Mom starts unintentionally ironic #HimToo moment on Twitter, gets gently slapped down by sons

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published 9 October 2018

On Sunday, Twitter user @BlueStarNavyMom3 decided to support new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh with a post about her son, identified in the tweet only by his photograph. Before she deleted her account, #HimToo took off on Twitter, and not in the way she apparently intended.

"This is MY son," the No. 3 Blue Star Navy Mom wrote. "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 to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo." There were parodies posts starring serial killers, sitcom characters, Michael J. "Marty McFly" Fox, presidential sons, and others. And then a user named Jon Hanson — claiming to be the brother of the sailor, with photographic evidence — piped up Monday night and said their mom is "crazy" and his brother does go on solo dates.

Finally, Pieter Hanson learned he was trending on Twitter, created an account named @Thatwasmymom, and set the story straight.

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Because this is social media, there's always a chance this is a really elaborate, very clever hoax. And because this is 2018, it probably isn't.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.