Dr. Disrespect, the persona created by Guy Beahm, at times makescontroversial statements on Twitch. The blurring of the lines between the man and the character sometimes makes it difficult to know how Beahm really feels on issues. But Dr. Disrespect is going against the brand by showing some real respect instead, standing with communities of color by calling out publishers and developers who don’t moderate their live streams when viewers spew hate.
While protests continue over police violence—particularly against people of color—Dr. Disrespect is making it clear that despite the outlandish character he projects, this issue is serious and needs to be addressed. Thepopular Twitch streamerrecently announced that he would be donating all the money donated to his channel to charities for the rest of the month.
RELATED:What is Shungite and Why Does Dr. Disrespect Have It
To take this a step further, Dr. Disrespect is calling out publishers and developers who are allowing their chats to fill with hateful statements during their streams. While chatting on his own stream, Dr. Disrespect puts these publishers and developers on blast for not moderating their streams during game reveals or when showing off new content. The amount of racist hate that Disrespect sees leaves him almost at a loss for words, as the usually composed character struggles to articulate his thoughts. He tells publishers and developers to “step up” and to get ahold of their chat, calling the lack of moderation that allows hateful comments flat out bad.
Twitch, and live game streaming in general, is still in a nascent phase of existence, learning along the way how to moderate its communities, and improve the viewer (and streamer) experience. The growing pains Twitch has felt are made visible for all to see wheninitiatives like the Twitch Safety Advisory Councilare torched in a firestorm of criticism.
Chat moderation and account suspensions seem to follow a fluid set of rules that are enforced with such irregularity that oftentimes neither viewers nor streamers understand what is and isn’t acceptable on the platform. This lack of clarity on the enforcement of rules, or just what the Twitch Safety Advisory Council is supposed to do,opens up Twitch to criticism. It also creates openings for hatred to seep in, as viewers who spew hate don’t fear being banned for bad behavior.
Dr. Disrespect feels Twitch is no place for this kind of toxicity to fester. Before getting on to doing what he does best, mowing down his opponentsinCall of Duty: Warzone, the Doc had to let his feelings on the issue be known. Using the platform for good is something Twitch could use more of.
MORE:World of Warcraft Twitch Streamer Asmongold Has Had a Rough Week
Source:Twitch (NSFW)
