Modest Mouse guitarist Simon O’Connor will not join the band’s upcoming North American tour after an anonymous person accused him of sending inappropriate Instagram messages shortly before her 17th birthday. Screenshots posted on Reddit, and now circulating on X, reportedly show O’Connor sending the fan an explicit image before suggesting they were both responsible for how the exchange unfolded. The 42-year-old musician has since apologized for contacting the person but claimed he mistakenly believed the account belonged to someone who had repeatedly created profiles to “mess” with him.
The allegations emerged in a Reddit post from an anonymous person who said O’Connor contacted her after she “liked” several of his Instagram posts. According to the shared screenshots, the interaction happened days before the fan turned 17.
O’Connor allegedly initiated the conversation by sending an image of people playing Simon Says accompanied by the words, “SIMON calls your bluff BUZZ.”
After the fan reacted to the message with an alien head emoji, the guitarist allegedly sent her a photo of a naked Black man sitting with his legs open. O’Connor quickly apologized, prompting the fan to tell him it was “all good” because she believed his account had been “hacked.”
However, O’Connor allegedly denied that anyone had taken control of his account. “Wish I was hacked just had a party night and looking at everything with one eye ya know,” he allegedly wrote.
Musician Allegedly Said They Were ‘Both To Blame’
The unnamed person advised O’Connor to “get a good night of sleep,” and he reportedly responded with a saluting face emoji.
The conversation allegedly continued when O’Connor attempted to explain why he had contacted her in the first place. “But you did blindside me with a gaggle of likes and then very little intro besides bikini pics so we are both to blame,” he allegedly wrote. The guitarist reportedly unsent that message before adding, “I did it again.”
The screenshots quickly circulated online, placing O’Connor under scrutiny over both the explicit image and his alleged attempt to assign some responsibility to the underage recipient.
The identity of the person behind the Reddit post has not been publicly disclosed.
Simon O’Connor Responds To Underage Fan Allegations
As the allegations spread, O’Connor addressed the controversy in a Reddit statement reported by Billboard. “Firstly, I would like to just state that I unequivocally oppose any sexual behavior towards minors, as a human and a parent, it disgusts me,” he wrote.
O’Connor claimed that an unidentified person had repeatedly contacted or followed him through multiple social media accounts over the years. “Throughout my adult life, there has been a person who has popped up from time to time with the intention of, for lack of a better term, messing with me,” he continued. “This person creates multiple social media accounts and deletes them … but always posts similar photos that I often recognize from previous accounts.”
According to the musician, he noticed a profile interacting with his posts one night and incorrectly assumed it belonged to that same person. “With poor judgement, I decided to reach out with a tasteless meme, a sticker that read ‘Simon calls your bluff,’ and an attempt to indicate that I recognized the “barrage of likes” and similar photo content from the previous profiles,” he wrote.
Guitarist Says The Message Was Intended As A ‘Gotcha’
O’Connor characterized his initial message as an ill-advised attempt to confront the person he thought was behind the account. “Almost a ‘gotcha.’ After a few minutes, I realized that I had made a mistake and this was not the person who I had dealt with before. I unsent the messages and immediately ceased communication.”
Although his statement offered an explanation for why he initiated contact, O’Connor acknowledged that the recipient should never have been placed in that situation. He said he was “genuinely sorry to the person who received those messages,” adding, “They didn’t deserve to be put in that position, and I’m sorry for the stress and attention this has brought them.”
O’Connor also recognized that his account of the incident might not satisfy everyone who saw the alleged messages. “I know some people will choose not to believe me, and I understand that. I can’t change what’s happened. All I can do is tell the truth, take responsibility for my mistake, and apologize,” O’Connor concluded.
Modest Mouse Announces O’Connor Will Miss Upcoming Tour
Modest Mouse subsequently announced that O’Connor would not participate in its forthcoming North American tour, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Ojai, California. “Simon O’Connor will not be joining us on the upcoming tour,” the band said in an Instagram statement Friday.
The group did not explain whether O’Connor’s absence is temporary or whether he has permanently left Modest Mouse. Its statement also did not directly reference the allegations or his response. Instead, the musicians confirmed that Les Savy Fav guitarist Seth Jabour would take his place for the scheduled performances. “The good news is that Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav will be jumping in to play guitar. We look forward to being out there with you all.”
O’Connor’s longer-term status with Modest Mouse remains unclear, but he will not be onstage when the band launches its next run of shows.
