Dr Disrespect, or Herschel “Guy” Beahm in real life, is a hugely popular streamer who has been lying low for some time. But now it looks like his return is just hours away.
After some teasers on his social media profiles, a new livestream on the Dr DisRespect YouTube channel has begun building up to the revival of the streamer's career, after it was suddenly halted earlier this year.
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Dr Disrespect's first YouTube stream will kick off at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET/8 p.m. BST on August 7 on his official YouTube channel.
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Beahm announced on Twitter on August 6 that something big was going to happen the next day. He also went live on Instagram, with the end of his stream hinting at an imminent return.
On the same day, it was spotted that the Dr. DisRespect YouTube channel had added a Join button — allowing users to subscribe to the channel for $5 a month.
Following that, a new livestream went up on Beahm's YouTube channel, which is pretty much conclusive proof that we're about to see him begin the new phase of his career. You can watch the stream once it kicks off in the embedded video below.
Who is Dr Disrespect?
Played by Beahm when on camera, Dr Disrespect is a self-styled master of multiplayer games, with a signature style of black and red clothing, sunglasses, an unkempt mullet and large mustache. His brash personality and well-produced streams have won him millions of followers, even if the character has caused problems.
What's happening with Dr Disrespect's YouTube channel?
Currently if you go to the "Dr Disrespect - The 2x Champion" video on YouTube, you'll see a dramatic-looking render of a gas station, with iconography such as the channel logo, his "Violence, Speed, Momentum" motto and the address of the official fan site visible. There's also a mix of synthwave music and radio-themed skits for audio interest.
Beahm has said on Twitter that he will begin streaming at 12pm Pacific Time today (August 7), which is 3pm eastern or 8pm UK.
While this stream is hosted on YouTube, sources "close to Beahm" (As reported by The Verge) say that he will be dividing his time between YouTube, Facebook and his own Champions Club website. Rod "Slasher" Breslau, an eSports consultant and frequent commenter on Twitch news, claims there is no deal between Beahm and YouTube, and there are no plans for a partnership between the two, according to his sources at YouTube and Facebook Gaming.
Why was Dr Disrespect banned from Twitch?
Although Beahm has previously caused a stir after filming in a bathroom at the LA Convention Center during E3 2019, and also for performing racist impressions and spreading coronavirus misinformation while streaming, the ban which has permanently blocked him from Twitch was never explained. Twitch's policy is to not comment on bans, but given that it had only begun an exclusivity deal with Beahm in March, it's a dramatic reversal.
It was rumored that the ban involved law enforcement or security issues, hence the lack of clarity from Twitch and from Beahm himself. Breslau claimed to know the reason behind the ban, but refused to comment further for fear of defaming Beahm.
Recently, after maintaining radio silence since the announcement of the ban, Beahm organised a series of interviews with various news sites, including our sister site PC Gamer. In these interviews Beahm talked about being eager to return to streaming, but not exclusively on any one site, and the development of his revised "Doc 3.0" character, complete with new graphics, which is what we're likely seeing on the countdown stream.
Beahm has also said he was considering taking legal action against Twitch, and has hired lawyers to manage this. We'll likely be hearing about the fallout from this event for some time to come.
