Fortnite Star Ninja Addresses Backlash After He Said He Doesn’t ‘Play With Female Gamers’

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who rose to fame playing video game Fortnite on the live video-game streaming site Twitch, addressed backlash to his recent admission to Polygon that he doesn’t stream with women.

In the interview, Blevins states bluntly: “I don’t play with female gamers…if I have one conversation with one female streamer where we’re playing with one another, and even if there’s a hint of flirting, that is going to be taken and going to be put on every single video and be clickbait forever.”

Blevins took to Twitter to clarify his statements, emphasizing that his decision to keep his channel female gamer-free is because he wants to prevent online harassment and gossip about his wife, Jessica “Jghosty” Blevins, who is also a streamer on Twitch.

“While I understand some people have implied my views mean I have something against playing with women, I want to make clear the issue I’m addressing is online harassment, and my attempt to minimize it from our life.”

Blevins later affirmed a few of his female counterparts, noting that he and his wife “are fans of all kinds streamers and gamers” and was looking “forward to the opportunity to meet and play with all kinds of Fortnite players in future tournaments and events.”

Read Blevins’ full statement below.