Ninja Interview Controversy: Tyler Blevins’ History

Ninja Interview Controversy: Tyler Blevins’ History

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  • Twitch streamer Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins was recently interviewed by the New York Times and told about parenting and more.
  • Blevins has a long history of controversial utterances and behaviors, from outbursts to refusal to play games with women.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The New York Times on Sunday posted a profile featuring stage personality Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, discussing the creator’s fame and notoriety on the Internet. In the explicitly-laden interview, the superstar, who has millions of followers across platforms, said his move to the now-secluded streaming platform Mixer was ‘smart’, that you should not spend a lot of time alone with a woman, in general, if you’m a married man, ‘and that he’ is very good at figuring out things that people do not think about. ‘

The internet is a little more critical of Blevins than most other content creators because of the heights of fame he has achieved. One quote in the article sparked outrage online around Blevins over his underage audience.

“You want to know who your child is,” Blevins said in the interview. “Listen to him when he plays video games when he thinks you are not. Here’s another thing: how does a white child know he has white privilege when his parents never teach him or do not talk about racism?”

Continuing on the theme of discussing racism with his audience, “is it my job to have this conversation with this child? No, because the first thing that goes on in my head is: This child is deliberately doing this to troll me. “

After Gamespot put the interview together, the Twitter sphere went wild with critical opinions about Blevins. Over the next three days, more than 60,000 tweets went out about the streamer, causing him to lean. YouTubers and streamers have shared their views on the subject, and some believe that content creators have the responsibility to teach their audience, while others think that the responsibility lies with the parents.

Blevins’ wife Jessica was quick to defend her husband against the insurgents, saying he was “doing his part” when it came to discussing racism.

During the BLM protests for George Floyd that took place in May 2020, Blevins tweeted: “I stand with the Black community and all races.” When some online started criticizing him and writing that he should stay out of politics, Blevins replied “this is not politics (;) this is human rights.”

Ninja the brand name versus Ninja the person

Blevins has been a professional player since 2009, when he first competed in a “Halo 3” tournament and quickly became one of the most recognized players in the world. He started streaming in 2011 and became very successful in shooters like ‘H1Z1’ and ‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’. At the end of 2017, he started streaming Fortnite and his popularity started to increase at the same time as the game.

With Fortnite’s success, Blevins, which has 16.7 million Twitch fans, has become the poster child for gamers for non-obsessive. He appeared on Ellen on New Year’s Eve, danced on television in Times Square and rode the Fortnite’s Battle Bus with Will Smith during YouTube Rewind 2018. He wore his own range of Adidas sneakers, underwear and an “official headband for the game.” For a while, he was not just another Twitch streamer – he was the face of the culture.

This consumer-friendly version of the Ninja brand was in direct contrast to how Blevins can sometimes act on stream. Excerpts from Ninja that slander or taunt other players in a video game are not hard to find. In February 2017, while playing the shooter H1Z1 and taking down another player saying some insults on him, Blevins yelled ‘what did you tell me, little sh–. How is your school not doing well? kiss your mother with the mouth? ‘This track is one of its most infamous and widespread distributions and is becoming a popular meme in the gaming community.

In August 2018, Blevins told Polygon that he did not like streaming with women, saying ‘the only way to avoid [the rumors] is not to play with them at all. “He said playing with a woman can spark rumors among his fans, and that’s not something he wants to see. It became a massive story and Blevins repeated his point in the Times interview and caused criticism. to flow again.

In April 2020, Blevins again sparked controversy when he talked about players mocking him on Mixer and saying, “I can literally buy the bank that lends your house to you and shut it down.”

While playing ‘Valorant’ with his esports team T1 players in July 2020, Blevins said: ‘You are the dumbest person on the planet’, while one of his teammates plays a baby crying sound in the background. Sonii, the player considered ‘stupid’, was subsequently removed from the team.

Freedom of the masses

Ninja’s level of fame is unique to an internet personality, just like the level of inquiry applied to him, but if numbers are an indication, he may need to worry less about how he is perceived.

Blevins no longer draws 600,000 viewers on Twitch to watch him play ‘Fortnite’ with Drake. According to TwitchTracker, a Ninja Twitch stream draws an average of 16,000 viewers who see him play “Valorant” or “League of Legends”.

With this smaller audience not here to see him play Fortnite, Blevins can easily let more of his inner personality through.

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