PewDiePie Breaks His Silence On Dr Disrespect's Ban
The last month has been chockfull of shocking developments for the streaming world. Not only did Microsoft announce that it would be shuttering Mixer, but Twitch streamer Dr Disrespect was mysteriously banned from the streaming platform. There have been various conspiracy theories involving the Doc's ban, and now PewDiePie himself has weighed in on the matter.
In a recent livestream, PewDiePie revived his old Pew News format to cover the bizarre nature of the Doc's ban. Nobody seems to know why it happened, but Pewds had a few theories, and so he dove down into the rabbit hole that is Dr Disrespect's ouster from Twitch.
PewDiePie seemed to be surprised by every part of the story. For instance, one of the weirdest things about the Doc's ban is that Twitch hasn't told viewers why this occurred. Multiple times throughout the stream, PewDiePie expressed disbelief at Twitch's lack of a definitive statement on the matter. This led to plenty of speculation on Pewds' part as he tried to figure out possible reasons for the Doc's ban.
Watching PewDiePie try to figure things out raises a solid point, whether it was purposeful or not: if Twitch won't say why the Doc was banned, then people are going to continue to try to guess why. This has led to some more unexpected drama, including some people accusing Alinity of somehow being involved in Twitch's decision to ban Dr Disrespect. In much the same way, PewDiePie only had his hunches to go off of. However, he did manage to come up with at least one rather interesting theory.
At one point, Pewds posited that the ban may have come down to a matter of money and loyalty. Specifically, he theorized that Twitch saw the closure of Mixer as its chance to let go of some of its more expensive or problematic streamers.
A few months back, Dr Disrespect announced that he would be staying with Twitch for the foreseeable future. The Doc negotiated a new contract with the streaming platform, which he announced in the form of an insane, action-packed video. However, PewDiePIe seems to think that Twitch has banned the Doc so that it doesn't have to pay him for his full contract. It's unclear whether there is some kind of contract stipulation that would prevent Twitch from pulling such a move, but it's an interesting theory. Dr Disrespect had hinted at a few points that he was fielding offers from Mixer, so the timing seems suspect to Pewds.
As PewDiePie put it, "The timing of Mixer shutting down to then Dr Disrespect being banned is an interesting timing, at least. I don't think that's the causing factor, but it's definitely an incentive. 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."
It should be reiterated that this is only a theory on PewDiePie's part, but it's an interesting one. If this is actually the case, it makes one wonder what could happen to other Twitch streamers who nearly signed with Mixer. Pokimane has discussed the "life-changing" amount of money that Mixer offered her, as well as what a difficult decision it was for her to turn Mixer down.
Under PewDiePie's theory, anyone who publicly wavered in their support for Twitch could be on the chopping block. Could this be why someone claiming to be Dr Disrespect recently told NickMercs that "Twitch needed a scapegoat?"
Honestly, probably not. PewDiePie did admit that there were a few holes in his theory, remarking that it "doesn't really make sense." In other words, folks, PewDiePie is just as confused about Dr Disrespect's ban as you are.
PewDiePie hasn't done Pew News in a while, mostly because he felt that it attracted too much drama. PewDiePie has made a few comments in recent months about his willingness to avoid controversy and drama. However, that hasn't stopped him from weighing in on other people's drama in some of his other recent YouTube videos, because his viewers usually want to hear what he has to say about the streaming world at large. That seems to be the thought process behind this latest installment of Pew News.
On the subject of the Dr. Disrespect ban, though, it's unclear if or when we will get some clarity. The Doc himself has maintained that he doesn't know why he was banned. But as PewDiePie said during his Pew News livestream, "There must be a serious reason why [...] I guess we'll just have to find out, uh, what happens in court."