Skrillex Reacts To The Man Running Into The Flames During Burning Man
Following the news of the tragic events that took place at Burning Man this year, Skrillex was tracked down by TMZ to give his thoughts on the man (Aaron Joel Mitchell) that died after running into the flames.
Mitchell, 41, ran through two perimeters of security personnel during a ceremony in which a wooden figure is set ablaze to symbolize rebirth.
As Skrillex was headed to his Tesla, TMZ caught up with Skrillex to respond to the events that took place this year. Skrillex said “that’s not the first time it’s happened at a festival. It’s tragic man.” Skrillex went on to say that because it’s a festival unlike another, that Burning Man is special because there “is very little presence of law and people are there to be self-reliant and self-expressive. Let’s just hope it stays an uplifting place.”
The burning of “the Man,” the massive wooden effigy that gives Burning Man its name, is the ceremonial centerpiece of the entire week-long event out in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, and it typically draws the biggest crowd of the festival. Organizers maintain layers of security and safety perimeters around the structure specifically because of how close attendees get to the fire, which is why the incident shook so many people who attend the event every year expecting it to be one of the safest spaces they know.
Skrillex has been a fixture of the Burning Man community for years, so it makes sense that TMZ sought him out for a reaction rather than any other artist. His comments echoed what a lot of longtime Burners were feeling in the days after: a mix of grief and a reminder of just how much the event’s culture of radical self-reliance depends on everyone looking out for each other. Burning Man’s principles famously include “radical self-expression” and “civic responsibility,” ideas Skrillex nodded to directly in his response.
In the aftermath, Burning Man organizers reiterated their commitment to the event’s existing safety protocols around the Man burn rather than making major structural changes, a stance they’ve stood by in the years since. For a festival that prides itself on minimal top-down policing, the balance between that freedom and attendee safety remains an ongoing conversation within the community.
Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this tragedy.
Watch Skrillex’s response below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_sSTG5lvM
