Ninja responds after remarks about Kai Cenat’s Twitch fame spark controversy

Fortnite star Ninja has sparked controversy after saying he could have reached Kai Cenat’s levels of internet fame if he hadn’t moved to Mixer.

Kai Cenat is currently the most-watched streamer on Twitch thanks to his viral playthrough of 2023’s Game of the Year, Elden Ring.

In fact, he managed to rake in 45,000 viewers by merely sleeping in between breaks battling one of the game’s hardest bosses, Malenia — something fellow Twitch streamer Ninja couldn’t help but notice during a Fortnite broadcast on May 16.

During his stream, he made sure to give Kai his flowers… but also made a remark that rubbed some viewers the wrong way.

“He’s one of the biggest streamers in the world right now, if not the biggest steamer in the world,” Ninja proclaimed. “Kai’s pulling 30K ’cause he’s sleeping, dog. …he just puts in the work.

“He does what I could have done if I’d just stayed home and streamed,” he continued. “And didn’t go to Mixer or anything like that. Putting in crazy work, crazy hours, crazy resources into coming up with these really authentic, dope, unique streams, man.”

Although Ninja complimented Kai’s creativity, viewers were quick to rush onto social media with speculation about the Fortnite icon’s statement that he would have been at Kai’s level had he not moved from Twitch to Mixer back in 2019.

“The Fortnite era got to Ninja’s head, if it wasn’t for that insane boom during [the global health issue] this wouldn’t even be a conversation,” one user said on Twitter/X.

“Bro thinks Fortnite was going to keep his career alive for five years,” another wrote.

Still others pointed out Ninja’s past comments after Cenat broke his subscriber record. Although Ninja congratulated Kai on his “massively impressive” achievement, he also claimed that “all I had to do for mine was be amazing at Fortnite and play video games.”

Ninja took notice of the conversation happening around his remarks and published a statement clarifying his side of the situation.

“I wanna be clear, I don’t think I ever could or would have put as much thought into the streams Kai does and his marathons,” he wrote. “He’s truly doing it different.”

I wanna be clear. I don’t think I ever could or would have put as much thought into the streams Kai does and his marathons. He’s truly doing it different. https://t.co/214LrQjNC4

— Ninja (@Ninja) May 16, 2024

At the time of writing, Kai hasn’t responded to Ninja’s comments, but it’s clear that the situation has caused quite the conversation among viewers.

Ninja famously moved from his home at Twitch in favor of Mixer back in 2019, earning a reported $30 million from the platform before it shut down in 2020.

Now, Ninja is streaming “everywhere,” although the broadcaster’s wife admitted in an interview that quitting entirely was an option on the table during his Mixer days, saying he was “miserable with his performance” back then.

Now, things are looking up for Ninja as he continues to remain one of the most-followed streamers on Twitch… But not everyone’s convinced that his Fortnite stardom would have resulted in such massive viewership as Kai Cenat’s channel is currently seeing.