Making jokes at the expense of others is always a risk that is better not taken.
As even if you do it behind their backs, there is no guarantee it won't get back to this individual, likely hurting their feelings.
While making jokes about others in their presence might initially seem all in good fun, there is no telling what they will and will not find funny.
Sometimes leading to strained, or even terminated friendships.
Redditor Unlucky-Public412 recently hosted a gathering at her home where she shared some exciting news about a major decision in her life.
News that a male friend of the original poster (OP) was less than thrilled to hear.
Eventually making joke after joke about the OP's decision, despite the OP's multiple requests to stop.
Having finally had enough, the OP felt she had no other choice but to kick her friend not only out of her house but out of her life altogether.
Wondering if she had gone too far, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**hole" (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA for cutting a friend off after he told me not to use a specific name for my baby?"
The OP explained why a friendship of hers came to a seeming end owing to her choice of baby name:
"I (25 F[emale]) am 6 months pregnant with a baby girl."
"I am over the moon and super excited to become a mom."
"I love the name Lisa and I have loved it since I was a little girl."
"My husband also likes the name and it is the name we agreed on."
"That is where the problem lies with my friend, Stephen (25 M[ale])."
"Stephen loves the kpop group, BlackPink, specifically the group member Lisa."
"The love is almost obsessive and unhealthy, but most Kpop fans are."
"A few friends came over to my house last week and that is when I told them about naming my daughter Lisa."
"Stephen laughed at me."
"He thought I was naming my daughter after the kpop star and not because my husband and I just love the name."
"He said some really mean things about my daughter, saying that she will never live up to 'his Lisa' and there is only one Lisa in his life."
"He also says he would not be able to look at my daughter because all he would think about is 'his Lisa'."
"There were a lot of other kind of disturbing things he said about the Kpop Lisa and basically saying that my daughter will never look as good, be as talented, etc no matter how much she tried."
"This is the part where I may be the ah."
"This happened in my house, and at first I thought he was joking and laughed it off."
"But he kept going so I got annoyed and kicked him out of my house."
"He's been incessantly blowing up my phone, anywhere from being angry at me for kicking him out, telling me I need to learn to take a joke, and apologizing."
"I only messed him to say that he was not welcome at my house anymore and he is not going to meet my daughter."
"My other friends think I am being too dramatic."
"AITA?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
The Reddit community generally agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for cutting ties with Stephen.
Nearly everyone agreed that Stephen's jokes were not only not funny, but definitely cause for concern, even if some felt that it wouldn't be wrong for the OP to at least hear his apology and try to mend their relationship.
"NTA."
"That is really weird behaviour and not something you want your friend saying about your baby."
"If you think he truly is sorry and actually understands why it was not right, then accept his apology and invite him back in."
"Also, him saying that all he would be able to think about was 'his Lisa'."
"When looking at your daughter was very worrying."
"Definitely NTA and not being too dramatic, seems to me that you are protecting your unborn baby."-Ainzzyy
"Jokes are funny when everyone's laughing and when the teller knows when to end it instead of beating a dead horse."
"NTA."- GothPenguin
"NTA."
"Your friend Stephen crossed a line."
"It's one thing to be a fan of something, but it's quite another to be so obsessed that you'd insult a friend's unborn child over a name choice."
"His comments were hurtful and disrespectful, especially considering they were made in your home."- LaneyLure
"Lisa isn't even her real name it is just a stage name, the Lisa from BlackPink that is."
"NTA."- Ancient-Awareness115
"NTA."
"That's really disturbing behavior."
"Your mom sense kick in and you realized that is not someone who should be around your daughter."
"Stand firm in your decision because it's 100% the correct one."
"To the friends giving you grief over it, tell them (as I'm sure you have) that the way he was projecting his feelings of 'his Lisa' onto your unborn baby made you uncomfortable."
"This is a baby that has yet to be born, and he's already comparing her looks to a pop star he's never met."
"I be they'd feel different if they were new to the friend group and had the name Lisa and he said all that stuff about him."- Rich_Restaurant_3709
"Huge BTS fan here (like followed them since they first debuted in 2013, seen them in group and solo concerts many many many times, etc) and this is WEIRD."
"I can guarantee you Lisa from BP would also find his behavior unacceptable."
"I hope your Lisa grows up knowing that many incredible, world-changing women shared her name."
