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Deadmau5 responds after getting suspended from Twitch, accused of ‘homophobic’ rant

The unveiling of Deadmau5' 'mau5ville: level 1' at the Twitch Prime and 'PUBG' Squad Showdown gaming event on July 13, 2018, in Los Angeles, Calif. Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

NOTE: This article contains foul language that some might find offensive. Please read at your own discretion.

Canadian DJ and electronic music producer, Deadmau5 (born Joel Zimmerman) has deleted his Twitch account following the backlash of a homophobic comment he made during a livestream last week.

The 38-year-old lashed out on another player as his character was killed during a match of the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds video game.

Zimmerman was temporarily banned from the video-streaming platform after calling his opponent a “f**king c**k-sucking stream sniper f*g.”

The EDM musician claimed his comments were made “in the heat of the moment” and that he intended no ill will. He was not impressed with Twitch’s reaction to the misunderstanding.

“I’m not going to stand for Twitch’s double standards,” he wrote before deleting his account permanently.

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Deadmau5 plays a video game at the Twitch Prime and PUBG Battlegrounds Squad Showdown gaming event on July 13, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

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Zimmerman posted an expletive-filled rant on Reddit following the incident. It has since been deleted.

Although not offering an actual apology, he claimed he meant no harm towards those of the LGBTQ+ community or anyone else hurt by his comments.

“It was intended to insult a f**kin a**hat, it wasn’t ‘directed at an entire group of people who have a sexual orientation that differs from my own,'” Zimmerman wrote. “F**k off with that s**t, I know who I am.”

The I Remember producer continued to launch into a rage-fueled spout regarding his dismay caused by the commonly malicious state of the internet.

“While what I said was generally toxic as f**k and not an ideology I hold closely to my moral standing,” he continued, “it was just some bottom-feeding piece of s**t from Colorado who decided to make it news.”

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Before disappearing, the lengthy post was screenshotted by many social media users. It quickly recirculated over Twitter.

Deadmau5 Performs At The Seaport District’s Pier 17 Rooftop on Sept. 8, 2018, in New York City. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Howard Hughes Corporation

(WARNING: This post contains explicit language) Here is Zimmerman’s full statement

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“Sorry about that guys. I knew it was a fun place to connect and f**k around. But I’m not going to stand for Twitch’s double standards when it comes to censoring and suspending me for harmless s**t. While I’ve had some fun partnerships here and there and they were a great company to work with, I’m gonna have to cut this one short. I don’t have the capacity to deal with that kind of s**t.”

“Whatever dude, the internet is just basically full of s**t for the most part. While what I said was generally toxic as f**ck and not an ideology I hold closely to my moral standing — not by a f**ckin’ longshot — it was just some bottom-feeding piece of s**t from Colorado who decided to make it news, proving once again, the online clickbaity world is a piece of f**king s**t on a good day.”

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“While it was intended to insult a f**kin a**hat, it wasn’t ‘directed at an entire group of people who have a sexual orientation that differs from my own.’ F**k off with that s**t, I know who I am and I don’t have to f**king sit here and cry and defend myf**kingself [sic] with the obligatory ‘I’m not that person, I am sorry’ reflex. If I’m sorry for anything, it’s that we live in a world where bottom-feeding pieces of s**t can sit there staring at a monitor, watching me play video games, waiting for someone to get tilted so they can get a few f**king clicks.”

“The sane people who knew what it was in the heat of the moment knew the purpose of the statement. The people that think otherwise, I’m better off not even f**king knowing and they can just keep way the f**k clear of me.

Joel Zimmerman, better known as Canadian electronic dance musician Deadmau5 on July 22, 2013, in Toronto.
Joel Zimmerman, better known as Canadian electronic dance musician Deadmau5 on July 22, 2013, in Toronto. Michelle Siu / The Canadian Press

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Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Zimmerman has been accused of making “transphobic statements.”

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The producer was caught in a heated online spat late last year after defending his popular and perpetually evolving mouse helmet.

After a mother reached out to him, Zimmerman publicly apologized over Twitter.

“I wasn’t trying to make blatant transphobic statements,” he claimed. “I just got into a heated argument with some dude online, said something dumb and [then] the internet took it somewhere [it was] unintended [to go].
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“I’m not that kind of person,” he concluded. “My apologies.”

Deadmau5 Performs At The Seaport District’s Pier 17 Rooftop on Sept. 8, 2018, in New York City. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Howard Hughes Corporation

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In the last couple of years, Zimmerman has managed to keep himself busy with a variety of different music projects.

The premiere of Netflix’s brand new show Polar, in January, coincided with the release of its soundtrack — which was recorded and produced by Zimmerman under his own record label, Mau5trap.

The third Mau5ville EP was released at the beginning of February.

Suitably, it’s called Mau5ville: Level 3. The EPs feature brand new music and collaborations with other singers/rappers and producers.

Deadmau5 has two scheduled shows in Aspen, Colo., at the end of the month. There are currently no scheduled performances in Canada.

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adam.wallis@globalnews.ca

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