Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, in fact still the streaming world’s most famous crossover sensation years after the peak of its relevance, sounds like he’s getting a little tired of the fact that every action is constantly being explored by millions of people.
In through a new profile The New York Times which, of course, opened with the required reference to an otherwise irrelevant video game that the author played in his youth (Golden Eye, in this case), Blevins spoke on a wide variety of topics. These were united by a single straight line: he’s tired of a whole bunch of shit viewers are saying to and about him.
For example, here’s Blevins on his return to Twitch after Microsoft’s money machine short lured him away now-defunct streaming platform Mixer:
“When we came back from Mixer, I knew I wouldn’t be the biggest streamer in terms of viewership anymore. You’re not the number 1 streamer, go away, come back and you’re number 1 again. I get people in my chat, and they say, ‘You’re falling off. LOL. Good Mixer move, man. The mixer moves used to be smart. I don’t regret what I did. I could teach all these kids to talk [expletive]but when you answer them, they say, “He said my name!” Their name is 69fartsniffer, and you read their name, and their next comment after they toast you is that they giggle like a little schoolgirl. Such as, “You noticed me!” It’s the worst. “
Here he’s talking about young viewers and, um, somewhat contradicts his own earlier position On heated gamer moments:
‘Do you want to know who your child is? Listen to him when he’s playing video games when he thinks you aren’t. Here’s another thing: How does a white boy know he has a white privilege if his parents never teach him or don’t talk about racism? When they’re gaming and their first interaction with racism is one of their friends says the N word and they have no idea what it is – what if it was on my stream? Is it my job to have this conversation with this guy? No, because the first thing that comes to mind is, “This guy is doing this on purpose to troll me.” If someone says a racial slur on someone else’s stream, that streamer could potentially be banned. It’s awful, but that’s the first thing I think about. “
G / O Media can receive a commission
And he sounds very fed up to hear about it his own stance on not streaming with women– he’s a bad look declined slightly in the years after, but not quite.
“I said that about female gamers through allegations. I was like, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure no one can even start a rumor or make YouTube clickbait videos, ‘Ninja has been playing with this person a lot lately. They flirt. Here’s a clip. ‘Do you know how you can never let that happen? You will not let it happen! That went through my mind. I still make a point of not having much alone time with a woman in general, if you are a married man. I mean they could be your best friend, that’s totally cool. But if I randomly start playing with a woman that no one knows, people start talking. So if I am I’m going to play with female gamers, I’m doing it with a big group, so it’s not that one-on-one interaction. “
Not at all.
“Of course a boy and a girl can be friends without getting intimate. But it’s like temptation, man. Actually, I don’t like that word because I have control over myself and 100 percent respect for my relationship, but – I don’t know how to put it. I know people will now possibly take this like, ‘Oh he can’t trust himself, blah blah blah. ‘Dude, no. But when you are no longer ‘Joe’ who can have a drink with his colleague and no one gives one [expletive]- I don’t have that luxury. “
Perhaps one day Blevins will twist his stance on his passivity when it comes to evoking young viewers about racism and the active role he plays in spreading retrograde views on women. Today does not seem to be that day.
Happier news: Blevins, a self-proclaimed ‘ideas man’, has certainly had some ideas. Inspired by his days as a professional gamer who had to drive 8+ hours in a row, he came up with a new product.
“What happens on a long drive? You get cold, and it’s like, I’m freezing! I’m tired! “He said.” Well if you turn up the heat it gets too hot. Now you’re hot or falling asleep, but you don’t want the window open either, because what if it freezes or what if it’s super loud with that window down? So it’s right here: little stick-on chill strips that you put under your eyes so you can have the windows open and the heating on. This would be good for truck drivers. Dude : chill strips. “