If you’ve been on Twitter lately, you may have seen more than a few tweets in your feed addressed simply, “Dear Brian.” The salutation has been tweeted by influencers, celebrities, and even a few companies in response to a post telling women-or, in the case of the actual tweet, “Ladies,” what and what not to wear when posting pictures of themselves to social media. Unsurprisingly, many had contradictory opinions about the tweet.

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Dear Men,

Don’t be a Brian

— Anthony Walker – Слава Україні 🇺🇦 (@anthonycwalker) February 8, 2022

The Brian in question, it turns out, is a 31-year-old Utah pastor and Christian musician Brian Sauvé. His original completely unsolicited tweet read, “Dear Ladies, There is no reason whatsoever for you to post pictures of yourself in low-cut shirts, bikinis, bra, and underwear, or anything similar—ever.” The post quickly went viral and has been retweeted over 21,000 times and earned as many comments – many of which were less than appreciative of Sauvé’s patronizing message.

Dear Brian,

Pastors like you are why the Church is known for misogyny and the subjugation of women more than empathy and equity.

You should try the sacred ministry of minding your own damn business.

— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) February 9, 2022

Dear Brian,

Jesus loves me.

— Heather Thomas (@HeatherThomasAF) February 9, 2022

Sauvé is the Pastor of Preaching and Liturgy at Refuge Church, which appears to be an independent Calvinist evangelical Christian organization. Despite their Utah locale, Refuge does not seem to be affiliated with the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and their website quotes no scripture from the Book of Mormon. However, the church does explicitly subscribe to and affirm “a Christlike father-rule within the home, often referred to as biblical patriarchy,” according to their website.

Dear Brian, this is from my friend Bella who thinks you're a jerk.

— Lorenzo The Cat (@LorenzoTheCat) February 9, 2022

In addition to his pastoral duties, Sauvé is also an aspiring Christian musician and has over 5,000 monthly listeners on Spotify tuning in to hear him perform Hymns and psalms. He has a YouTube channel as well that’s dedicated to his sermons as well as his music. Little else is known about Sauvé other than a few details on Refuge’s website. He grew up in the UK in a United States Air Force family who moved back to the states when he was around 8 or 9 years old. He met his wife, Lexy, in their junior high school years and married her in 2011 when he was about 20 years old. The couple has five children.

According to his personal website, he is “a Reformed Christian, a Protestant, Inerrantist, Calvinist, Patriarchal, Postmillennial, Social Conservative, Abortion Abolitionist, Contrarian, etc. I abominate and execrate the so-called Prosperity Gospel, Western sexual ethics, the pornification of the American male through the Entertainment Industrial Complex, the society-eroding scourge of fatherlessness, liberal outrage politics, and bad/decaf coffee.”

Sauvé appears to be embracing, or at least unapologetic about his brush with social media fame – or infamy. He has opened one Twitter response to his original missive. Among other things, he makes the accusation that “men and women who would likely identify as liberal feminists” have been “sending me unsolicited sexual images and videos.”

None of us measure up, even to our own standards. We're all hypocrites, sinners, and moral vagabonds. But Christ died for sinners. Trust him and be free.

I don't hate you. Sincerely, I don't. I hope that you can find freedom from the crippling weight of your sin through Christ.

— Brian Sauvé (@Brian_Sauve) February 8, 2022

Thus far, the follow-up doesn’t seem to be stemming the tide of “Dear Brian” replies. It remains to be seen whether Sauvé will let the furor over his comments die down or if he will further stoke the flames of social media in the hopes of further notoriety.

Dear Gentlemen,

There is no reason whatsoever for you to post pictures of yourself in t-shirts, sports jerseys, suits and ties, or anything similar—ever.

Not to show your spiritual journey.

Not to show your children’s accomplishments.

Not to document your personal story.

🙄

— Jean Krak 💛 (@jeankrak) February 8, 2022