Deadmau5 apologizes to fans for drunken Coachella set — and says it’s ‘probably’ his last: ‘I don’t remember a thing’

Deadmau5 might not remember his Coachella set, but his fans certainly will.

The Canadian DJ, whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, apologized this weekend after his Testpilot performance at the popular music and arts festival was cut short on Friday.

Deadmau5 and fellow music producer Zhu, with whom he was performing alongside, were seen drinking behind their DJ decks while Deadmau5 struggled to stand upright, as seen in an Instagram video of the incident.

Deadmau5, whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, apologized after his drunken Coachella performance was cut short on Friday. WireImage

Deadmau5 performing as Testpilot on the Quasar stage at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., on Friday, April 18. Getty Images for Coachella

He then stopped the music and told the crowd that he and Zhu had been asked to leave the stage.

“I dont remember a thing,” the EDM producer, 44, admitted in an Instagram post shared on Saturday. “But I don’t think I had a cig? So… that’s good I guess?”

“Going back to bed,” he added alongside a photo of a water bottle. “Wake me up around Thursday ish.”

Deadmau5 was seen drinking onstage during his Coachella set on Friday, April 18. Getty Images for Coachella

Deadmau5 and Zhu performing on the Quasar stage at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday, April 18. Getty Images for Coachella

The DJ and music producer then took to the comments of his post to suggest that his Friday night Coachella set was “probably my last” at the annual festival.

“Probably my last coachella show,” Deadmau5 wrote.

The Instagram comments also included a back-and-forth between Deadmau5 and Zhu in which Deadmau5 admitted that he was drinking whisky during their joint Coachella performance.

“I dont remember a thing,” Deadmau5 admitted in an Instagram post on Saturday, April 19, alongside a photo of a water bottle. Instagram/deadmau5

“Dude… that whisky. I can’t. lol,” the “I Remember” DJ wrote. “Good to see you again tho!”

Deadmau5 returned to the social media platform on Sunday to once again apologize to his fans for his behavior onstage two nights prior in Indio, Calif.

“Man, even my cat is disappointed in me. Tho, it could be argued that she always has been,” he wrote alongside a picture of his feline friend. “Sorry about last night. Lol. TO BE FAIR, I felt the first 3/4 was great!”

“Man, even my cat is disappointed in me,” the DJ added in a second Instagram post alongside a photo of his cat on Sunday, April 20. Instagram/deadmau5

“Huge shout out to [Zhu] for introducing me to whisky and carrying my dumb ass till the bitter end,” Deadmau5 added. “Lemme quit smoking, do some f–ken personal resetting here at home, find my spirit animal, work on some new music, and come back better.”

One day before his Coachella set, Deadmau5 took to Instagram to announce that he was “coming down with a little bug.” But he told his fans “don’t worry” because he was “100% still going to rock out with Zhu” the next night.

“I’m going to try to quit with the cigarettes starting today,” he wrote. “I haven’t made a solid effort to quit in years. I’ve always wanted to, but my god, breaking a nicotine addiction is up there for me because I’ve always found it as a wonderful stress pacifier, but yeah. I think it’s time.”

Deadmau5 said he was “coming down with a little bug” one day before his Coachella set with Zhu on Friday, April 18. Instagram/deadmau5

Deadmau5’s shocking performance came after thousands of festival-goers were forced to brave long, 12-hour lines and near-record temperatures just to enter Coachella this year.

While some attendees said the conditions were the worst since the festival first began in 1999, others compared this year’s two-weekend event to the infamous Fyre Festival failure back in 2017.

“It was truly the worst experience ever and also super disappointing because of how much money we spent to be at an event that we really loved,” one attendee lamented.

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds