labels being throw around so loosely. Social media is a destruction zone. I'm no fucking predator or pedophile. Are you kidding me? Anyone that truly knows me fucking knows where I stand on those things with those types of people. Fuck that. That's a different level of disgust that I fucking hate even hearing about. Don't be labelling me as the worst of the worst with your exaggerations. Get the fuck outta here with that shit.”
He concludes by saying that he won’t be, “going anywhere,” but will take, “an extended vacation with my family as mentioned on stream and I'm coming back with a heavy weight off my shoulders." He ends the statement by saying, “They want me to disappear… yeah fucking right,” despite having already confirmed a temporary disappearance from streaming in advance.
The gaming headset and accessory company Turtle Beach has also confirmed to IGN that it’s ending a long-running partnership with Beahm following these revelations. A TV series based on the Dr Disrespect persona produced by Skybound Entertainment is also no longer in development.