Herschel “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm IV, one of the most popular battle royale streamers, appears to have had his Twitch channel taken down on Tuesday. As of writing, his channel URL returns only a message that content is currently unavailable.
Dr. Disrespect’s Twitch ban may have stemmed from an incident from his IRL stream at the E3 conference in Los Angeles. The stream seemed to follow him into a public bathroom, which could be illegal according to California legal code.
Section 647(j)(1) of the California penal code describes as a misdemeanor: “A person who looks through a hole or opening, into, or otherwise views, by means of any instrumentality, including, but not limited to, a periscope, telescope, binoculars, camera, motion picture camera, camcorder, or mobile phone, the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the privacy of a person or persons inside.”
Illegal activities are against Twitch’s Community Guidelines. But those guidelines also contain specific language around privacy which prohibits “sharing content that violates another’s reasonable expectation of privacy, for example streaming from a private space, without permission.”
Earlier in the day, Dr. Disrespect was meeting with other figures in the gaming and esports industries at the conference, and everything seemed to be going well until his camera crew followed him into a bathroom. He has yet to comment on his Twitter account about the situation.
Dr. Disrespect built a tremendous following as one of the most popular streamers of battle royale games including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Apex Legends. He is well known for his unique online persona, which includes his trademark wig and sunglasses. His E3 stream was the first time he had tried an IRL stream. The IRL section has created a slew of controversies for the streaming site, and it seems to have just ensnared one of its biggest streamers.
This is a developing story. Dot Esports has reached out to Dr. Disrespect for comment.
