Deadmau5 apologizes after being accused of homophobic and transphobic tweets
EDM producer tweeted that 'women don't possess penises' and asked if social justice warriors were targeting him
Producer and DJ Deadmau5 has apologized after a Twitter spat in which he was accused of using homophobic and transphobic language.
The musician became embroiled in an argument after snapping back at a user who joked about his trademark giant mouse helmet.
A Twitter user asked, “i bet ur neck be sweaty af huh?” Deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, responded in a series of now-deleted tweets.
“[Not] really, there’s a fan in it,” he wrote. “[Let’s] be completely honest here, there are far worse fates, and if im [sic] a betting man, i’ll bet you suck a guy off for 40 grand ZERO fucking questions asked. so dont talk to me about mouse heads.”
Another Twitter user critiqued Deadmau5’s choice of insult, saying, “Hey maybe don’t say homophobic shit like ‘I bet you suck a guy off’ as if that’s something to be ashamed of or ridiculed for?”
They added that it was “not a good look for a high profile musical artist.”
After being accused of homophobia, Deadmau5 then responded with tweets that saw him accused of transphobia.
“[Fine],” he tweeted. “[How] many biological women have you sucked off? there i fixed it.”
The second user responded: “[How] does this make your tweet any better”.
Deadmau5 retorted: “[It] just illustrated the obvious fucking point here. women don’t posses [sic] penises. you’ll find out when you’re older.” 
He then asked if the people taking issue with his tweets were “all part of the same online club or something,” and asked if “all this [social justice warrior] crusading is all coming from the same tree fort in some backyard in Toledo.”
Are you guys all part of the same online club or something? I feel like all this sjw crusading is all coming from the same tree fort in some backyard in Toledo. Help me out.
— Goat lord (@deadmau5) October 7, 2018
Writer Amanda Jette Knox tweeted that she was “so disappointed to found out [Deadmau5] is posting transphobic statements about what genitals define a woman.
“But not as disappointed as my kids are going to be,” she continued. “Last year, we took our trans daughter to his concert in Montreal for her birthday. She’s been a huge fan.”
So disappointed to find out @deadmau5 is posting transphobic statements about what genitals define a woman. But not as disappointed as my kids are going to be.
Last year, we took our trans daughter to his concert in Montreal for her birthday. She’s been a huge fan.💔
— Amanda Jette Knox (@MavenOfMayhem) October 8, 2018
The musician initially responded to accusations of transphobia by calling them “wildly stupid accusations” based on an “angry comment” he had made, and that he supports “Trans Children, Inc.”
i do. i have. i will again. Someone took an angry comment i made, (as stupid as it was) and started making wildly stupid accusations that i was trans-phobic, i typically block those because i dont care for that level of idiotic toxicity. We also support Trans Children, Inc. https://t.co/ju7RVBCkYQ
— Goat lord (@deadmau5) October 7, 2018
However, after Knox’s tweet, Deadmau5 issued a partial apology, saying he wasn’t “trying to make blatant transphobic statements,” but rather “said something dumb and the internet took it way into somewhere unintended.” He added that he was “not that kind of person.”
i wasnt trying to make blatant transphobic statements, just got into a heated arguement with some dude online said something dumb and the internet took it way into somewhere unintended. I've since deleted the tweets, im not that kind of person. my apologies. https://t.co/eUJtjgmYAY
— Goat lord (@deadmau5) October 8, 2018
He has yet to apologize for the comments that were viewed as homophobic, though he did tweet that he has “no issues with any lifestyle choices people make.”
Editor’s Note: Article updated to remove references to a username in deleted tweets.
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