Weight is a sensitive issue for many people, and for some people, an innocent joke about it could send them spiraling.
That’s the lesson a guy on Reddit learned the hard way after playing a weight-related prank on his sister. But was he in the wrong, or was she simply being too sensitive?
The Redditor, who goes by the name Jokegonewrong, took his dilemma to the AITA (Am I the A**hole) subReddit.
The OP (Original Poster) asked his fellow Redditors:
“AITA for playing a prank that upset my sister?”
OP explained:
“I (23M[ale]) love jokes and pranks, and I do them a lot. My sister (21F[emale]) is mostly tolerant of them, but does not share my joy.”
“She works out a lot and tries to maintain her goal weight, as she was overweight in high school and went through a hell for it.”
“She has let me crash at her apartment for a few weeks because mine is being repaired. I had a friend over and he commented on how good she was looking and I said yeah she works out a lot and has gone vegetarian, so good for you rabbit food.”
“He asked how much weight she lost and I told him I wasn’t completely sure, but it was around 60 pounds over the course of two or three years.”
“He said it would be funny to prank her by hacking the scale and making her think she gained weight. I laughed, because that did sound funny, as I thought she’d have a little hissy fit over it, then roll her eyes like she always does when I prank her.”
“He modded it so it would read heavier and then we just had to wait.”
“The day finally came and she went to weigh herself.”
“When she came out she said she was up 10 pounds and thought that maybe she was finally getting some muscle definition. I said ‘I don’t know, it doesn’t look like muscle’.”
“She got really quiet and I realized I wasn’t going to get the reaction I was hoping for and rolled my eyes and told her to relax, I was just kidding, my friend modded her scale to read heavier to see what her reaction would be.”
“Her voice was pretty cold when she asked what exactly I thought her reaction would be. I said I didn’t know, maybe have a hissy fit or something.”
“She asked what exactly I found funny about making it seem like she had gained weight, then tell her it doesn’t look like muscle. I started to realize she was actually kind of pissed, so I tried to defend myself, but she asked If it didn’t look like muscle, what did it look like?”
“I realized she thought I had said it looked like fat. I immediately tried to tell her that isn’t what I meant, but she’s really angry at me.”
“I called my dad for advice, because he’s a bit of a prankster himself and I thought maybe he’d have some advice to help smooth things over, but he’s actually really mad at me now too.”
“I feel bad, but also conflicted.”
“On one hand, it was just a joke and I think she’s taking it too seriously, and my friend agrees with me. But on the other, my parents said I made my weight conscience sister even more weight conscience by trying to make her think she gained weight and I do feel really bad about that.”
OP’s fellow Redditors were then asked to judge who was in the wrong using the following acronyms:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
For them, this one was a no-brainer.
“‘>I (23M) love jokes and pranks, and I do them a lot’.”
“This is really all that’s needed.”
“YTA.”
“Making somebody else the butt of a joke or prank for your own amusement always makes you the a**hole. Every time.” —VinnieCapistrano
“Read the room, OP. You know she doesn’t like your dumb pranks. Most people would find this obnoxious, I think.” —natidiscgirl
“…I think he is an a**hole because he has done this before, and his sister didn’t like it then, so he keeps doing it to make his sister upset for his enjoyment. Any decent human being would stop as soon as she said she didn’t like it, and his defense when she got angry is also sh*tty.” —jamiacathegreat
“Yup. It seems like every single person who considered themselves a ‘prankster’ is an a**hole.” —NateNMaxsRobot
“…after that opening line I knew there was a 99% chance that ‘I love pranks’ actually means ‘the only thing that actually gives me pleasure is making other people feel bad’.” —TheJujyFruiter
“YTA. It’s not a joke unless both parties are having fun, when its only one of you, it’s bullying.”
“As someone who has dealt with weight issues all my life and have only started liking myself after I’ve lost weight through intense working out & constantly learning about nutritions, I know exactly what your sister is feeling.”
“She’s put in all that effort to get over what makes her insecure, and with that one dumb ‘prank’, you’ve brought her insecurity crashing down on her. Imagine what must be going through her head, ‘oh sh*t I’m slipping back/my effort is wasted/I’ve messed up’.”
“WHY WOULD YOU PUT SOMEONE THROUGH EMOTIONAL DISTRESS LIKE THAT?! Someone you care for at that.”
“So yeah, YTA. A very thoughtless one at that.” —foodytwoshoes
“YTA for playing pranks. YTA for playing pranks on people knowing they don’t like them. YTA for playing a prank on your sister about something you know she’s is sensitive about. YTA for being “conflicted” about if you are an a**hole.”
“Please let me know if you need any clarification on my judgement.” —superjudy1
“YTA.”
“You know she’s conscious about her weight and has body image issues especially after being bullied. She’s taking care of herself and putting herself in a healthy place and you tore that down.” —dusktildawn9
“YTA and you are far too old to pretend you do not understand that you are…” —pinkrosemonkey
In other words, if you’re the only one laughing, you’re the a**hole.