Modest Mouse guitarist Simon O'Connor has addressed allegations that he sent inappropriate messages to a minor, according to Stereogum. The claims surfaced over the weekend on Reddit, where screenshots were shared showing what was described as a sexually explicit meme and a suggestive comment about a 16-year-old fan's bikini photos.
In the screenshots, O'Connor appears to have started the exchange with an image that included the phrase “SIMON calls your bluff BUZZ.” The fan said she thought his account may have been hacked, but told him she liked his music. He then replied that he wished he had been hacked and mentioned he had been partying and was looking at things with one eye.
The conversation continued with the fan trying to end it, while O'Connor wrote that she had “blindside[d]” him with likes and bikini pics. He later unsent that message and followed it with, “I did it again,” according to the screenshots posted on Reddit.
The fan also said on Reddit that she was 16 at the time and that her Instagram bio listed her age. She wrote that she had followed O'Connor for years and later felt that more people should know what happened.
O'Connor responded in his own Reddit post, saying he believed the account belonged to a longtime harasser who had created similar profiles in the past. He said he sent the messages in poor judgment, realized his mistake after a few minutes, unsent them, stopped communicating, and apologized to the person who received them.
