The Masked Singer returned for Season 2 last night on FOX and eight competitors took the stage to sing their hearts out. Two celebrities were unmasked at the end of the two-hour premiere and Ninja was revealed to be behind the Ice Cream mask.
Ninja may not be a well-known celebrity for those who don’t engage in the gaming community, but the judges appeared to recognize him right away.
Ninja, also known by his birth name Richard Tyler Blevins, is 28 years old. He’s best known as a professional streamer, YouTuber, professional gamer, and an internet personality. As he revealed during the premiere last night, he and his wife Jessica watch the show and it only made sense for him to compete and challenge himself.
He’s well-known in the gaming community, as he has over 14 million followers and he has an average of 50,000 viewers per week for his streams, including him playing Fortnite online.
Just a few years ago, when he was 26 years old, he opened up to CNBC about how he went from working as a fast-food server to making over $500,000 per month playing video games.
In case you’re wondering how to make money for gaming, he makes $3.50 per paid subscriber on Twitch, which usually costs $4.99 per month. This is for streaming Fortnite, which currently has 160,000 subscribers. That equals $560,000 per month. This amount doesn’t include money he makes from other sponsorships, YouTube earnings, and donations that fans can make to him.
He told CNBC that he didn’t jump into gaming right away, but instead focused on school and creating a life for himself. But when things started to take off and he could make money with his gaming, he decided to focus on it full time.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on FOX.