Guy Beahm, known on the internet as Dr Disrespect, has been ousted from the game studio he helped start. In a statement posted on the Midnight Society’s X account, the company said that “we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founder’s Guy Beahm aka Dr Disrespect,” that stem from his lifetime ban from Twitch. The organization would add that, “For this reason, we are terminating our relationship with Guy Beahm immediately.”
The allegations being referred to came by way of former Twitch employee Cody Conners, who made a statement on X. Conners said that “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.” While not naming Beahm specifically, it was largely understood this post was in reference to him.
Midnight Society immediately investigated the matter, in which the company says started with a presumption of innocence. However, after speaking with those with knowledge of the situation the studio felt the need to take action. In the released statement, Midnight Society says that “in order to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and individuals, we needed to act.”
The studio would go on to add that “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 fifty-five developers and families we have employed along with our community of players.”
Beahm posted an update on X, saying that, “were there Twitch whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017? The answer is yes. Were there real intentions behind these messages, the answer is absolutely not. These were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more.”
This whirlwind of events has caused Beahm to announce an extended break from being online during his most recent YouTube stream. Beahm made the announcement while streaming Elden Ring, which made it more surreal because of the soundtrack blaring in the background.
While this is a big story because of Beahm’s online fame, it can’t be forgotten that there was minor who was potentially impacted by this. Hopefully they are receiving all the support they need, and that they can move forward in a positive way.