Ninja deletes controversial tweet before Time In sneaker launch

Olivia Richman Published 31/12/2019

Looks like Fortnite superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins recently made an accidental faux pas.

A Twitch streamer known as Connor Eats Pants was playing Animal Crossing a few days ago when he noticed something strange on his Twitter feed. He told his followers that he saw a strange tweet from Ninja, but when he tried to click on the tweet it appeared to have been deleted.

“And I was like, ‘Oh, why is that?'” Connor told his fans.

The streamer then shared a screenshot of the since-deleted tweet, which appeared to be an ad for Ninja’s new Adidas shoes, which are scheduled to be released later today. Posted on December 27, the tweet said, “Four more days,” along with the hashtag “TimeIn.” The teaser was accompanied by two photos, one of Ninja’s sneakers and another of his face lit up by a sliver of light.

“I was like, ‘Why did he delete it?’ I looked closer and then I realized… It looked like he was hanging himself! What were they thinking? What were they thinking when they tweeted this? What kind of marketing idea was this? What the fuck Ninja?” Connor said.

It seems that Ninja may have noticed this, too, but a little too late. The tweet was deleted soon after, although it managed to get 65 retweets and over 5,000 likes before Ninja removed it from his Twitter account.

While this ad was obviously ill-received during its short life span, the majority of Ninja’s campaign with Adidas has been a success. The initial announcement received a lot of positive feedback from fellow streamers and fans, although Turner “Tfue” Tenney didn’t seem to be a fan of the design.

Some community members on Reddit seem to agree with Tfue, with multiple users claiming that there’s no demand for Ninja’s shoes. One Redditor even joked that the since-deleted tweet was just a preview of what would happen if you wear “them ugly ass shoes.”

“Honestly these shoes make me more mad than they should,” another user commented. “His wife comparing them to Yeezy’s and arguing that they will be a huge success. When in reality you can do five minutes of research and realize that there’s no demand for these at all.”

While many were in agreement that the adult sizes of Ninja’s shoe wouldn’t sell, others stood up for Ninja’s Adidas collaboration.

“You don’t have to be the target demographic all the time. Noone on Twitch has read 50 Shades of Gray but it’s one of the best selling books of all time. Just because you aren’t interested doesn’t mean nobody else is,” one person wrote.

They added that they should stop “shitting on others” for what they enjoy.

As others continued to question the demand for Ninja-themed shoes, one user found a post from Ninja’s wife, Jessica, posted yesterday.

Seems like anyone interested in ordering a Time In shoe today will need to act fast.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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