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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Kevin E G Perry

Deadmau5 slams DJ 3LAU for performing at Trump inaugural ball

Deadmau5 has slammed fellow DJ 3lau for his decision to play at one of President Donald Trump’s inaugural balls.

Deadmau5 told his fellow musician that while nobody in the administration will remember the performance “everyone in [the music business] will remember that you stood behind nazis and convicted felons.”

3lau, real name Justin David Blau, 34, posted pictures of his performance at President Trump’s Starlight Ball — one of the three inaugural presidential balls typically attended by major donors — to his Instagram account.

He captioned the post: “5 days ago the @potus team reached out cause they needed a DJ for inauguration afters. Playing Starlight Ball was not on my 2025 bingo card, but i mean wow, what an honor. I was so nervous, and only got to play for 30 min but holy ****. Achievement unlocked.”

His post quickly drew criticism from fellow electronic musicians and DJs, including 44-year-old Deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman.

In a comment on the post, Deadmau5 wrote: “Here’s the best takeaway, not a single person in that entire dumbf*** administration has ever known who the f*** you were, cared about you, or even gives the remotest s*** about you, and you certainly won’t be remembered by any of em.

“But everyone in this business will remember that you stood behind nazis and convicted felons who would further marginalize the very people who gave you a platform. What very little respect I had for you is gone. So glad you got some drink tickets out of the deal, enjoy them, you nepo pissbaby.”

The Starlight Ball made headlines earlier this week after former boxing rivals Jake Paul and Mike Tyson were filmed at the event making it clear that they are “best friends”.

In an Instagram video from the evening, 28-year-old Paul could be seen hoisting his former boxing opponent Tyson, 58, onto his shoulders, while a crowd cheered them on.

“Best friends,” Paul wrote in the caption.

The playful scene showed a very different relationship between the two men, who had previously thrown a number of verbal jabs ahead of their highly anticipated boxing match last November.

Numerous fans flocked to the post’s comment section to call out Paul and Tyson for faking out fans and making them believe they were enemies.

“They played us for millions,” one person wrote, with a second adding: “We didn’t even pay, but I feel like somehow they still robbed us.”“Oh that fight was definitely rigged,” a third declared.

“Everything was fake,” another agreed.

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