Almost a month has passed since Twitch decided to remove Dr. Disrespect from their platform. On that same day, Discord also cut ties with the streamer by removing his verification on their service. The decision comes only a month after Twitch resigned a multiyear deal to have him stay on Twitch. With no official reason or statement, the details have remained confusing and behind red tape. Yet, after a long calm of silence, PC Gamer published an interview with Hershel Beahm this morning discussing questions and controversy surrounding the ban. With so many eyes on his career developments and debates over the controversy; the technicalities stay shut as he moves to start making content again.
Beahm reaffirmed his knowledge concerning the ban came with no details, surprising him as it came seemingly out of nowhere. After being questioned regarding how he received the news, he recounted the morning stating how fast things developed, leaving him in shock while on a conference call with his team. As is normal for Twitch’s protocol, many other banned streamers like IcePosiden and MethodJosh received the same treatment when dealing with their respective bans. Both cases also signifying very serious situations with Method’s sexual assault incident a year ago and IcePosiden’s plane swatting dilemma three years ago. While Twitch took special care with Beahm’s situation, their history regarding bans are clear and Doc is no exception.
When questioned about an exclusivity deal, he revealed that his main concern was doing right by his fans and being consistent with making his content. He briefly discussed the possibility of moving to his own proprietary streaming site to host his content under his brand. He even mentions how his team is working to make the “Doc 3.0 experience” more enjoyable and exciting than ever. He further explains how he has much more ambitious graphics, visuals, videos, and more projects beyond gaming that are still in development.
— Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) July 16, 2020
PC Gamer also questioned Beahm regarding the controversial statements and allegations surrounding the Dr Disrespect caricature. His most recent streams lead the character Dr Disrespect to discuss some conspiracy theories about COVID-19; but, Beahm discussed how this likely did not lead to his ban. PC Gamer continued the pressure by discussing the recent outing of sexual predators in the gaming space and how Twitch’s aggressive response to such deplorable behavior. Beahm was not as receptive to the question discussing how he was well aware of the theories and conspiracies but restated how he was mainly concerned about the future of his content and fan-base. He later would state how he tries not to engage in the speculation, even when it comes to community figures like esports insider, Rod (Slasher) Breslau, who claim to understand the situation.
Following the interview’s publication, Beahm took to Twitter, posting a new promo video hyping up his return. It was confirmed by Rod Breslau that he will be free to stream on other platforms including Youtube. In a move similar to Ninja’s recent departure from Mixers closure; Dr. Disrespect will more than likely do so as his following on the site is stronger than anywhere else. Amidst the unanswered questions and confusing timeline of what’s to come for Doc, he’s clearly doing well without Twitch and chasing new heights for a rebuild of his brand and WWE-esque persona.