Dr Disrespect Apologizes, But Drama Continues
Guy Beahm, A.K.A. Dr Disrespect, has issued an apology for his actions during E3.
Beahm held an IRL stream of his adventures at E3 in the Dr Disrespect persona. Beahm and his crew filmed in men’s bathrooms, which is against Twitch’s community guidelines and California law. His actions got his E3 badge revoked and a two-week ban from Twitch.
Beahm has not streamed since the ban despite Twitch reinstating his channel. His subscribers have been anxiously awaiting his return, awaiting the Doctor’s return in his subscriber chat. While Beahm has not yet streamed, he has been active on social media.
Beahm made a TwitLonger post to his personal Twitter account yesterday that gave his account of the experience as well as an apology.
The Doctor’s Apology
The post began by stating it was his team was committed to authenticity, and it is hard to stay committed to that persona while not crossing lines. “Laws and repercussions” were not on their minds, according to Beahm.
“We were sort of ‘all in’ with the Doc livestream experience and capturing the E3 event through the character,” said Beahm. “We were so into the E3 IRL journey that we became a little blind in what’s OK and what’s not OK.
“We had no ill intentions and I feel that was pretty obvious if you watched the entire thing. We wanted to capture an adventure, unfortunately we took that adventure into the wrongs areas unaware of the legalities surrounding it. On behalf of the Dr Disrespect brand, I apologize for this.”
Of course, this couldn’t be the end of the situation.
Kotaku Joins the Fight
Kotaku writer Nathan Grayson reported on Beahm’s apology but added what he believes the Doctor is truly up to.
“On one hand, this was a much-needed apology, but on the other, it reads almost like Beahm is using his character and ‘brand’ as a shield against accepting full responsibility for his own actions,” said Grayson. ” Other streamers also attended E3, but Doc was the only one to stroll into a bathroom with a camera—multiple times, no less, despite messages in his chat and on social media saying it might not be such a good idea.”
Grayson goes on to say that nobody on the platform is truly authentic and that Beahm should truly own his actions instead of hiding behind a character.
The Drama Continues…
Beahm decided to take to Twitter to get back at Kotaku for publishing an article with these words. This time, as the Doctor.
Beahm went after Grayson, first with this tweet:
Hey guys, Nathan Grayson here, hot shot reporter at the all mighty Kotaku website.
You know, I’ve written so many cool things in my life, but nothing compares to my coverage of the 2009 mobile Angry Birds $100 tournament.
And guess what….. I won!!! pic.twitter.com/uHXIwzZ7JO
— Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) July 2, 2019
Then, Beahm went after Kotaku editor Jason Schreier:
Hey guys, Jason Schrierer here, editor for Kotaku.
Analytics shows that Kotaku is on the uprise, averaging 3-5 likes per tweet compared to 1-3 likes 1 year ago.
I also wrote a book about video games, I don’t want to brag but it’s a favorite here at the offices.
I hate myself pic.twitter.com/Lw5NWbzHrD
— Dr Disrespect (@DrDisrespect) July 2, 2019
Fans of Beahm have come to back up the Tweets. Many of Beam’s fans say the tweets shouldn’t be taken seriously as it is part of the character. On the other hand, lots of people in the industry have called out the tweets for simply being rude, childish, and ignorant.
Many in the video game industry have been offering their perspectives on the Twitter drama. IGN Editor Lucy O’Brien offered her perspective on the decision to go after Jason Schreier on Twitter.
Interesting to see a popular YouTuber go on the offense towards a guy whose journalism is focused primarily on exposing the shitty aspects of the industry in order to effect positive change.
Interesting
— Lucy O'Brien (@Luceobrien) July 2, 2019
Schreier has written many editorials to help make the industry a better place. The Kotaku editor has exposed harsh work conditions for workers at many different major developers. Schreier offered Beahm a taste of the Doctor’s own medicine, in the form of a Twitter response.
Beahm’s tweets were not exactly unwarranted, but the Doctor might have gone too far, again. This Twitter drama is sure to continue to develop, but Beahm has not been active since he posted the Tweets.
