PUBG creator calls out streamer for violent joke

Fans of this year’s shooter mega-hit, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, might know the game’s creator, Brendan ‘PLAYERUNKNOWN’ Greene, for his regular activity on Twitter, using the platform to make announcements and interact with fans and streamers. Earlier today, a correspondence between Greene and popular streamer Guy Beahm—known for his online persona, Dr DisRespect—resulted in a Twitter “shitstorm.”

The whole ordeal began with Beahm getting temporarily banned from PUBG during a livestream for purposefully offing his teammate, known as ‘teamkilling’.

Immediately following this public display of the banhammer, forums like the PUBG subreddit and the Dr DisRespect fan page exploded with discourse concerning the morality of teamkilling and the strictness of the game’s rules. Some felt the ban was justified (according to the game’s rules, it was) while others posited that as long as the game allows for teamkills, players shouldn’t be punished for it.

As the debate ensued, Greene took to Twitter to reinforce his stance on the rules, stating: “If you break the rules in PUBATTLEGROUNDS…no matter who you are…you’re gonna have a bad time!” Maintaining his role as Dr DisRespect, Beahm responded to Greene’s tweet with relentless defiance.

Dr DisRespect, the persona Beahm created for his Twitch channel, is a purposefully over-the-top narcissist resplendent in gaudy sports sunglasses and an eighties-hairdo wig. DisRespect, who calls himself the “most ruthless competitor in the online gaming community,” entertains his audience with his excessive, testosterone-fueled aggression, which is evident in his aforementioned promises of roundhouse kicks and “lightning” attacks. Greene, on the other hand, did not appreciate the doctor’s facetious threat.

Responding to this last comment, Greene denounced Beahm’s suggestion of violence, playful or not.

Suggesting violence is the best way to solve a disagreement is just wrong, even if you are playing a character… https://t.co/ziQtkyyg8E

— PLAYERUNKNOWN (@BattleRoyaleMod) July 18, 2017

As per Twitter, a polarizing debate ensued. Many commended Greene for his sensitivity, while others felt this was high talk for the creator of a game like PUBG. Eventually, the “shitstorm” (as Greene called it) elicited a response from Greene in the form of a public note. In it, Greene revealed that he had suffered an attack in his college years wherein he was kicked in the chest and consequently knocked through a plate glass door.

Greene argued that Beahm’s comment “could have brought up bad memories, triggered a panic attack or had other consequences The Doc might not have intended,” despite its comedic nature.

Here is Greene’s statement in full:

So today I created a little bit of a shitstorm on Twitter.

Before I begin, I have to say that I do enjoy the character Guy has created with DrDisrespect. Hell, I am even part of the Slick Daddy Club! I understand that he likes to talk shit, and I was right there with him until that one tweet.

I was told that I should have taken The Docs threat of violence as a joke. So now I will try explaining why I took this tweet seriously and tweeted out the response I did.

Story time!

When I was in college, many years ago, I had a disagreement with my flat mate. Instead of talking it out like men, he decided to get aggressive and while I was backing away from him, he kicked me in the chest and put my head through a plate glass door. Thankfully, I don’t suffer from any ill effects due to this experience.

The point of that story is to attempt to explain why I think even the threat of violence is not something that should be joked about. Given my experience in college, and the fact that The Doc’s threat, even as a joke, synced up closely to a bad experience I endured, it could have brought up bad memories, triggered a panic attack or had other consequences The Doc might not have intended when composing the tweet.

All I ask from anyone that reads this is to consider that your words, however flippant they may be, could have unintended effects on those reading them.

PU

We’ve reached out to both Brendan ‘PlayerUnknown’ Greene and Guy ‘Dr DisRespect’ Beahm for comment.

In other PUBG news, Greene recently announced that the game will soon feature a first-person view only server for players looking for a more hardcore experience.