package pidgin-data 1:2.10.12-0ubuntu5.2 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration

[JCD]

I was updating a fresh install of ubuntu gnome and got this error.

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: pidgin-data 1:2.10.12-0ubuntu5.2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.10.0-28.32~16.04.2-generic 4.10.17
Uname: Linux 4.10.0-28-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.10
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Aug 3 13:32:53 2017
Dependencies:

DuplicateSignature:
 package:pidgin-data:1:2.10.12-0ubuntu5.2
 Processing triggers for fontconfig (2.11.94-0ubuntu1.1) ...
 dpkg: error processing package pidgin-data (--configure):
  package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should
ErrorMessage: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
InstallationDate: Installed on 2017-08-03 (0 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-GNOME 16.04.2 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20170215)
PackageArchitecture: all
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.4ubuntu1.2
 apt 1.2.24
SourcePackage: pidgin
Title: package pidgin-data 1:2.10.12-0ubuntu5.2 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)