Twitch bans Ryan Haywood after disgraced Rooster Teeth star attempts comeback

Brad Norton
Ryan Haywood on set with Rooster Teeth

Twitch has banned the account of former Rooster Teeth personality Ryan Haywood, months after he was let go from the company in light of predatory allegations.

The disgraced Achievement Hunter will no longer be able to interact with the gaming community through Twitch. Haywood’s personal account by the name of ‘SortaMaliciousGaming’ has been permanently banned from the platform.

Following more than a dozen allegations against him, Haywood was dropped from Rooster Teeth back in October 2020. A few weeks of silence had gone by before he returned to the internet through Twitch at the start of the new year.

Naturally, it didn’t take long for the community to catch on with #BanRyanHaywood trending across Twitter shortly after.

Twitch answered on January 20, finally erasing his presence on the site.

Haywood took to the streaming platform to share a lengthy message with his remaining followers. “I wanted to say thank you to all of you who are still subscribed,” he said. “I’ve spent the last few months figuring out what the next steps are. Through all of it, having your support has been an incredible help.”

Immediately, former colleagues and the greater Rooster Teeth audience latched onto the statement, slamming Twitch for allowing him a voice on the platform. 

Haywood had previously used social media to groom multiple fans over a number of years. Many had even engaged in intimate relations while underage. “I made mistakes and will be leaving RT to focus on rebuilding my family and life,” he said on Twitter on October 6. “I’m sorry to anyone I’ve hurt.”

As a result of his infidelity and predatory behavior, Haywood’s presence has since been wiped from years of Rooster Teeth content. Countless colleagues of his also took to social media to show support for the community.

“I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on,” Haywood added in his message on Twitch prior to the ban, implying that it would be his primary form of communication moving forward into 2021. 

He now has no means of which to publicly engage with the community online. His privileges across Twitter, YouTube, and now Twitch have all been revoked.

About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com