These celebs walked miles in the mud to leave Burning Man 2023

After days of rain reduced Black Rock Desert to a muddy mess, complete with overflowing toilets, a number of celebrities decided to hoof it out of Burning Man before the road out officially reopened.

As of late Monday morning, the main road in and out of Burning Man is still closed due to “too much standing water.” But for celebrities who had prior engagements to make, waiting around wasn’t an option. Comedian Chris Rock was among the first to bail, walking through five miles of mud with DJ Diplo, to a usable road. In an interview with CNN, the DJ said on Friday night, during dinner with supermodel Cindy Crawford, the group realized the main driving route out of Burning Man wasn’t opening any time soon. 

With a show to make on Saturday night, Diplo decided to head out the next morning. Along with Rock, Crawford, her daughter and fellow model Kaia Gerber and actor Austin Butler, Diplo said they made a three-hour trek toward Gerlach, Nev. (This is Crawford’s second trip to Burning Man; last year, Crawford and Gerber went with “experienced ‘burners’ who took us under their wings and showed us the ropes,” Crawford wrote of the experience. “It was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. The surreal ruggedness and inspiring beauty of the playa enabled me to reconnect to my maiden self— adventurous, fun, curious and carefree.”)

Eventually, Diplo and Rock were met by a fan who picked them up in their truck and drove them back to civilization. A video showed the pair in the back of the pickup, with Rock joking he just wanted to get a cold brew. 

“For sure Chris is going to have a huge bit in his next special about Burning Man, because he was bizarrely scared of what was going to happen,” Diplo told CNN. 

Once they arrived in Gerlach, he said they hitchhiked again with a driver who was headed to Reno. There, Diplo was able to make it onto his flight to the East Coast. 

Burner Frank Binney posted on Facebook that he ran into actor Tessa Thompson, who also opted to make the long, muddy walk out of Burning Man. “Today I met actress Tessa Thompson and her British burner friends as they met their limo driver after a 5 mile hike to a paved road,” Binney wrote, along with photos of the group and their driver, immaculate in a neat suit. 

The “exodus” from Burning Man normally starts on Sunday, but road conditions were too unsafe for thousands of vehicles without four-wheel drive. Luckily for those who decided to hike out, Gerlach is just about 20 minutes down the road without traffic.