diff --git a/src/input_common/drivers/sdl_driver.cpp b/src/input_common/drivers/sdl_driver.cpp
index c17ea305ef..41c335cc5c 100644
--- a/src/input_common/drivers/sdl_driver.cpp
+++ b/src/input_common/drivers/sdl_driver.cpp
@@ -419,7 +419,13 @@ SDLDriver::SDLDriver(std::string input_engine_) : InputEngine(std::move(input_en
     SDL_SetHint(SDL_HINT_JOYSTICK_HIDAPI_XBOX, "0");
 
     // If the frontend is going to manage the event loop, then we don't start one here
+#ifdef __APPLE__
+    // macOS will crash the application if any thread but the main one
+    // tries to interact with the UX in any way.
+    start_thread = false;
+#else
     start_thread = SDL_WasInit(SDL_INIT_JOYSTICK | SDL_INIT_GAMECONTROLLER) == 0;
+#endif
     if (start_thread && SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_JOYSTICK | SDL_INIT_GAMECONTROLLER) < 0) {
         LOG_CRITICAL(Input, "SDL_Init failed with: {}", SDL_GetError());
         return;
diff --git a/src/yuzu/main.cpp b/src/yuzu/main.cpp
index 3b7058a2bf..327d4de0e9 100644
--- a/src/yuzu/main.cpp
+++ b/src/yuzu/main.cpp
@@ -296,7 +296,11 @@ GMainWindow::GMainWindow()
     ui->action_Fullscreen->setChecked(false);
 
 #if defined(HAVE_SDL2) && !defined(_WIN32)
+#ifdef __APPLE__
+    SDL_InitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_VIDEO | SDL_INIT_JOYSTICK | SDL_INIT_GAMECONTROLLER);
+#else
     SDL_InitSubSystem(SDL_INIT_VIDEO);
+#endif
     // SDL disables the screen saver by default, and setting the hint
     // SDL_HINT_VIDEO_ALLOW_SCREENSAVER doesn't seem to work, so we just enable the screen saver
     // for now.