Dr Disrespect Drops A Hint To Why He Was Banned
Ever since Dr Disrespect's sudden ban from Twitch way back in June, his fans have been chomping at the bit for any info regarding why it happened. The Doc has since returned to streaming on YouTube, raking in some insane viewership numbers. Despite all of the extra attention that the ban has brought his brand, the Doc has just barely broached the subject of his ban while streaming. During a recent stream, however, it seemed that the Doc really wanted to speak his mind.
At several points during his Sept. 28 stream, it looked like Dr Disrespect was just barely containing himself, particularly when fans started to try to nudge him into opening up. A fan mentioned something about telling the truth in the Doc's chat, which prompted the Two Time Champion to explain, "I have to be very careful, especially when legality comes into play, right?"
The Doc was clearly trying not to talk directly about his ban, but he did offer some updates on what he's currently dealing with. When a viewer made a comment about him being silenced by big corporations, Doc explained that he's not being silenced by anyone in particular, but rather the "process" that he's going through. This would seem to imply that some legal processes have finally begun on the matter, but it's unclear. It is possible the Doc is still exploring his options before making a case against Twitch.
However, it was a following viewer donation that really got the Doc into high gear. The Doc received a donation from someone who identified themselves as a 25-year "active duty Master Chief" in the United States Navy.
The Doc responded to this viewer, "Imagine the Navy going in there and getting rid of you, huh? Just out of nowhere, and then bringing in three new cadets ... they say, 'Man, even though he's gonna turn Master Chief, like, that's a big, huge salary.'"
The first part of this metaphor is clearly referring to the abrupt nature of the Doc's ban. However, it's the second half of this statement that should be of great interest for anyone following the latest huge updates from the world of Twitch streamers. The "three new cadets" that the Doc mentions could be referring to some of the pricey new talent contracts that Twitch has recently signed.
The first two "cadets" that the Doc is referring to are pretty easy to discern. He's most likely talking about Shroud, who returned to Twitch in August, and Ninja, who signed a new Twitch contract and returned the following month. Both streamers had made public moves to Mixer last year, and both found themselves to be free agents when Mixer went under. While no price points have been publicly discussed for these new contracts, it's not much of a stretch to imagine that they were quite lucrative for both streamers. As for the third new recruit, there's a chance that the Doc may be referring to Logic, who signed a deal with Twitch in July, shortly after the Doc's ban.
It seems that the Doc is hinting that Twitch may have let him go so that the company could afford to shell out the big bucks for these other streamers. While there's no hard evidence to back this up, it's an interesting theory, and it would go a long way to explaining why the Doc seems to be so bitter in this clip.
Maybe the wildest thing about the Doc's theory is that it's not the first time someone has thought of this. Weirdly enough, the idea of Twitch banning Dr Disrespect to avoid paying him was also previously posited by none other than PewDiePie. However, PewDiePie's theory about Dr Disrespect's ban was slightly different. He was under the impression that Twitch may have been retaliating against the Doc for considering a move to Mixer as his new streaming platform. Doc would have been having those talks prior to Microsoft shuttering Mixer, of course.
At the time, PewDiePie said, "The timing of Mixer shutting down to then Dr Disrespect being banned is an interesting timing, at least ... It's like, okay, Mixer shut down, so he can't go over there. So if we ban him — because he was clearly talking to Mixer about signing with them — if we ban him, we don't have to f**king pay him."
While PewDiePie also felt that his theory "doesn't really make sense," it was an intriguing notion. It also seems that PewDiePie may have been closer to the truth than he may have even realized, at least from the Doc's perspective. Again, nothing in this case has been stated outright, so this is all conjecture at this point. However, Dr Disrespect's latest comments are the absolute closest he's come to telling his fans why he thinks he may have been banned.
Dr Disrespect has previously told viewers that he still has not been given a proper explanation from Twitch, which has led to the streamer having struggles with anxiety. The Doc also addressed some of these concerns in a music video he uploaded last month, although that didn't give fans much in the way of an explanation, either. While it's unlikely that Dr Disrespect's upcoming autobiography will shed light on the matter, fans can still hope that the Doc will get chatty like this again.