Update: Deadrop Studio Drops Co-Founder Dr. Disrespect After Allegations Surrounding The Streamer’s 2020 Twitch Ban Emerge

Update: Guy Beahm AKA Dr. Disrespect has released a statement via X (formerly Twitter). In the statement, Beahm acknowledges that he sent “twitch [sic] whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017” but denies any illegality or “real intentions” behind the messages. You can see Beahm’s full X post below.

Additionally, Midnight Society studio head Robert Bowling posted the following message on his X account shortly after Beahm’s statement:

Original Story from June 25, 2024 at 7:36 a.m. CT:

Deadrop studio Midnight Society has terminated its relationship with co-founder and streamer Guy Beahm aka Dr. Disrespect. It did so after looking into allegations surrounding Beahm that emerged over the recent weekend regarding his 2020 Twitch ban. 

On Friday, June 21, former Twitch account director of strategic partnerships Cody Conners said on Twitter, “He [referring to Beahm] got banned because he was caught sexting a minor in the then-existing Twitch Whispers product. He was trying to meet up with her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read in plain text. Case closed, gang.” Conner replied to his own post on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “No one made the wrong decision, f— him and his boys.” 

Though Conners didn’t name Beahm, who was previously banned from E3 and suspended on Twitch after livestreaming from a public bathroom in 2019, it was clear that he was referring to the streamer. Beahm even replied from his Dr. Disrespect account, saying he knows it’s a “hot topic” but that it “has been settled, no wrongdoing was acknowledged and they paid out the whole contract.” He then tweeted separately, “Listen, I’m obviously tied to legal obligations from the settlement with Twitch but I just need to say what I can say since this is the f***ing internet. I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid.” 

Back in 2020, when Beahm was suddenly banned on June 26, Twitch shared little of the reasoning behind the decision. It released 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.” This ban happened shortly after Beahm signed with Twitch (again) for reportedly an eight-figure sum, as reported by The Washington Post. 

Following this ban, Beahm told The Washington Post weeks later he still didn’t know why Twitch “effectively voided his contract” with the ban. A year after the ban, Beahm sued Twitch and roughly a year after that – so about two years after the ban – he and Twitch settled. At the time, Beahm posted a photo on March 10, 2022, with a paper he signed that read, “I have resolved my legal dispute with Twitch. No party admits to any wrongdoing.” 

During this sequence of events, Beahm also launched a new triple-A studio with Call of Duty and Halo veteran game developers called Midnight Society. After Conners’ reveal about Beahm on Friday, Midnight Society apparently assumed his innocence but began speaking to parties involved. After doing so, it decided to terminate its relationship with Beahm. Here’s the studio’s full statement on the matter:

“On Friday evening we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founder’s Guy Beahm aka Dr. Disrespect. We assumed his innocence and began speaking with parties involved. And in order to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and individuals, we needed to act. 

“For this reason, we are terminating our relationship with Guy Beahm immediately.

“While these facts are difficult to hear and even more difficult to accept, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of all individuals involved, especially with fifty-five developers and families we have employed along with our community of players.” 

Though Midnight Society doesn’t say anything too specific, it did look into the situation following Conners’ reveal, spoke to parties involved, and decided then (after previously assuming Beahm’s innocence) that it was terminating its relationship with the streamer. 

Though Beahm hasn’t acknowledged the Midnight Society situation, people who tuned into the Dr. Disrespect stream happening when the studio posted its statement think they can see the moment he sees the news live on-air. Here’s a clip from Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach: 

Considering Beahm’s Twitch ban was settled in court with the Amazon-owned streaming service, there’s a good chance we won’t learn about the sitaution as there are likely legal obligations stopping either party from sharing further details.