Just when you thought January was already filled with enough bad news, YouTube has decided to remonetize one of its most controversial creators.
Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm, one of the largest streamers on Twitch before his ban, had his YouTube channel stripped of all monetization features after he admitted to inappropriately texting a minor. Now that six months have passed, YouTube, a video company owned by Google, has decided to remonetize Beahm’s channel.
After failing to appeal his demonetization once, the streamer is now free to rake in money and donations on YouTube. Interestingly, the streamer recently partnered with another streaming platform named Rumble before news of the remonetization. This means that Beahm may split his time between the two websites.
The remonetization of his channel also comes on an auspicious day for Beahm, as news just broke that Midnight Society has closed. Midnight Society was a game studio co-founded by Beahm which removed him from the studio’s leadership after he addressed the allegations leveled against him and admitted to inappropriate messages being exchanged on his X/Twitter account (that post has since been deleted). While the studio was working on an extraction shooter called DEADROP, it looks like that game is now left in the dust.
Now that the news of his remoneitization has hit X (formerly Twitter), many users have shared their own opinions on this outcome. One user was quick to point out the obvious, asking, “Entertaining inappropriate conversations with a 17-year-old when he was like 36 is totally fine with YouTube?”
To make matters worse, it was the streamer himself who originally admitted to the text messages, and to this day has maintained he did nothing wrong legally. When he eventually admitted to the inappropriate messages in his apology on X, he famously edited out a few key sentences before being called on it.
Other netizens are lamenting the fact that there is no physical evidence for the company to investigate. “Without the dms or victim being public, this was always going to be the outcome,” one user said. While it’s unclear what YouTube has access to during channel reviews, it looks like the controversy surrounding the streamer wasn’t enough to warrant permanent action from them.
Others are just angry about the double standards YouTube has when it comes to monetization features. Many channels find their videos instantly demonetized if they use curse words or play music. One commenter pointed out the irony of the monetization system: “Cuss words or 2 seconds of music = gg. Talk to minors = enjoy remonetization!”
In terms of official communication from YouTube, the company released a statement stating that Beahm’s channel previously violated company policies. However, after a review period of the channel’s activity, YouTube has decided to reinstate monetization.
While this story is still rapidly developing, it looks like things are starting to look up for Beahm.
Published: Jan 30, 2025 06:56 pm