Anyone who frequently engages on streaming platforms or is passionate about Fortnite has likely heard of Ninja. Before entering into an exclusive deal with Mixer, Ninja had garnered millions of followers and was one of the top names on Twitch. However, no one reaches the pinnacle without a few stumbles or enemies, and Ninja is no exception. Below are some incidents and controversies that Ninja might want everyone to forget as soon as possible.
Refusing to Stream with Women
Not all feuds are created by troublemakers; in fact, this trouble formed when Ninja tried to steer clear of controversies.
To show respect for his wife, Ninja expressed that he would not stream with women. Ninja explained his reasoning to Polygon: “If I chat with a female streamer, who knows there might be some flirting, and no one knows what mistakes could happen.”
Ninja’s statement upset quite a few people, and many women felt that his stance was problematic. Austen Marie, an illustrator and streamer, criticized Ninja on Twitter, saying: “No one is forcing Ninja to stream with women, but such statements only make people feel he is discriminatory.”
Samerha Nye, a female Twitch streamer, claimed she somewhat understood Ninja’s reasoning, although she ultimately disagreed with this decision. According to Nye, “Twitch is a free platform, and we women want to prove that we can game, share, and convey messages to everyone. We should not be belittled by our gender with such statements.”
Revealing Other People’s Personal Information
While playing H1Z1 at the end of 2016, someone donated to Ninja under a racially charged display name. Upon seeing the message, Ninja proceeded to read this person’s address and other personal information as an act of revenge while streaming. This violated doxxing laws and is strictly prohibited under Twitch’s Terms of Service regarding Unauthorized Sharing of Personal Information.
Ninja took to Twitter to announce that he had been suspended for 48 hours for violating Twitch’s rules and nonchalantly stated, “I deserve this.” It seemed that the incident was not a big deal for him. Although the Terms of Service clearly state that Twitch can “suspend any account at any time for any behavior deemed inappropriate or harmful,” many suspected that Ninja was receiving special treatment due to his fame on the platform.
Conflict with Drake
When Canadian rapper Drake guest-starred in Ninja’s livestream, the two attracted over 635,000 concurrent viewers, and Ninja gained an additional 90,000 subscribers. Following this success, the two giants faced off on the Fortnite battlefield with enticing stakes. Drake promised Ninja that if he lost, he would give Ninja $5,000 as a reward. Ultimately, Ninja won, and Drake said he would keep his promise.
After such collaborations, you would think Drake and Ninja would have a good relationship. However, Ninja later painted Drake as an opportunist trying to use Ninja’s platform for his own gain rather than being a true fan.
Drake unfollowed Ninja on Instagram, which frustrated Ninja and led him to accuse Drake of not paying the $5,000 as agreed for their Fortnite match. “To be honest, he never gave me the 5k, and I didn’t even want to accept that money,” Ninja tweeted.