Modest Mouse guitarist Simon O'Connor has broken his silence following accusations that he sent inappropriate text messages to an underage fan, an incident that led to his dismissal from the band's upcoming tour. O'Connor, who is in his 40s, addressed the allegations in a Reddit post.
"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," O'Connor wrote. He explained that he has frequently encountered an individual who creates multiple social media accounts to interact with him, often posting similar photos. O'Connor stated he believed he recognized the profile that had recently been interacting with his posts.
"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 continued. "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."
O'Connor took responsibility for his actions, stating, "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." He also expressed remorse to the person who received the messages, saying they "didn’t deserve to be put in that position, and I’m sorry for the stress and attention this has brought them."
A moderator for the subreddit where O'Connor posted confirmed the authenticity of the poster. The musician was removed from Modest Mouse's North American tour, which is set to begin this week. The band announced his departure via an Instagram statement on Friday, noting that Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav would be joining to play guitar. The original accusations came from a Reddit user claiming to be a 17-year-old fan who shared screenshots of alleged conversations and an "erotic image" purportedly sent by O'Connor when she was 16.