Dr Disrespect is gone and Twitch won’t say why

Dr Disrespect disappeared from Twitch this afternoon, with his account vanishing from the site, leading to rumors that he had been banned. The disappearance comes two days after Twitch said it would begin issuing permanent suspensions for streamers as it cracked down on accusations of harassment and sexual misconduct.

Twitch would not confirm that it had banned Dr Disrespect, why he might have been banned, or whether he might be permanently banned. Twitch signed Dr Disrespect to an exclusive two year contract back in March for an undisclosed but “life-changing” amount of money. The streamer had also made a deal with a production company to create an animated TV series around his character.

Dr Disrespect, real name Herschel “Guy” Beahm, is famous for his exaggerated persona — he streams in character as a person who takes gaming to a certain extreme — and is among Twitch’s 10 most followed accounts, a list that includes several people (like Ninja) who no longer use the site.

The potential ban would be a huge statement from Twitch — should Twitch choose to confirm it. It would signal that the platform is going to start taking its streamers’ behavior both on and off stream more seriously, following a week of complaints about sexual harassment and assault.

Beahm doesn’t appear to have been among those who were accused of harassment or other misconduct, but he’s been a controversial figure in the past. Beahm was banned last year for streaming from a men’s bathroom at E3. In 2018, he was criticized for performing racist caricatures while streaming.

Twitch suggested that Beahm had violated the site’s community guidelines or terms of service in an email to The Verge but would not specifically say so. “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,” a Twitch spokesperson said in an email.