"And I hope your friend never does meet her."
"NTA."- MochiPryncess
"NTA."
"Except in your choice of 'Friends'."
"Stephen is weird af."
"Like unhealthy level weird."
"If your other friends support him and think your reaction was unreasonable then... well, I don't know what to think."- RandomAho
"Tell him if it was a joke, please would he explain which part of it is funny because you don't get it."
"NTA."
"Only joke around here is Stephen."- Creepy_Radio_3084
"NTA."
"This guy is not your friend and sounds like a dangerous fruitloop."
"Don't allow him in your child's life, he may harm her."- AdLiving2291
"NTA."
"I would also be questioning this friendship."
"You are about to be a mum (congratulations!) and moving into a whole new stage of your life."
"Stephen is stuck in the mentality of a horny 15 year old."
"Sometimes our paths in life just diverge."- Mellifluous-Squirrel
"That friend is a drama king."
"You are NTA."
"He sounds annoying to be around."- OwnAssociation9043
"NTA."
"Stephen is the toxic kpop fan that every normal kpop fan hates."
"He's the kind that even the idols dislike."
"His obsession is toxic and creepy."
"Good thing you cut him off."
"If he's this competitive against an unborn baby, then just imagine what he'd subject your poor girl to as she grows up."
"I'd say this would also he a good time to weed out more toxic friends who will start to show themself depending how they defend the creep."- Pandarise
"NTA."
"This is cc why you shouldn't tell anyone the ne until baby is here."
"Block this guy and anyone who supports his disrespectful behavior."
"Your Lisa doesn't need him around."- Clean_Factor9673
"NTA this is someone who needed to be cut off yesterday."
"Such bizarre and unhinged behaviour I'd stay well away from."- AMissKathyNewman
"WTH."
"No you are not NTA."
"Stephen needs to get a grip on reality."
"'His Lisa?'"
"Whoa, reality check please!"
"His crass remarks and demeanor were way out of line, and I cannot believe your other friends are calling you out."
"Keep giving him the cold shoulder, and if at some point he comes up with a truly sincere apology, then you can maybe let him back into your circle."
"Your other friends should understand your point of view, and if they can't accept it, then maybe you need to distance yourselves from them as well."
"Your daughter does not need such pettiness surrounding her when she comes into this world."
"Lisa is a beautiful name, and she will be treasured by those who truly appreciate you, your husband, and the family you have started to create."
"Best wishes!"- Mobile-Donut-5497
The way Stephen was talking made it almost as if he'd never met or heard of another person named Lisa in his life.
And that's not even mentioning his bizarre, obsessive fan behavior.
It's up to the OP whether or not she chooses to accept his apology, but if she does ever see Stephen again, one imagines all future interactions with him will not feel the same as they once were.
Woman Asks If It's Wrong To Hold Grudge After Mom Told Her When She 8 Years Old That She Wished She'd Aborted Her
While some people view having and raising children as the greatest blessing, some parents hold their children's existence against them for their entire lives.
And when they feel that way about their children, they're unfortunately typically pretty honest about it, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor heavelymango knew from the time she was young that her mother did not really like her and significantly favored her sister.
But when her mother told her at the age of eight that she wished she had aborted her, the Original Poster (OP) held on to that grudge for years after the fact.
She asked the sub:
The OP had a grudge against her mother.
"I (22 Female) have been holding onto a grudge due to something my mom told me when I was roughly eight or nine years old."
"Growing up, I was a rebellious kid and always felt as if my mom favored my older sister. My sister would always get whatever she wanted."
"I know she was born with Down syndrome and always needed more attention and care, but if my sister wanted my tablet, for example, she would have it for the whole day while mine was limited to 30 minutes so she could have it."
"As a kid, I lashed out more because of this. She could take all of my things, but I could never use hers."
During a heated moment, the OP's mother said something unforgivable.
"Eventually, this led to an argument with my mom. I don't recall the whole thing, but it was related to my sister and how I felt my mom didn't care about me or give me the same amount of attention."
"The fight got heated, and I probably told my mom that I hated my sister and her."
"I remember she said back, 'I never wanted you from the start. I knew I should've aborted you when I had the chance.'"
" I didn't know what aborted meant at the time, and I remember I looked it up, and it made me cry. I never forgot it, and it lingers in my mind whenever I am home."
