diff --git a/gracedb/events/tests/mixins.py b/gracedb/events/tests/mixins.py
index 9d5a5a5f54ea01cce74904b52b0b67d98a7e0f5d..bd12e4107006e0f30d626a6082401f015363f38c 100644
--- a/gracedb/events/tests/mixins.py
+++ b/gracedb/events/tests/mixins.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class EventCreateMixin(object):
         group, _ = Group.objects.get_or_create(name=group_name)
         pipeline, _ = Pipeline.objects.get_or_create(name=pipeline_name)
         if user is None:
-            user = UserModel.objects.create(username='event.user')
+            user, _ = UserModel.objects.get_or_create(username='event.user')
 
         # Compile event dict
         event_dict = {