Streamer Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm has once again stirred up a controversial drama after implying he had secured an official partnership with Bungie’s shooter Marathon, only to be publicly shut down by the game’s developers.
Dr Disrespect posted an image on X, suggesting he had just wrapped a “photoshoot” and teasing something big for his upcoming coverage of Marathon’s Server Slam, even adding the hashtag #MarathonPartner, a tag typically reserved for creators officially supported by the studio. That implication was enough to send ripples through gaming social media.
But Bungie quickly doused the rumors. In a blunt reply to a journalist’s inquiry on X, the Marathon dev account confirmed that Dr Disrespect was “not partnered” with the game in any capacity, leaving little room for interpretation and making clear the streamer’s post did not reflect any formal collaboration.
If this situation feels familiar, it is because this is not the first time the streamer has misled his audience. Less than a month ago, the streamer made another false claim around another alleged partnership with the Highguard release event. Dr Disrespect, in his X post, claimed with a picture that he took his Lamborghini to Los Angeles for the preview event. Only for developers to clarify that he had neither an invitation nor an official status there either.
Critics online have suggested this latest stunt was a deliberate play for attention or engagement for streams on Twitch and YouTube, pointing out that the use of misleading visuals blurred the line between humour and official branding. Dr Disrespect responded to the backlash by doubling down on his social media, mocking critics, and reiterating the original hashtag.
Whether this was an intentional bit of self-promotion for his streams or a joke, one thing is clear to many observers: claiming a partnership that doesn’t exist can backfire quickly when studios are eager to protect their reputation and messaging in the lead-up to a major launch.
