Updated 06/25/2024 at 1:01 p.m. (Pacific Time): In addition to our contact with Turtle Beach and FanDuel, IGN also reached out to Skybound Entertainment to ask about the status of its 2019 deal with Guy Beahm for a TV show based on his streamer character, Dr. Disrespect. Skybound Entertainment responded with the following context, indicating that the project has been dead for some time now: “In 2019, we explored the idea of developing content with Beahm but did not move forward.”
Updated 06/26/2024 at 4:50 p.m. (Pacific Time): Dexerto confirmed with 2K that Beahm’s name will disappear from NBA 2K24 in the coming weeks, once the Season 9 patch is released. According to Dexerto, the titles of its custom jump shot and dunk style animations will be replaced with more generic names, and 2K does not plan to use Beahm-related content in future games. As noted by Jake Lucky, Beahm also had his own side quest in NBA 2K23.
The NFL’s San Francisco 49ers also cut ties with Beahm, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Original story: Gaming headset and accessories company Turtle Beach has ended a long-standing partnership with popular streamer Guy Beahm, known as Dr Disrespect, following allegations that he was banned from the Twitch platform in 2020 was due to inappropriate messages sent to a minor.
The company sent the following statement to IGN in response to a request for comment on its relationship with the streamer following the allegations: “We will not be continuing our partnership with Guy Beahm/DrDisRespect.” Turtle Beach did not provide further comment.
Beahm’s partnership with Turtle Beach dates back several years, with the company signing a multi-year deal in 2020 with the streamer through its ROCCAT accessories brand, and signing another similar partnership deal in January 2023. Last fall, Turtle Beach rolled out a Dr. Disrespect-themed headset, and the company has consistently sponsored Beahm’s live streams on YouTube over the past few years. Previously, Dr Disrespect had a dedicated product page on the Turtle Beach website with a number of branded items, but the page and its items appear to have been removed this morning.
IGN also reached out to gaming platform FanDuel, which has sponsored several Beahm streams in recent months. A spokesperson told IGN that the company does not have a current agreement with Beahm and that its last deal ended in May. FanDuel provided no further comment.
Beahm was permanently banned from Twitch, suddenly and unexpectedly, in June 2020, almost exactly four years ago. At the time, the platform did not provide the reason for the ban and Beahm claimed he himself was unaware of the motivations. He then sued Twitch for banning in 2021, and the lawsuit was settled in 2022, but further details have still not been made public.
However, allegations about the real reason for the ban surfaced last Friday, June 21, when the Twitch account’s former Director of Strategic Partnerships, Cody Conners, posted a message on X/Twitter that was widely considered to be referring to Beahm (Disclosure: Conners briefly worked at IGN in 2011). In the post, Conners alleges that Beahm was banned for “sexting a minor in the then-existing Twitch Whispers product” and “attempting to meet her at TwitchCon.” The following Sunday, The Verge spoke with another former Twitch employee who claimed that Conners’ allegations were both true and a reference to Beahm.
He was banned because he was caught sexting a minor in the then-existing Twitch Whispers product. He was trying to meet her at TwitchCon. The powers that be could be read in plain text.
Case closed, gang.
– Cody Conners (@evoli) June 22, 2024
Beahm has since made a number of public statements stating that “no wrongdoing was found”, including a direct response to a tweet quoting Conners’ post. In a more explicit statement, Beahm wrote: “Look, I’m obviously bound by the legal obligations of the settlement with Twitch but I just need to say what I can say since it’s the fucking Internet. I don’t I did nothing wrong, this was all investigated and resolved, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing found and I was paid.”
Look, I’m obviously bound by the legal obligations of the settlement with Twitch but I just need to say what I can say since it’s the fucking Internet.
I did nothing wrong, this was all investigated and resolved, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing found and I was paid.…
– Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) June 22, 2024
In an Elden Ring live stream on Monday, Beahm addressed the allegations again. “For those looking to expand this weekend, I won’t. I’ve already said what I needed to say. I don’t care about this guy. he said, probably referring to Conners. “That’s it.”
Turtle Beach isn’t the only company to cut ties with Beahm following these allegations. On Monday, Midnight Society, the game development studio co-founded by Beahm, released a statement announcing that it was ending its relationship with Beahm after “speaking with the parties involved.”
“While these facts are difficult to hear and even more difficult to accept, it is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of everyone involved, especially the fifty-five developers and families we have employed as well as our gaming community,” the statement said. The statement, which you can read in full below, continues.
On Friday evening, we became aware of an allegation against one of our co-founders, Guy Beahm, aka Dr Disrespect.
We assumed his innocence and began speaking with the parties involved. And in order to maintain our principles and standards as a studio and individuals, we had to act.…
– Midnight Society (@12 p.m.) June 24, 2024
IGN reached out to Beahm for additional comment but did not receive a response. Twitch and YouTube also did not respond to IGN’s request for comment.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Do you have a history tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
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