Navy Vet Who Went Viral After Mom’s ‘Him Too’ Tweet Claps Back In Epic Fashion

Pieter Hanson had no Twitter account and zero intention of becoming internet famous this week, but his mother turned things down for him in epic fashion. Hanson’s mom used her Twitter page to kickstart a “#HimToo” movement, but it quickly backfired and her son Jon jumped into the chaos to try to clarify a few things. The original tweet was deleted, after the mom in question apparently claimed she’d been hacked, and now the subject of the original post is going viral with his own new post.

As the Washington Post shares, it all began with a now-deleted tweet from a fairly new Twitter account. The post shared a photo of a young man in his Navy uniform and the post noted that this was the poster’s son who is a gentleman, but who is also afraid to go out on dates alone because of the current climate surrounding the “#MeToo” movement. She said that she votes and she used the hashtag “#HimToo.”

That hashtag quickly went viral, with some on the right sharing their own supposed stories of male loved ones worried about dating and being falsely accused of sexual harassment. However, the hashtag went viral among those on the left, with many on Twitter creating their own comical versions of fabricated #HimToo situations.

Navy vet horrified as mom’s tweet miscasts him as #HimToo poster boy — and goes viral https://t.co/Uj8jQfJMy9

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 9, 2018

Monday evening, a man named Jon Hanson started providing essential information on Twitter that also went viral. He tweeted that his brother was trending because of a “ridiculous” tweet their mom posted and he went on to answer a lot of questions from others on the social media site.

Hanson shared a photo showing him with his brother, who clearly has aged a few years since the photo his mom originally shared. In subsequent tweets, Jon said that his brother was furious over what happened and wasn’t even on Twitter himself. Initially, Jon told him not to create a Twitter account, but he later changed his perspective on this and now Pieter is going viral with his own tweets.

My brother is trending on twitter because of my moms ridiculous tweet. I’m a mixture of laughing hard and feeling bad for him. #HimToo pic.twitter.com/YG93x9ikii

— Jon Hanson (@DancinJonHanson) October 9, 2018

Jon added that their mom completely made up the idea that the Navy vet was too scared to date due to the #MeToo movement. He says that he doesn’t think his brother will ever live this down, noting that their friends already have plenty of ways in mind to torture him over this.

Hanson said this viral tweet was essentially just his mom’s misguided way of trying to get his brother dates. Jon added that he could create a Twitter account sharing all of the crazy stories they have about her, but he insists nobody would believe them. It seems his brother was very upset at first, but eventually was able to take it in stride and all of the positive feedback on Twitter helped.

By the end of the night, the Navy vet in question, Pieter Hanson, had created his own Twitter page. Naturally, he went with the username “@Thatwasmymom” and he recreated the pose that had many people cackling from the original post. Pieter made it clear that he is an ally to the women impacted by sexual assault or harassment and he snagged more than 55,000 likes on that initial post overnight.

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. pic.twitter.com/yZFkEjyB6L

— Pieter Hanson (@Thatwasmymom) October 9, 2018

Apparently, Pieter was in the midst of taking an exam in his marketing class when his phone blew up with texts and notifications from loved ones about his mom’s tweet. Hanson, 32, talked to the Washington Post and said that while he loves his mom, her post doesn’t represent him at all.

Their mom didn’t use her name in her Twitter handle, nor are they identifying her. They both admit she can be a “loose cannon” at times, but this was even beyond anything they’d have expected. Obviously, she never meant for this to anger her son or go viral, and Pieter said he had been too worked up to even speak to his mom about this yet.

Despite initially being upset, it sounds as if Pieter Hanson and his brother Jon are getting the last laugh over their mom’s viral tweet. As many people noted on Twitter, Thanksgiving might be a little awkward this year, but chances are their mom will hold off on creating another Twitter account anytime soon.