Modest Mouse Drops Guitarist Simon O’Connor from Tour Following Allegations He Sent Inappropriate Messages to Teen Fan

Toria SheffieldSun, August 2, 2026 at 7:34 PM UTC

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Guitarist Simon O’ConnorCredit: Jim Bennett/Getty -

Modest Mouse announced that guitarist Simon O’Connor will no longer join the band’s upcoming tour

The announcement comes following allegations from a 17-year-old fan, who claimed O’Connor sent her sexually inappropriate Instagram messages

The band has not confirmed whether the lineup change is connected to the allegations

Modest Mouse has dropped Simon O’Connor from their upcoming tour dates following accusations that the guitarist sent inappropriate messages to a minor.

The band announced the decision in a post shared on Instagram on Friday, July 31, writing, “Simon O’Connor will not be accompanying us on the upcoming tour.”

They added that guitarist Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav will be taking his place.

The post was captioned simply, “Upcoming tour update.”

It is not immediately clear whether the band’s decision to replace O’Connor is related to the recent accusations against him.

A representative for Modest Mouse did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The announcement follows recent allegations against O’Connor by a Reddit user who identified themselves as a 17-year-old female fan.

In a post shared on the platform on July 26, the fan claimed the musician sent her an “erotic image” on Instagram followed by several direct messages after she liked some of his Instagram Stories, despite the fact that she said her age was clearly indicated on her profile at the time.

The Reddit user claimed O’Connor quickly deleted the messages — which she said also included comments on her “bikini pics” — but not before she had taken screenshots, which she also shared in her post.

O’Connor addressed the accusations and issued a public apology for his actions in a post shared on the band’s subreddit on July 27.

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Simon O’Connor performing in Napa, Calif., on Sept. 15, 2023Credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty

“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 began in his post.

He went on to claim that he initially thought the likes he received were from a user whom he said often created fake accounts to prank him.

“Throughout my adult life, there has been a person who has popped up from time to time with the intention of, for lack of a better term, messing with me. This person creates multiple social media accounts and deletes them… but always posts similar photos that I often recognize from previous accounts,” he wrote.

“After a long night, I picked my phone up to discover that a similar profile had been interacting (‘likes’ to be specific) with some of my instagram posts and stories,” O’Connor continued. “I assumed that this was the same person I had dealt with before and, 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… 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,” he wrote, before adding, “I’m genuinely sorry to the person who received those messages. They didn’t deserve to be put in that position, and I’m sorry for the stress and attention this has brought them.”

“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,” O’Connor concluded.

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O’Connor began touring with the popular indie rock group — which is led by frontman Isaac Brock — in 2021, and he appears on their most recent album, An Eraser and a Maze, according to Rolling Stone.

Modest Mouse’s upcoming tour begins on Aug. 4 in Ojai, Calif., and is set to conclude on Oct. 23 in Sacramento, Calif., according to the band’s official website.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”