YouTuber Dr Disrespect Was Allegedly Kicked Off Twitch for Messaging Minor

Cecilia D'Anastasio, Bloomberg News

LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 29: Video game streamer Dr. DisRespect presents on stage during round three of the 2022 NFL Draft on April 28, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) , Photographer: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images North America

(Bloomberg) -- Guy Beahm, known online as Dr Disrespect, is one of the top video-game celebrities on social media, with 4.7 million YouTube subscribers. He’s worked with the San Francisco 49ers pro football team and been a spokesman for Mountain Dew soda.

He was also banned four years ago by Amazon.com Inc.’s Twitch for violating its community guidelines. The chat app Discord followed, removing him from its partnership program after a report from a “trusted industry peer,” according to a spokesperson who didn’t identify the actual source.

The reasons for his banishment from Twitch were never given, but three people with knowledge of the matter said Beahm was removed because he exchanged sexually explicit messages with a minor through the service’s direct chat feature. He also asked a minor about her plans at the TwitchCon convention, according to two of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing such a sensitive matter. A complaint was later filed with Twitch through its reporting system, the two said.

The allegations were first posted to social media last week by former Twitch employee Cody Conners. His post has since gone viral. The Verge also reported on the reason for his removal, citing another source it didn’t identify.

In a post Tuesday on X, Beahm, who is 42, acknowledged engaging in conversations that “sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate” and led to his ban on Twitch.

“Nothing illegal happened, no pictures were shared, no crimes were committed, I never even met the individual,” he wrote. “I went through a lengthy arbitration regarding a civil dispute with Twitch and that case was resolved by a settlement.”

Beahm’s departure from Twitch and Discord and his re-emergence on YouTube show social-media companies continue to grapple with allegations of bad behavior by online stars who help them generate millions of dollars in revenue. Beahm, who attracted 4.5 million fans to his Call of Duty gameplay and commentary on Twitch, posted in 2022 that he had settled a legal dispute with the service, adding that “No party admits to any wrongdoing.”

After the ban, he relaunched his career on YouTube. Ryan Wyatt, the head of YouTube gaming at the time, told Bloomberg that he didn’t know the reason for Beahm’s ban on Twitch.

YouTube, part of Alphabet Inc., didn’t respond to requests for comment. Neither did the 49ers, which has made videos with Beahm. PepsiCo Inc., which makes Mountain Dew, said it hasn’t worked with him in some time.

Meanwhile, the video-game studio Beahm co-founded, Midnight Society, announced Monday that it is terminating its relationship with the YouTube star immediately after “speaking with parties involved.”

On YouTube on Monday, Beahm livestreamed the video game Elden Ring and ended his broadcast saying that he planned to “step away.”

(Updates with Dr Disrespect’s latest comments starting in fifth paragraph.)