Last Friday, a former Twitch employee caused quite a stir in the gaming and streaming world by revealing the reason why popular streamer Guy Beahm, better known as Dr Disrespect, was mysteriously banned from the platform in 2020. Now, the game studio Beahm co-founded Midnight Society has announced that they are ending their partnership with him immediately following these statements.
The former employee claims that the streamer was in contact with a minor and wanted to meet during an event organized on the platform. Beahm denies everything and has not been convicted of anything. Right now, it’s still Beahm’s word against a former employee.
However, that didn’t stop the Midnight Society from taking action. They announced the news in a release on Monday
“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 the 55 developers and their families, as well as our player community,” said said. statement, which you can read in full below.
On Friday evening, we found out about the accusation against one of our founders, Guy Beahm, aka Dr. Disrespect.
We assumed his innocence and started talking to the parties involved. And to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and as individuals, we had to act.… — Midnight Society (@12.00) June 24, 2024
Robert Bowling, who co-founded Midnight Society with Beahm, briefly commented on the situation Friday night, writing on X/Twitter: “Now I’m aware of it and I’m acting on it.”
Beahm broadcast Elden Ring live when the statement was released. After several minutes of mostly silence, Beahm ended the Stream by saying he might take a break after a “planned vacation,” adding that he was feeling “tired” and “burnt out.” He also specifically mentioned Midnight Society, saying “maybe I’ll step away from that too. Just remove myself from the scene completely. That’s what I have to do.”
The story first broke on Friday night, June 21, in a 2011 post on IGN US). Although Conners didn’t mention him by name, it was widely believed that he was talking about Beahm, who was suddenly banned from the platform almost exactly four years ago for no public reason.
According to Conners, the ban came after Beahm used the now-defunct Twitch Whispers chat feature to meet a minor at TwitchCon, which Twitch employees also have access to.
“He was banned for being caught having sex with a minor on what was then Twitch Whispers. He tried to hook up with a woman at TwitchCon. The powers that be could read that as just text,” Conners wrote. “Case closed, folks.”
He was banned for being caught having sex with a minor on the then-existing Twitch whispering product. He tried to meet her at TwitchCon. The powers that be can be read by text alone.
Case closed, gang. — Cody Conners (@evoli) June 22, 2024
“No one made the wrong decision, screw him and his friends,” Conners added.
Beahm sued Twitch over the ban in 2021, and that legal dispute was “settled” in 2022, with Beahm saying in a statement that “neither side admits guilt.” He streams mainly on YouTube these days.
Beahm has claimed on social media that “no wrongdoing was found”. He has made several comments since Conners’ post on Friday, his first response to esports commentator Jake Lucky since he shared the story with his followers.
Jake seriously… I get it, it’s a hot topic, but this has been resolved, no wrongdoing was admitted and they paid the entire contract. – Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 22, 2024
Beahm issued a formal response on Sunday, writing done, all of this has been investigated and addressed, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing found, and I have been paid.”
Look, I’m obviously bound by legal obligations from the settlement with Twitch, but I just have to say what I can because this is the fucking internet.
I did nothing wrong, this has all been investigated and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing found, and I was paid… – Dr. Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 22, 2024
He has also continued to stream on YouTube, starting the Elden Ring stream on Monday with a brief explanation of the situation.
“For those who want me to expand further this weekend, I won’t. I already said what I needed to say. I don’t care about this guy,” he said, likely referring to Conners. “That’s it.”
Conners also offered his own response to the situation, specifically questions about why it took so long for the information to emerge.
“The subtext of the story, again shameful, is that you’re the last person who doesn’t know,” Conners wrote in part. “The information was so normalized, stripped of its sting in the circles I moved into that it could be boiled down to insinuation and dichotomies to anyone who has since said ‘that’s bullshit’ – I already agreed with you on Friday night before you I should have agreed with you earlier .”
These three tweets deserve a warning. Maybe more than three – the people who have tried to dig things up have been so overwhelming that I assume they’ve lost something. I apologize for everything because it’s worth apologizing for.
A slightly shameful subtext is that you are… — Cody Conners (@evoli) June 24, 2024
Twitch still hasn’t responded as this story is getting out of hand.
Sjaak is a reporter at IGN Benelux. He is mainly found behind his PC, where he dedicates his time and mind to ruthless games like League of Legends, Dota 2 and Overwatch.