Modest Mouse Guitarist Simon O'Connor Responds to Allegations Over Messages Sent to a Minor

Modest Mouse guitarist Simon O'Connor publicly responded on Reddit on Monday, July 28, 2026, to allegations that he sent inappropriate messages to a fan who was a minor at the time. Screenshots posted over the weekend allege O'Connor sent sexually suggestive memes to an Instagram user who was 16 years old when the exchange took place, and continued messaging her after she replied. According to NME, the original poster said her age had been listed in her Instagram bio.

What was alleged

The Reddit poster wrote that she was 16 at the time, ran a public Instagram account, and had followed O'Connor for years as a fan of underground bands. She said that after she liked a string of his Instagram Stories late one night, O'Connor slid into her DMs and sent an image she described as "at least kind of pornographic," which he later attributed to drinking at a party.

Screenshots show O'Connor following up with a suggestive meme and an apology; when the fan asked whether his account had been hacked, he replied that it was just "a party night, looking with one eye." In another screenshotted message, he wrote: "You bombarded me with a bunch of likes first, and then had barely any bio besides a bikini pic, we're both responsible." That message was reportedly deleted, followed by another from him reading, "I did it again." The screenshots also show him viewing a Story in which she counted down to her 17th birthday.

O'Connor's response and apology

Posting on the same Reddit thread, O'Connor said that since becoming an adult he had repeatedly been harassed by one person operating under different social accounts, each posting similar-style photos before deleting the account. He said that late one night, after a long evening, he picked up his phone, saw an account with a similar pattern of interaction, and mistakenly assumed it was the same person — sending a provocative meme in what he called a lapse in judgment meant to signal he recognized the sender.

He said he realized minutes later that he had the wrong person, deleted the message, and cut off all contact. "I sincerely apologize to the person who received those messages. She should not have been put in that position, and I'm sorry for the stress and attention this has caused her. I know some people won't believe me, and I understand that. All I can do is tell the truth, take responsibility, and apologize," he wrote.

O'Connor has been a member of Modest Mouse since 2021 and played on the band's album An Eraser And A Maze, released in June this year.