Illenium Apologizes for Resurfaced Tweets Using “Racist” Language

The Grammy-award-winning producer Illenium released a statement to the public apologizing for actions that some considered “racist” or “homophobic.” 

Some EDM fans have called Illenium “racist” for several tweets that recently resurfaced from 2015. One tweet was in response to fellow dance music producer Said the Sky, and another in response to Paws, another musician. Illenium’s “homophobic” tweet was in reply to Adventure Club, and a second one again to Said the Sky and another person. 

Fans took screenshots of the tweets from 2015 (which seemed to be gathered during a search using “Illenium” + offensive word). The screenshots were shared on Twitter, and quickly gained the attention of the EDM community. See screenshots below:

EDM Twitter quickly got ahold of the allegations and they went viral. Many people were upset and expressed their distaste for the artist. Opinions were offered by fans and haters alike, with the latter claiming they were not surprised about the allegations against Illenium. 

Of course, many fans rushed to Illenium’s side and defend his choices. And as always, the memes and jokes flooded in as well. One user tweeted, “If you wanna cancel illenium start by getting rid of his merch, send it to me, a person of color, so i can dispose of it properly (if you don’t send it to me you’re racist too).” Another said, “Illenium in the streets Frat boy racist in the sheets.” See an overview of the spread of reactions below:

Shortly after the “racist” and “homophobic” allegations spread like a wildfire, Illenium issued a public statement. Some accepted his apology, and others did not.

Illenium said, “Hi all, I wanted to address the tweets from 2015 that have been circling around. There is no excuse or apology that makes what I said ok. I would never speak like that today and I’m ashamed that I have in my past. I was being insensitive to others and that is not who I am today. I am truly sorry and 100% stand behind the movement we are building based on love, unity and inclusion.”