Ninja appeared out of nowhere. While he was already well-known in his own bubble as a Halo 3 and Fortnite streamer, he only broke Twitch’s peak concurrent viewer count record when he co-streamed with rappers Drake and Travis Scott in 2018. Since then, the formerly blue-haired star has been undergoing what can only be described as an adjustment period.
Ninja was rapping along to a song on Spotify in 2018 when he accidentally slipped a racial slur into the lyrics, despite the song not having any. He later apologized and said he was tongue-tied at the time. He was chastised for saying he wouldn’t stream with women in case they were flirting.
Ninja caused a stir on Twitter in June with a now-deleted tweet in which he said he was in the middle of carrying a League of Legends game and his bra-less wife brought him a sandwich with chips as he got a double kill bot lane and asked everyone how their day was going.
His Twitter feed has been much safer since then, with a focus on streams, announcements, and retweeting fan comments. During a press tour promoting his participation in the UNO Championship Series Invitational Tournament, we had the chance to ask the streamer some questions. There’s no word on whether he regrets previous controversies or if he now has a social media team managing his Twitter feed, but we did learn about the impact fame has had on him.
Ninja claims that he no longer goes to the grocery store because he “can’t” and that there are some things that people simply cannot do. There are things he doesn’t even consider when there aren’t people constantly watching, judging, and paying attention to them.
He admitted that he has to be cautious about what he posts on social media. He can’t criticize his teams when they perform poorly because he knows how hurtful it will be to their feelings. So he can’t be a regular Twitter follower or anything. That simply isn’t an option.
He realized how fortunate he is and how this life allows him to do so many things. He’s met and influenced a lot of people, and one streamer told him that when he explains what he does for a living, he just tells people he “does what Ninja does.”
He’s also been able to raise money and awareness for some incredible causes, including a $500,000 commitment to the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Michigan for an all-new gaming lounge, as well as other partnerships with the Pistons, Big Sean, and his Lions team.
Most importantly, he still has a large number of people who watch and enjoy his streams, and his fans will always be the most important part of this.
Ninja also intends to expand his brand by streaming games and collaborating with businesses. A part of that growth is hosting the UNO Championships.
Ninja claims that he adores UNO and will always be a fan. As a gamer, he knows how exciting tournament play can be, and he’s excited to have a front-row seat for these tournament games in both the original game and the new digital app.
He enjoys how games and competition bring people together, despite the fact that he is aware that UNO can be quite serious. They have a thing with the Ninja brand where they always want to do things first, so when he was asked to co-host the first-ever UNO Championship Series Tournament, he knew he wanted to do it and be the first-ever UNO World Champion. For UNO, it’s the Superbowl, or Wrestlemania. With less tackling and bodyslams, hopefully.
Last week, the tournament aired.