Son tells of shock after his 'wacky' mother used '#HimToo movement' to try to get him a date

Twitter users hijacks a mum's controversial post about her son being scared to go on solo dates, and turned her #HimToo comment in into a internet meme.
Twitter
Nick Charity10 October 2018

A Navy veteran has told of his shock after his "wacky" mother made a "misguided" attempt to ignite the #HimToo movement and get him a date.

Pieter Hanson, 32, inadvertently became the face of the movement when his mother claimed he was too scared to date in the current #MeToo environment.

He ended up being mocked and turned into a meme after his mother posted his picture on the internet in Navy uniform and said he was too scared to go on a solo date in the current climate of "false" sex allegations and cited the #HimToo movement.

The tweet has now been deleted but Mr Hanson has spoken out, distancing himself from his mother's views and saying he does indeed go on dates.

In a telephone interview with the BBC he told how the situation "blew up".

He said: "She’s a wacky one, we all have interesting family members but she has great intentions and I love her to death.

"I think she was misguided on this one. I’m a little upset with her but at the end of the day she’s my mother and I love her.

"Anyone who knows me knows I’m a positive person, I have so much love and I’m just trying to champion positivity, and cat pictures."

Mr Hanson has gathered tens of thousands of new social media followers and has tried to use it for good by spreading positive messages on social media.

"The real people who deserve the adoration," he added. "I have a little brother who had non-Hodgkin Lymphoma when he was a child. He’s a survivor now and been cancer-free for a few years. In no small part to the leukaemia and lymphoma societies and Make-a-Wish Foundation.

"Anything I can do to at least raise some money for these incredibly foundations, I’ll use my fifteen minutes for fame for that."

The original tweet from Mr Hanson's mother read: "This is my son. He graduated #1 in boot camp. He was awarded the USO award.

The since deleted tweet sparked a row on Twitter between Trump and Kavanaugh supporters and those who backed the MeToo movement - and quickly became a meme with tens of thousands of retweets.
Twitter

"He is a gentleman who respects women but he won't go on solo dates due to the current climate of false accusations by radical feminists with an axe to grind. I vote #HimToo".

The use of the hashtag prompted a backlash on Twitter and was also spun into a reel of jokes and "this is my son" memes.

Some were political, including Adolf Hitler and Supreme court Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Others were just intended for comedy, such as Jesus, Johnny from the Shining, the Hulk, and the actual Sun.

Mr Hanson and his brother Jon jumped to debunk their mother's comments and the navy veteran quickly swept up 77,000 new followers with his Twitter handle @Thatwasmymom.

Mrs Reynolds's Facebook page shows she posted the original photo of her son several times since 2013 and citing how proud she is of his military career.

It was believed her initial tweet was in support of Brett Kavanaugh who was sworn in as a Supreme court Judge this week.

Mr Kavanaugh faced a Senate probe into Christine Blasey Ford's accusation of sexual misconduct against him, which found in his favour. Two other women made allegations against him.

He denies them all.

The President also claimed on Tuesday that the accusations against Mr Kavanaugh were "a hoax set up by the Democrats."

Mr Hanson said on Twitter: "I respect and #BelieveWomen. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realising it. I never have and never will support #HimToo. I’m a proud Navy vet. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point."

His brother Jon Hanson told Huffpost his mother had "good intentions".

"But she wasn't trying to be a proxy," he said. "She's posted on Facebook about her eligible sons and tried to get them dates many times over the years.

"But she never spoke to my brother nor did he make any of those statements regarding sexual allegations.

He added that his brother was "at first very upset but is now taking it in stride and laughing about how mom went viral.

"He is single. He does go on solo dates. And he’s not afraid of the current climate or sexual allegations."

The meme spurred dozens, if not hundreds of variations, including famously troubled sons from the movies, like Michael Myers in Halloween and Darth Vader's grandson, Kylo Ren.

The Standard has tried to contact Pieter Hanson and Marla Reynolds for further.

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