Back in 2018, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins said he would not stream with women outside of a group setting to avoid rumors and harassment for the sake of the women he might be streaming with, himself, and his family. Today, Ninja's views on this issue have not changed. In a new interview with The New York Times Magazine, he says that what people say to women online is "amazing" and that his policy is a way to avoid trouble, not a problem in and of itself.

"The accusations (of flirting and infidelity) made me say that about female gamers (in 2018)," Ninja said." It was like, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure no one can spread rumors or even make YouTube clickbait videos": ninja has been playing with this guy a lot lately. They're flirting. Here's the video. You know how to make sure that doesn't happen. I won't let it. That's what crossed my mind. If you're a married man, you shouldn't have a lot of time alone with a woman. I mean, they may be your best friend. But if you start playing with random women that no one knows, they'll all start talking. So if you're going to play with female gamers, do it in a large group so it's not a one-on-one interaction."

Back in 2018, Ninja's views on the consequences of pairing up with women on Twitch were much debated. Many critics compared his rule to former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's rule of not dining alone with any woman other than his wife. This rule distinguishes women as unequal, especially in political and professional contexts, where being barred from one-on-one interactions with powerful men is yet another unfair restriction; on Twitch, a popular network that excludes women, if not completely, at least in some important ways, is self strengthened.

Some people support Ninja. For example, streamer Suto confirmed that simply having Ninja host his stream would create a "conspiracy theory" about her intentions and stated that he felt his policy was based on respect. This view was echoed by another streamer, Valkyrae.

"It has nothing to do with sexism. Nor do we teach our children not to play with women."[9 We're just showing others the importance of putting the health of their relationships first, rather than their work."

Nothing seems to have changed Ninja's position since then. As for one-on-one with women at Stream, "I don't have that luxury," he told The New York Times Magazine. This is in contrast to the average Joe, who "doesn't [cuss] anyone out when he has a drink with a colleague.

Ninja also spoke about harassment and racism in the online space. His suggestion to parents: listen to what their children are saying in video games and talk about racism when they think no one is listening.

"What if my kids were playing a game and their first exposure to racism was one of their friends saying the n-word and they don't know what it is: ...... What if it was on my stream? Would it be my job to have a conversation with that child? No. The first thing that comes to my mind is, 'This kid is doing this on purpose to troll me. ' If someone makes a racist remark on someone else's stream, that streamer can be banned. It sounds terrible, but that's the first thing that comes to mind."

Ninja once apologized for using the N-word on a stream himself after, in his words, "fumbling" the lyrics of a song and "being tongue-tied in the worst way." That was also in 2018, shortly before his first comment about streaming with women.

Since then, Ninja has already enjoyed extraordinary popularity, and despite his move to Mixer and then his return to Twitch after Mixer closed, he remains one of streaming's biggest stars. He has recently cut back on his streaming and is exploring other career avenues, including voice acting.

"I love doing impressions and doing voices," he told The New York Times Magazine. "You can quote every episode of 'Sponge Bob'"

The full interview can be read here.