Modest Mouse Drops Guitarist Over Minor DM Allegations
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- Modest Mouse announced O'Connor will not join their upcoming tour, replacing him with Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav, starting with the Aug. 4 Ojai, California kickoff supporting their eighth studio album "An Eraser and a Maze."
- Simon O'Connor faced accusations from a Reddit user who said she was 17 and had been "following Simon for a few years" when he allegedly messaged her late at night with an erotic image, despite her age being listed in her bio.
- O'Connor responded on Reddit, claiming he confused the user with a prior person who had previously messaged him under fake accounts, sent a "tasteless meme" and a "Simon calls your bluff" sticker as a "gotcha," then ceased communication once he realized the mistake.
- O'Connor stated he "unequivocally oppose[s] any sexual behavior towards minors" and apologized directly to the recipient, acknowledging "some people will choose not to believe me."
- O'Connor, a former MGMT touring guitarist, joined Modest Mouse on guitar and backing vocals in 2021 and appears on "An Eraser and a Maze," which the band released June 5.
- The Reddit accuser said she had "reached out to several people within the indie music fandom and nobody with a platform cared" before going public with the screenshots.
Why it matters: Modest Mouse acted within days of the Reddit accusation by publicly dropping O'Connor from their Aug. 4 tour launch — a fast reputational response that preserves the band's touring revenue and album cycle for "An Eraser and a Maze" while sidestepping deeper liability. The exchange also exposes an ongoing accountability gap in indie music communities: the accuser claims multiple people with platform reach ignored her before the story gained traction on Reddit.
