While Fortnite Battle Royale streamers, his internet fame isn’t all sunshine and roses, as he explained in an apologetic Tweet on May 15.
According to Ninja, he’d been out on a walk with his wife, Jessica Blevins, when the two were approached by a fan who’d hoped to take a picture with the streamer.
However, Ninja had apparently denied the fan’s request, prompting him to post an apology the very next day.
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To the kid I didnt take a picture with yesterday I am sorry, @JessicaBlevins and I were on a walk in the privacy of our neighborhood and on the phone. Still feel bad I said no but just need a safe place. Catch me at chipotle and I got you.
— Ninja (@Ninja) May 15, 2019
“To the kid I didn’t take a picture with yesterday, I am sorry,” Ninja wrote of the situation. “Jessica Blevins and I were on a walk in the privacy of our neighborhood and on the phone. Still feel bad I said no, but just need a safe place. Catch me at Chipotle and I got you.”
- Read More: Call of Duty pro Doug ‘Censor’ Martin spoke out on the issue in a pointed reply to Ninja’s Tweet, noting that celebrities are often penned as the “bad guy” when they decline fan requests.
“It sucks that you can say yes to every single person every time, but the one time somebody catches you at the wrong place/time, you’re the bad guy,” Censor said of the matter.
It sucks that you can say yes to every single person every time but the 1 time somebody catches you at the wrong place/time you’re the bad guy.
— FaZe Censor (@Censor) May 15, 2019
Censor’s own Tweet was met with backlash from a fan, who claimed that the former pro had “ego’d” him and his friend at an Anaheim event.
Jessica herself spoke out on the subject beneath Ninja’s Tweet, claiming that the fan had pulled up on the couple in his car while the two were in the middle of a phone call.
You’re a sweetheart. First time I’ve ever seen you say no to a picture. He also wasn’t a kid. He drove up to us in his car while we were walking and on the phone. Don’t beat yourself up about it >
— Jessica Blevins (@JessicaBlevins) May 15, 2019
“You’re a sweetheart,” Jessica replied. “First time I’ve ever seen you say no to a picture. He also wasn’t a kid. He drove up to us in his car while we were walking and on the phone. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
This wouldn’t be the first time an internet celebrity has requested privacy from fans; YouTube king Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg told a similar story during a video in April, claiming that he and his fiance Marzia were ambushed by a group of children during a late-night run to McDonald’s.
[Timestamp: 5:18 for mobile viewers]
“More and more, now, when I get recognized, I say ‘no’ if the situation is really bad,” Kjellberg explained. “…We were like, ‘We just want to eat, we don’t want to be recognized.’”
Ninja is one of Twitch’s most popular streamers, boasting over 14 million followers on the platform as of May 15.