Modest Mouse has booted guitarist Simon O’Connor from its upcoming North American tour after he was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a teen fan.
The indie rock band introduced Friday that O’Connor, who’s in his 40s, is not going to be a part of them on the highway starting Tuesday in Ojai, Calif.
“Simon O’Connor is not going to be becoming a member of us on the upcoming tour,” the “Float On” rockers wrote on Instagram.
“The excellent news is that Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav might be leaping in to play guitar. We stay up for being on the market with you all.”
On July 26, O’Connor was accused by a Reddit person, who recognized themselves as a 17-year-old fan, of sending them “an erotic picture” and commenting on their “bikini pics” by means of Instagram direct message.
The person, who posted a sequence of screenshots of their alleged conversations on the social platform, stated they had been 16 on the time of the interplay and had their date of start listed of their Instagram profile.
O’Connor allegedly opened the dialog with a sticker studying, “Simon calls your bluff, BUZZZ,” earlier than sending what the person described as a sexually express meme of a unadorned man.
The person responded by suggesting O’Connor’s account had been hacked.
“Want I used to be hacked simply had a celebration evening and every little thing with one eye ya know,” O’Connor allegedly replied.
“However you probably did blindside me with a gaggle of likes after which little or no intro moreover bikini pics so we’re each accountable.”
O’Connor’s message was rapidly deleted, however the recipient stated they’d taken a screenshot.
The person additionally alleged O’Connor seen an Instagram Story counting right down to their seventeenth birthday earlier than later messaging, “sorry.”
O’Connor responded Monday in a prolonged assertion, apologizing to the fan whereas saying he had mistaken them for somebody he believed had repeatedly harassed him on-line utilizing pretend accounts.
“All through my grownup life, there was an individual who has popped up once in a while with the intention of, for lack of a greater time period, messing with me,” O’Connor wrote on the Modest Mouse subreddit.
“I assumed that this was the identical particular person I had handled earlier than and, with poor judgement, I made a decision to achieve out with a tasteless meme, a sticker that learn ‘Simon calls your bluff,’ and an try to point that I acknowledged the ‘barrage of likes’ and related picture content material from the earlier profiles…. Nearly a ‘gotcha.’”
“After a couple of minutes, I noticed that I had made a mistake and this was not the one that I had handled earlier than,” he continued. “I unsent the messages and instantly ceased communication.”
“I’m genuinely sorry to the one that acquired these messages,” O’Connor added.
“They didn’t should be put in that place, and I’m sorry for the stress and a spotlight this has introduced them. I do know some individuals will select to not consider me, and I perceive that. I can’t change what’s occurred.
“All I can do is inform the reality, take duty for my mistake, and apologize.”
The guitarist additionally wrote that he “unequivocally” opposes “any sexual conduct in direction of minors.”
The band didn’t clarify O’Connor’s tour absence or say whether or not he stays a member of their assertion Friday.
O’Connor joined Modest Mouse’s touring lineup in 2021 after performing in New York Metropolis’s music scene as Simon Doom.
He additionally seems on the band’s newest album, “An Eraser and a Maze,” which was launched in June.
Fronted by Isaac Brock, Modest Mouse has been considered one of indie rock’s largest bands since breaking by means of with the 2004 hit “Float On” and the platinum-selling album “Good Information for Individuals Who Love Unhealthy Information.”
Brock is now the band’s solely authentic member following drummer Jeremiah Inexperienced’s loss of life from most cancers in 2022 at age 45.
