deadmau5 fears being killed onstage; discusses death threats he’s received from fansDeadmau5head

deadmau5 fears being killed onstage; discusses death threats he’s received from fans

Joel Zimmerman will always be one of dance music’s most influential figures. With the release of his eighth album, W:/2016ALBUM/, and concurrent live tour, deadmau5‘s ascension continues to reach greater heights. However, as is the case with any veritable superstar – particularly one as socially polarizing as Zimmerman – the artist is also vulnerable to the potentiality of unstable fans.

In an interview with NME, deadmau5 divulged that the nature of some of his attention from fans concerns him at times. Zimmerman discussed a number of alarming messages he’s received from unhinged followers with the British publication:

“I get chicks on Instagram saying that I raped them and that they’re calling their lawyer. I do all my own s**t – Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter – and I see everything, every weird private message from every random psycho. I’m not shielded from anything.”

“I get messages from dudes saying, ‘I’m gonna kill you at the show!’ And I’m like, ‘Well, f**k – this could be it.’”

Regarding the latter statement, Zimmerman related his fear to the instance of Dimebag Darrell, the late guitarist of Pantera, who was shot and killed onstage by a deranged fan in 2004. The producer also relayed a story where he was placed in danger in a previous show:

“I nearly killed a kid once… I’ve never told this story. So I’m playing live, up in the Cube. I’ve got this LED helmet on, I’m six foot in the air, I can barely see. All of a sudden I hear my manager screaming in my earpiece, and I feel someone grabbing at my waist. This kid has somehow climbed up into the Cube. I just panic, I kick back at him, and he just drops and lands on his back – bang. And he’s motionless. I take off my helmet and look down, and for what felt like a looong time I’m like, ‘I just paralysed or killed that kid.’ Then finally he bounces up and is all ‘Wooo!’ at the crowd. Never been so relieved in my life. Scary.”

Hopefully deadmau5’s fears never come close to manifesting, but perhaps an LED-bulletproof vest would be a salient supplement to his famed helmet in future shows.

Read the full interview here.

H/T: Mixmag

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