Streamer Dr Disrespect’s YouTube income ban lifted after scandal
Manish Pandey
BBC Newsbeat
Getty Images
The character of Dr Disrespect has been known for being loud, abrasive and brash
Controversial gaming streamer Herschel ‘Guy’ Beahm, known online as Dr Disrespect, has said he is able to start making money from YouTube again after being dropped in 2024.
His announcement came on the same day as the gaming studio he co-founded said it was “closing its doors after three incredible years”.
Developer Midnight Society, which was working on shooter game Deadrop, cut ties with the YouTuber last year after becoming aware of “an allegation” against him.
Beahm denied any wrongdoing, but admitted sending messages to “an individual minor” in 2017, insisting “nothing illegal happened”.
The content creator has 4.5 million subscribers on the platform and was dropped by various sponsors but declared on his stream on Thursday that “we’ve got our YouTube monetisation back”.
In a statement to BBC Newsbeat, YouTube said it had “reinstated” Dr Disrespect to its partner program “after careful review of the channel’s recent activity”.
“Dr Disrespect was previously suspended… for violations of our Creator Responsibility policies. If there are further violations, we’ll take appropriate action,” it added.
A sudden exit
The Dr Disrespect character gained popularity for his chaotic style of play and aggressive – at times rude – commentary.
Last year, Midnight Society terminated Beahm’s role at the company, four years after he was abruptly kicked off streaming platform Twitch, where he had a big following.
In 2022, Beahm and Twitch agreed a settlement, where neither party admitted any wrongdoing.
The reason for his removal then was never made clear – with the Amazon-owned platform only saying it acted whenever users broke the rules.
Last June, a former Twitch employee said the removal was linked to messages sent to a minor.
Beahm responded: “Let me be clear, it was not a criminal case against me and no criminal charges have ever been brought against me.”
He did though apologise to his “community and colleagues” for his actions.
“That’s on me as an adult, a husband and a father… it should have never happened”, he wrote on social media.
He was suspended from YouTube’s partner program and retreated from streaming until September.
In November he signed a deal with video platform Rumble to head its gaming division.
The closure of Midnight Society comes amid wider struggles in the games industry, with Ubisoft and Bioware among notable companies already announcing cuts in 2025.
Midnight Society previously announced layoffs in September 2024 but said it remained committed to releasing the game this year.
In its statement announcing its closure, the company apologised for being “unable to reach our ultimate goal” of making Deadrop.
The game got its start through the sale of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) – “one-of-a-kind” digital assets that experience an intial boom before vastly dropping in value.
Some who invested have asked the company if they will be receiving refunds.
BBC Newsbeat has requested comment from Midnight Society but not heard back.
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