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When Pieter Hanson first learned about the now-viral tweet his mother sent out about him, he was furious.
“I’m so mad mom would do this to me,” Pieter’s older brother, Jon Hanson, 35, of Orlando, Florida, recalls him saying.
On Monday night, a days-old tweet from Jon and Pieter’s mother, who they are not identifying, began trending. The tweet said Pieter, 32, is no longer going on “solo dates” out of fear of false allegations of sexual misconduct being leveled against him.
The tweet, posted on Oct. 6, included a picture of Pieter in a U.S. Navy uniform, grinning into the camera with his fist beneath his chin.
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“This is MY son. He graduated #1 in boot camp. He was awarded the USO award. He was #1 in A school. He is a gentleman who respects women. He won’t go on solo dates due to the current climate of false sexual accusations by radical feminists with an axe [sic] to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo”
The tweet appeared to be referencing the political climate that engulfed Justice Brett Kavanaugh amid his confirmation hearings after he was accused of sexual misconduct, allegations he denied.
Although Pieter was initially angry with his mother for posting something about him that is untrue, he said he holds no hard feelings.
“I forgive my mother. Her and I caught up a couple hours ago. She didn’t intend it that way and was mortified I’d disown her. Which is silly! She’s mom!” Pieter said in a statement to NBC News.
Jon said the sentiment in his mother’s tweet is the “antithesis” of his brother’s outlook, but that hasn’t stopped him from laughing at the new-found internet fame.
“The fact it happened to my younger brother made it one of the funniest nights of my life that I will never forget,” Jon said, adding that he was glad his mother set her sights on Pieter instead of him.
Jon called the tweet the “antithesis” of his brother, and Pieter later made his own Twitter account making that clear.
“That was my mom. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen. I never have and never will support #HimToo. I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point,” Pieter wrote.
Jon said his mother — who has since deleted her account — has posted similarly untrue, yet benign, things in the past, like saying her sons were single when they were not, but this is the first time those posts have included a political message.
Among his favorite plays on the tweet is one featuring singer Rick Astley and one featuring the band Hanson, which he found particularly funny because of the family’s last name.
Dozens more “MY son” tweets appeared on Twitter Monday night into Tuesday.
“This is my sun. It won’t go on dates with girls because it’s a giant mass of incandescent gas and therefore too hot to handle. #HimToo,” tweeted Re-Sight Islam podcast host Qasim Rashid.
Comedian Mike Drucker tweeted a picture of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” host Guy Fieri, saying “This is MY son. He graduated #1 from the University of Flavortown. He was awarded three banging fajita poppers. He was #1 in flamin’ hot crunch. He won’t go on solo dates due to the current climate of false accusations of taking the last slice of pizza. I VOTE. #HimToo.”
Jon said while his family is laughing at the silliness of the new meme accidentally created by his mother, he hopes people will learn to laugh with people they disagree with.
“We’ve all been there with people we care about that we may not agree with. I just hope this spreads a message of let’s just laugh and bring each other together with no more divisiveness,” he said.
While Jon said his mother is “mortified” by the response the tweet has gotten, he noted she’s finally been able to start laughing about it.