Herschel Beahm IV, better known as Dr Disrespect, is an online streamer with 4.73 million subscribers on YouTube. At one point, he had more than 4 million followers on Twitch, but he was unexpectedly and inexplicably banned in 2020.
The ban, which happened in June 2020, came as a shock to many, as Dr Disrespect had just reportedly signed a two-year, eight-figure contract with the streaming platform. At that time, Twitch released a statement saying they had evidence that Dr Disrespect “has acted in violation” of their Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, but no other details were revealed.
A month after the ban, it appeared Dr Disrespect himself didn’t know what caused the ban. In an interview with The Washington Post in July 2020, Dr Disrespect said it came as a complete surprise. “Imagine showing up to work and the doors are closed and you can’t get inside. You’re going, ‘What’s going on?’ And you’ve been told you’ve been fired. But you haven’t been told the reason why,” he said.
When Dr Disrespect found out about the reason for his ban, he said he would sue Twitch. In 2022, it was reported that Dr Disrespect and Twitch had agreed to a settlement, but still, no details were released. The streamer released a simple statement that read, “I have resolved my legal dispute with Twitch. No party admits to any wrongdoing.” Now, Dr Disrespect’s 2020 ban is making headlines again, as someone released the alleged reason for the ban.
Dr Disrespect allegedly sent lewd messages to a minor
On June 22, 2024, former Twitch employee Cody Conners took to X and posted, “He got banned because got 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.”
Conners reportedly worked for Twitch’s strategic partnerships team at the time of the ban. Another employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, corroborated Connors’ statement. Connors’ post had no mention of Dr Disrespect, but everyone who read the post seemed to come to the conclusion that “he” referred to the former Twitch streamer.
Dr Disrespect’s response
Conners’ post blew up and has become a hot-button issue. One of those who reposted it was esports reporter Jake Lucky. Dr Disrespect then responded to that post, saying, “Jake seriously… I get it, its a hot topic but this has been settled, no wrongdoing was acknowledged and they paid out the whole contract.”
Dr Disrespect also posted on his own account saying that he has legal obligations and cannot disclose details about the settlement with Twitch, but he was adamant that he didn’t do anything illegal and “no wrongdoing was found.”
Some were quick to defend Dr Disrespect, saying no proof has been released. Others, however, were suspicious of the streamer’s response to the allegation. As one user said, “no wrongdoing was acknowledged does not mean no wrongdoing occurred.”
After the controversy erupted, Dr Disrespect said during a livestream that he had a planned vacation soon but with the circumstances, he thought that it would be best to start his vacation immediately. Regarding the allegations, he stated, “I already said what I needed to say.”