Two weeks after his record-breaking stream with rapper Drake drew headlines across the world, Tyler Blevins has found himself in some hot water. Blevins, the streamer known online as Ninja, has received extensive social media backlash after he used the n-word while streaming the game Fortnite: Battle Royale.
During his stream, Blevins was rapping along to “44 More,” a song by Logic. The original does not contain the n-word, but in the middle of a verse, Ninja dropped it in anyway.
Welp…looks like Ninja already dropped the N-word…smh and I had high hopes for him ughh @Nadeshot get ya mans ♂ @Ninja pic.twitter.com/tETY8OunYQ
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— J.D. (@jdwitherspoon) March 28, 2018
The online video gaming community has been here before. Last year, top gamer and YouTube star PewDiePie generated controversy of his own when he used the n-word as a slur during a live stream.
Blevins’ situation is not quite like that one, since his use of the word was not directed at another player, but his channel was previously noted for its family-friendly attitude. That appropriate-for-all-ages tone has helped Blevins secure 200,000 Twitch subscribers and $500,000 per month, but perhaps his channel is not as G-rated as we thought. Either way, his behavior has left some creators, including Kristopher London, feeling miffed:
Okay okay, being white rapping along with a song and saying the n word is one thing, but rapping along and ADDING the n word to song that’s not actually the lyrics is when it gets bad… My NINJA done messed up. Smh
— Kristopher London (@IamKrisLondon) March 28, 2018
The trickiness of Blevins’ situation has been laid out in an extensive Kotaku article, which explores the ins and outs of the controversy as it relates to Ninja’s personality, the online gaming community, and racial politics as a whole. Blevins, meanwhile, has offered up his own apology on Twitter:
While I am confident that most of this is a misunderstanding, I recognize that it’s my responsibility to never let there be THIS kind of a misunderstanding. More than anything, I hate that any of my friends, fans, or viewers might feel disrespected. (Tweet 1)
— Ninja (@Ninja) March 29, 2018
It is my job, and hopefully I’m usually good at it, to make everyone feel welcome, valued, and safe to be themselves. So I apologize to anyone who might feel hurt because I NEVER want that. It’s my stream, and it’s on me to make that right. (Tweet 2)
— Ninja (@Ninja) March 29, 2018
The best way I can explain it is that I promise that I understand how much pain that word causes, even if it gets used a lot in music and elsewhere. It’s a word historically used to divide people, and I’m about bringing people together. (Tweet 3)
— Ninja (@Ninja) March 29, 2018
I promise that there was no mal intent (I wasn’t even trying to say the word-I fumbled lyrics and got tongue tied in the worst possible way). Again, I apologize for offending anyone and appreciate you all rocking with me.
— Ninja (@Ninja) March 29, 2018
While we wait to see how the internet responds to this response, we’ll be over here gawking at this tweet sent five days ago by someone who may very well be the modern-day Nostradamus:
How long before ninja accidentally says the n word on a twitch stream
— M.Bison (@Lordunger) March 24, 2018
