The gaming influencer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has by far the most followers on the streaming service Twitch. The now 31-year-old became successful mainly in the years 2017 and 2018, when he took advantage of the hype surrounding the online shooter Fortnite to become a multi-millionaire and Twitch star. Recently, he has been particularly noted for his deals where he monetizes his popularity. He is now involved in a dispute with his former friend Keemstar: He is accused of having appropriated the idea of energy drink manufacturer “G FUEL” in a deal.
Who has the most followers on Twitch? Ninja has by far the most followers on Twitch:
- Ninja is in first place with 18.28 million followers. However, most of the followers came in 2018, when he gained 11.89 million followers during the Fortnite hype.
- The Spanish-speaking streamers Auronplay (12.95 million) and Rubius (11.98 million) are slowly catching up, but they are still far behind. It will probably be years before they can truly catch up to Ninja.
- His former long-term competitor Tfue (11.07 million) and hothead xQc (10.86 million) are growing faster than Ninja, but much slower than the exploding Spanish-speaking Twitch.
Ninja tries to cash in on fame from 2018
How is Ninja doing today? Even though Ninja has so many followers, he is no longer as popular as he once was: In terms of average viewers, Ninja is now only in 366th place in the world. His excursion to the Twitch rival Mixer made him rich, but it also cost him a lot of his relevance in gaming.
With the hype around Fortnite fading, so did the success of Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who currently plays Fortnite again since the “No Build Mode” was introduced, but in recent years he mainly turned to LoL.
Today, Ninja is mainly known for being such a big deal 4 years ago and having built a big name that he now monetizes. He offers a “Masterclass for 200 €” on how to become a successful streamer.
He is also constantly entering new advertising deals. Currently with the brand “G FUEL”. Here he presents his “very own flavor, NINJA Cotton Candy”.
Gaming influencer accuses Ninja of stealing “his flavor”
What is he being accused of now? The controversial gaming influencer Daniel “Keemstar” Keem accuses Ninja of having copied the flavor “Cotton Candy” in his deal with the energy drink brand “G FUEL”. But that is supposed to be Keemstar’s brand (via twitter):
It’s not that Ninja copied my flavor because the greedy rat knew that people wanted my flavor back. It’s about other stuff.
Screw that blue-haired greedy rat who sends his wife to talk to me instead of coming himself. We’ve been friends since 2017 – we’re not friends anymore!
He goes to G FUEL and says: “I want Cotton Candy!”
Keemstar apparently feels betrayed and disrespected by someone he considered his friend: In a video (via twitter), Keemstar explains that he and Ninja have been close friends for 5 years. He has defended Ninja in every controversy and promoted him.
But now Ninja went to G FUEL and said: “I want Cotton Candy”.
Behind this lies the cold calculation of the Blevins couple. Because his fans, who are also Keemstar’s fans, have been demanding for years to bring back the flavor “Cotton Candy”. Therefore the Blevins probably knew that the flavor would sell well.
If Ninja had personally asked him for permission to take over the Cotton Candy flavor, Keemstar would have agreed. But all of this happened behind his back – Keemstar apparently cannot cope with that. That is incredibly disrespectful.
Instead of asking him for permission to take over the brand, only Ninja’s wife, Jessica Blevins, called him and informed him about the takeover of the brand. Attempts by Keemstar to personally reach Ninja and clarify the story man-to-man failed:
I spoke with many creators. Everyone agreed: He’s a rat if he did it that way. Then I calmed down and said to myself: Okay, let me talk to Ninja myself. I called him multiple times – no answer. Screw that blue-haired freak. We are done. I hate that guy. I unfollowed him, I unfollowed his whiny little wife. We’re done!
Keemstar loses collaboration with G FUEL because he is too controversial
This is the backstory: On June 13, G FUEL announced that they would bring the new flavor “Ninja Cotton Candy” to selected Walmart stores in the USA. This is the first G FUEL brand that is inspired by “Ninja” himself. Cotton Candy fits the “wild and unpredictable personality of Ninja.” (via G FUEL)
However, the flavor “Cotton Candy” was not new for G FUEL: The gaming influencer Keemstar had originally established “Cotton Candy” as a flavor at G FUEL in 2018.
However, G FUEL ended the collaboration with Keemstar in 2020 when allegations arose against him that he had played a role in the death of YouTuber “Etika” and had turned his show “Drama Alert” into a spectacle from the man’s growing mania (via gamerant).
This is how it is being discussed: The Blevins do not comment on the case.
Overall, the comments from Keemstar are seen as rather amusing online. The idea that one could secure the flavor “Cotton Candy” doesn’t make sense to many.
Because Cotton Candy has existed forever: Of course it is the best flavor ever, but Keemstar can’t claim rights over that.
Here’s what’s behind it: The example of the “dispute” between Keemstar and Ninja shows how rough it can be in the influencer business behind the scenes and how fragile such business friendships actually are.
Keemstar is known for promoting controversies and using them for his reach. However, this makes him a person deemed “not brand safe”. It is a risk for large brands to collaborate with such controversial individuals, as their behavior could negatively reflect on the brand.
In contrast, Ninja is seen as someone who apparently has no major scruples when it comes to advertising deals.
Twitch streamer Ninja becomes a hero in a game he has never played: “I’m really excited”
