Fortnite streamer ‘Ninja’ defends decision not to play with women

Fortnite star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, pictured, has defended not streaming video game play with women, saying it was to guard against marriage-wrecking rumours.

Blevins took to Twitter to address a furore that erupted online after his reasoning for not streaming live play with women was shared at gaming website Polygon.

“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 minimise it from my own life,” Blevins said in a message at his verified @ninja Twitter account with more than three million followers.

“It is something that affects all streamers, especially ones that make their relationships public.” Critics accused the US gamer of reinforcing a gender stereotype that the world of gaming and eSports is for men.

“I really like Ninja, but this feels like a cop out,” a fan tweeted. “You are free to do what you want, but understand you are encouraging a system that already heavily excludes women.” Blevins has millions of subscribers to his channels on YouTube and Twitch, reportedly earning more than $500 000 (about R7 million) monthly, thanks to his fans.

Fortnite is a global sensation, with entertaining play and commentary a hit with online viewers. Fortnite became an eSports phenomena after the release late last year.

Hip-hop superstar Drake set a streaming record on Twitch in March, drawing 628 000 viewers for a live stream of him battling for survival in the shoot-em-up adventure with players including Blevins.