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Dr Disrespect – aka Guy Beahm – has been back in the news nearly four years after he was banned from Twitch, the online streaming platform where he rose to fame, in 2020. Now it sounds like the popular streamer is quitting indefinitely.

The reason for the ban was not disclosed by either Twitch or Dr. Disrespect, although the latter sued the streaming platform over the ban while the former paid out Beahm’s contract. Years passed. History became legend. Legend became myth.

Then, on June 22, 2024, Cody Conners, former Account Director of Strategic Partnership at Twitch, tweeted: “(Dr. Disrespect) was banned because (he) was caught sending sex messages to a minor on the then-existing Twitch Whispers product. He was planning to meet her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read that in plain language.”

Beahm responded to this accusation on Twitter:

“Look,” he tweeted, “I am obviously bound by legal obligations under the Twitch settlement, but I just have to say what I can because this is the (bleep) internet.”

“I did nothing wrong, everything was investigated and cleared up, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found and I was paid.”

He also responded to media star Jake Lucky with a strange non-repudiation, tweeting: “Jake, seriously… I understand it’s a hot topic but the matter is settled, no wrongdoing has been admitted and they have paid out the entire contract.”

Then, during a stream on June 23, Dr. Disrespect received a message that seemed to discourage the streamer. At the end of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Earth Tree session, Beahm hinted that he might step away from streaming altogether, explaining, “I just feel burned out.”

“Maybe it’s time to start something new, something different,” he told his audience.

“But I think, first and foremost, I had a planned vacation ahead of me, but maybe I’ll extend it from today. It is what it is. People get tired. Honestly, I don’t know how long my vacation will last, but maybe I’ll extend it. We’ll see.”

This came shortly before the game studio he co-founded, Midnight Sons, announced that it was cutting ties with the streamer. The company’s statement reads:

On Friday evening we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founders, Guy Beahm aka Dr Disrespect.

We assumed he was innocent and began talking to those involved. And in order to uphold our principles and standards as a studio and as individuals, we had to take action.

For this reason, we are terminating our business relationship with Guy Beahm with immediate effect.

While these facts are hard to hear, and even harder to accept, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of everyone involved, especially the 55 developers and families we employed, as well as our community of players.

As with the Twitch ban nearly four years ago, much of this remains shrouded in mystery. Twitch has not commented on the matter, and Beahm has certainly announced that he is quitting – whether that is streaming or just streaming specific games like Call of Duty. He always seems to come back. Some have also questioned tweets from Conners in which he promised to reveal why Dr. Disrespect was banned if Conners sold out three of his upcoming shows in the last year. However, another former Twitch employee – as an unnamed, anonymous source – supported Conners’ statement to The Verge.

Whether or not the allegations are true, or whether the motives behind the accusations are pure, we can’t possibly say. There’s a strange non-deniability in Beahm’s own statement, but that could be attributed to poor wording or legalese. A streaming hiatus could be seen as an admission of guilt or simply an indication of the toll this type of drama takes. At this point, it’s all speculation. If the allegations are true, this is obviously very serious and untenable.

But I think it’s always important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty. That may not necessarily be true in the court of public opinion – and Disrespect has certainly made a name for itself by courting public opinion in often controversial ways – but we’d be wise to resist snap judgements and exercise caution; wisdom, like patience, is in short supply.

How none of this has come to light in nearly four years is another big question and, in an age of online leaks and rumors, more than shocking.