Deadmau5 suffering depression, temporarily shuts down Twitter account

Warning: This post contains language some readers may find offensive

Throughout his career, Ontario-born musician deadmau5 (real name Joel Zimmerman) has been very active on social media, especially Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.

On Monday, the music producer abruptly shut down his Twitter account, saying he was battling “depression issues” and needed some time off — before reopening it several hours later, this time with a solid black profile photo. The reboot cost him some 3.2 million followers and his verification, but the musician claims he feels lighter.

READ MORE: Deadmau5 admitted to hospital, sneaks out and hops plane to play show

On Monday, Zimmerman posted a melancholy entry on his Tumblr page:

like many other human beings, I’ve been dealing with some depression issues that i don’t need to go into detail with. Id consider myself far from emotionally stable, though, not unstable enough to know support when i see it. Deactivating social media for a minute has nothing at all to do with popstars or dubstep tryhards. It was a kneejerk reaction to something i saw coming a long time ago. Also, nobodies business but my own.

id like to apologize to my fans and supporters for fucking off so abruptly, and leaving them out of the loop in terms of developments in my career and some small glimpes into my personal life…. ill resume that program for you. It’s the holidays, so ill slow things down until the new year, and chill out with friends and loved ones on vacation till the 17th or so.  Then it’s back into the new studio, where ill just keep being me, and making music.

Once again,  sorry for being a dick to those who are fans and supporters.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: like many other human beings, I've been dealing with some depression issues that i don't need to go into detail with. Id consider myself far from emotionally stable, though, not unstable enough to know support when i see it. Deactivating social media for a minute has nothing at all to do with popstars or dubstep tryhards. It was a kneejerk reaction to something i saw coming a long time ago. Also, nobodies business but my own.</p><p>id like to apologize to my fans and supporters for fucking off so abruptly, and leaving them out of the loop in terms of developments in my career and some small glimpes into my personal life…. ill resume that program for you. It's the holidays, so ill slow things down until the new year, and chill out with friends and loved ones on vacation till the 17th or so.  Then it's back into the new studio, where ill just keep being me, and making music.</p><p>Once again,  sorry for being a dick to those who are fans and supporters.

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His references to “popstars” and “dubstep tryhards,” which many believe to mean Justin Bieber and Skrillex, respectively, are due to online public spats about the two musicians. Zimmerman called Bieber a “meat puppet” and accused Skrillex of selling out by collaborating with the pop star.

READ MORE: Deadmau5, Disney settle dispute over mouse logo

Zimmerman attests that he shut down his social media temporarily because of his mental health issues, not because of any Internet argument. As seen in his post, he’ll be back in the studio making new music in mid-January after he takes a little break.

Almost two weeks ago, Zimmerman sneaked out of a hospital (he was admitted for an undisclosed illness) to play a show in Miami.

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