YouTube's explanation for why Dr Disrespect can start making money on his channel again doesn't add up
Seven months after demonetizing Dr Disrespect's channel over his admission of inappropriate communications with a minor, YouTube has decided that Guy Beahm, better known as the streamer Dr Disrespect, has served his penance and can start monetizing his videos again.
After multiple sources reported the change in direction, Beahm himself triumphantly announced the remonetization in a message posted to X:
YouTube confirmed its decision in a statement provided to PC Gamer. "Dr Disrespect was previously suspended from the YouTube Partner Program for violations of our Creator Responsibility policies," a YouTube spokesperson said. "Creators who are suspended from this program can reapply for access, and after careful review of the channel’s recent activity, we’ve reinstated it. If there are further violations, we’ll take appropriate action."
Content creators whose channels are demonetized are allowed to apply for reinstatement after they've addressed the content or behavior that resulted in the suspension, according to YouTube, and a green light was given in this case after the aforementioned "careful review" of Beahm's channel activity. But Beahm wasn't demonetized for his channel content, but for violations of YouTube's Creator Responsibility policy, specifically the allegations—which, again, he confirmed—of inappropriate DMs with a minor.
The natural question, then, is: How has he addressed that? Aside from acknowledging that the allegations were accurate, Beahm's only public actions have been to deny any illegal activity and paint himself as the victim of a behind-the-scenes conspiracy at Twitch, where he remains banned. There have been no further claims of inappropriate behavior on Beahm's part that I'm aware of, so I suppose one could call the situation "addressed," as far as it goes.
But carrying on with business as usual while pinning the blame for your misfortunes on others and insisting you didn't really do anything illegal does nothing to "address" the initial violation, and that leads me to question YouTube's real commitment to its policies. Saying you want to "protect the YouTube community" with your rules is nice, but remonetizing a streamer who makes a point of showing no contrition for his behavior sends a very different message. Twitch felt Beahm's actions were egregious enough to show him the door permanently; YouTube's response pales by comparison.
Of course, one might also note that Beahm remains a major draw, and is attracting a significant audience on YouTube competitor Rumble, which he's been actively promoting on his social media channels. Despite everything, where Beahm goes, an awful lot of viewers—and money—follow.
In a bizarre twist of timing, Beahm's return to monetized YouTube happened on the same day that Midnight Society, the studio he co-founded in 2021 with former Call of Duty creative strategist Robert Bowling, and Halo 5 multiplayer designer Quinn Delhoyo, announced that it is closing down without releasing its in-development extraction shooter Deadrop. Midnight Society parted ways with Beahm in June 2024 after the allegations of his inappropriate messages first came to light.