Full Breakdown
Modest Mouse Removes Guitarist Simon O’Connor from Upcoming Tour After Alleged Inappropriate Messages
7/31/2026, 11:54:24 PM
Tour Removal Announcement
On July 31, Modest Mouse announced via social-media that guitarist Simon O’Connor will not join the band’s forthcoming tour dates. The post stated that Les Savy Fav guitarist Seth Jabour will fill in for the remainder of the schedule supporting the band’s eighth studio album *An Eraser And A Maze*.
Background of the Allegations
Earlier in the week, a Reddit post on the band’s r/ModestMouse forum featured screenshots of an Instagram direct-message exchange between O’Connor and a fan who identified herself as 16 years old. The fan’s profile displayed her age and a countdown to her 17th birthday. The screenshots showed O’Connor sending a sticker and a sexually explicit meme before deleting the latter and issuing an apology. O’Connor later claimed he mistook the fan for a “troll” who had previously created burner accounts to harass him.
Official Statements & Responses
Modest Mouse’s statement confirmed the lineup change but did not address the specifics of the allegations. He added that he understood some people might doubt his explanation.
Verbatim Quote
“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’.” — Simon O’Connor
Data & Statistics
- Simon O’Connor has performed with Modest Mouse since 2021.
- The fan involved was 16 years old at the time of the exchange.
- *An Eraser And A Maze* was released in June 2026, the band’s first album after the 2022 death of founding drummer Jeremiah Green.
- Seth Jabour, a member of Les Savy Fav since the mid-1990s, will replace O’Connor for the upcoming tour dates.
