One of streaming’s biggest mysteries is 2020’s permanent Twitch ban served to high-profile content creator Dr Disrespect. For four years, the reasoning for the ban has been kept from the public, and despite some suggesting they knew the truth, no one has been willing to spill the beans.
Things had remained relatively quiet since the streamer and Twitch reached a settlement in 2022, but speculation reached a fever pitch in June 2024 after an ex-employee at the platform alleged that an unnamed streamer was sexting with a minor via Twitch DMs. Since then, there’s been a frenzy online as fans, creators, and journalists weigh in on the situation—with many, including influencer Jake Lucky, believing the allegations are referencing Dr Disrespect’s ban.
Here’s what we know about the June 2024 allegations against the unnamed streamer and why so many seem to be linking them to Dr Disrespect.
June 2024 Twitch ban allegations and Dr Disrespect’s response
On June 21, former Twitch employee Cody Conners alleged that a streamer, who went unnamed, had received a ban on the platform after being caught inappropriately messaging an underage viewer. According to Conners, this interaction occurred on the Twitch Whisper messaging platform.
The messages, Conners alleges, were sexual in nature, and plans were allegedly made for the streamer to meet up at a later TwitchCon event with the minor. These messages were apparently available “in plain text” for “the powers that be” to see.
As mentioned above, no names were ever shared, but insiders and X/Twitter users alike made a connection to Dr Disrespect and his original permanent ban way back in 2020. Continued discourse about the streamer’s involvement prompted a response from Dr Disrespect in a Jake Lucky X/Twitter thread where the streamer spoke out, saying “I get it, it’s a hot topic, but this has been settled, no wrongdoing was acknowledged and they paid out the whole contract.”
No evidence has been publicly revealed regarding the allegations so far, and information on Dr Disrespect’s ban remains limited, but the discussion is rife within the streaming community and Dr Disrespect’s ban is right back in the spotlight.
The streamer himself responded to the allegations a day later, but in the vaguest terms possible, writing on X/Twitter: “Listen, I’m obviously tied to legal obligations from the settlement with Twitch but I just need to say what I can say since this is the fucking internet. I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been probed and settled, nothing illegal, no wrongdoing was found, and I was paid.”
Dr Disrespect announces break from streaming, is dropped by Midnight Society
On June 24, Dr Disrespect once again addressed the allegations during an Elden Ring stream but simply reiterated his stance that he wasn’t going to go any further in-depth on what had already been said, saying he didn’t “give a fuck about this guy” in response to ex-Twitch staff’s comments. Toward the end of the same stream, Doc announced that he was feeling “fatigued” and “burnt out,” and that he had a pre-planned vacation coming up that he was going to begin early, thanking his fans before ending the stream.
About an hour after those comments on stream, Midnight Society, the game development studio Dr Disrespect helped found and current makers of DEADROP announced it’s severing ties with him after learning of “an allegation” on Friday, June 21. Midnight Society’s statement did not explicitly say the allegation they learned of and investigated was the same one made about Doc’s Twitch ban, but the timeline does seem to line up given those allegations occurred the same day.
More reports corroborating allegations against Dr Disrespect emerge
Two separate reports were published on June 24 and June 25 from The Verge and Bloomberg, respectively, citing more sources that reiterated the claims made against the streamer. The sources in the reports remained anonymous.
In both reports, sources corroborated claims that Dr Disrespect was banned from Twitch due to messages to a minor that included inquiring about the minor’s plans for a TwitchCon. Bloomberg’s report specifically labeled the messages sent as “sexually explicit.”
Dr Disrespect admits to sharing inappropriate messages in statement
On the afternoon of June 25, Dr Disrespect made a lengthy statement about the allegations on X/Twitter, admitting to explicitly messaging a minor via Twitch Whispers. “I should have never entertained these conversations to begin with. That’s on me,” he said.
Dr Disrespect reiterated there were “no intentions” behind taking the messages any further, and denied he was a predator or pedophile. “That’s a different level of disgust that I fucking hate even hearing about. Don’t be labeling me as the worst of the worst with your exaggerations.”
Multiple versions of the statement were posted, first with and then later without the word “minor” in the opening paragraphs. Dr Disrespect later added the term back in after multiple readers caught the edited statement.
When was Dr Disrespect banned from Twitch?
Dr Disrespect was permanently banned from Twitch in late June 2020. After a minor ban a year prior, the Doc was suddenly off the platform with very little reasoning shared.
“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,” a Twitch statement said. “These apply to all streamers regardless of status or prominence in the community.” Otherwise, no one knew why the Doc was ousted from the platform.
The permanent ban came shortly after the Doc signed a new contract with the platform. A year on from the ban, the streamer mentioned he was taking legal action against the platform, and in 2022, Dr Disrespect announced the legal dispute was over. “I have resolved my legal dispute with Twitch. No party admits to any wrongdoing,” Doc said on March 11, 2022.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the ban and whether the June 2024 allegations are true, Dr Disrespect has continuously ruled out a return to Twitch and has remained a streamer on YouTube since a month or so after the Twich ban began.
As the new allegations unfold, we’ll keep this piece updated with all the latest in the Dr Disrespect streamer drama saga.