The OP's mother pressured her to "let it go" and move on.
"Even growing up, I still brought it up, and she would get mad, saying I need to let it go and how I'm stubborn for not just forgetting what she said."
"There was even a time in high school when she took me to a therapist, and she complained about how I never dropped what she said."
"She says I need to move on from it because it has affected my relationship with her, and she wants to fix it."
"I know I'm older now and it was so long ago, but it still hurts, and I feel like it's made me not want to have her in my life in the future, and I have told this to her."
"How I don't want her in my life once I move out, get married, or have my own kids."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that this sounded like a core memory more than a grudge.
"The axe forgets. The tree remembers."
"It sounds less like you're holding a grudge and more that this is a formative, core memory for you."
"It won't stop being a core memory (unless maybe with the help of a lot of therapy). Has your mom ever apologized for saying that? Because you don't have to forget to forgive, but if she's not remorseful for saying that terrible thing to her young child (not just remorseful that you remember it), then she probably needs therapy (or is a narcissist/sociopath/similar)."
"You are certainly not obligated to 'get over it.'" - Hot-Can3615
"This is not a 'grudge'; it is pain that is still felt to such a degree. If she said it, then she was thinking it. She'll probably never apologize, but that doesn't mean your pain is or was invalid." - Fast_Register_9480
"NOR. This kind of thing needs a real apology. Like she needs to acknowledge the damage and genuinely care about it. Brushing it off won’t make it go away." - TentacleWolverine
"NOR. Did she really want to fix things? She basically just told you to get over it from the start instead of giving you a sincere apology."
"That isn't working on anything. She wants you to get over it so she can pretend that she never said it, so she doesn't have to feel bad about what she did. It doesn't sound like she cares much about how you feel."
"She just doesn't want to deal with it. For that reason, I would still have issues with what she said." - Chemical-Ad6809
"If your relationship with your mother is being affected by the actions of your mother, your mother is responsible for fixing it."
"You should know you probably aren't ever going to get closure, but you don't have to swallow it down. It helps to be the person you needed when you were younger out loud to yourself, but especially to others."
"For example: My name is Liz, and my mom told me to go ahead and do it already and save us all the heartache when I finally had the courage to tell her about how much I've been struggling with self-harm and suicidal ideation. I'm never going to forgive her for that, and we have never been close as a result of her actions."
"You aren't holding onto a grudge; you have a core memory of your mother distilling her feelings into a world-shattering sentence."
"You did not have a secure attachment before and can't have one now because of the deep trauma. You do not apologize for being stabbed."
"Find another therapist. I mean it. Someone who cares about your well-being wouldn't force you to apologize for being verbally abused as a child. I'm 29 now, and I lived through it. I still struggle with suicidal ideation daily, but once I stopped relying on my mom and unstable sources for support, my life got better immediately."
"You want things for comfort and familiarity. Don't let your mom or your therapist gaslight you into crossing a boundary."
"It might help to ask for a written five-part apology from your mom. 1. Acknowledge what you did 2. Say why it was wrong 3. Promise not to do it again 4. Ask how to make amends. 5. Share your feelings at this time if there's anything you'd like to say."
"My mom can be a good person and a bad mom and role model. Being in your own company is so much better than poor company." - PotLuckyPodcast
Others hoped the OP would go no contact with her mother sooner rather than later.
"NOR. It’s emotional abuse. And you do not owe her closeness after that, especially as she refuses to be accountable for that and try to make it up to you."
"She knows you have her number, and she can’t forgive you for knowing what a colloidal b***h she is."
"It’s unlikely that will change; it will at least be turned back on you with her the victim."
"Stop expecting her to apologize. If she doesn’t pay your bills, ghost her." - SnooCheesecakes2723
"My mom said something similar. My brother and I were adopted, and when I was a teen, in front of a church lady, she said, 'We didn't even really want you, but the people didn't want to split y'all up, so we just took you, too.'"
"Me and the church lady were shook. When I say my falbbers were ghasted. Like huh? She didn't remember saying that when I brought it up years after the fact."
"I also got grounded two times for two separate nine weeks (for C's on my report card) and a three and a half to four months (for smoking at 16 and getting caught because she liked to just pop up out of nowhere), and we just had a talk about that, and she didn't even remember."
"She said, 'No, I didn't. I never grounded you for that long,' and when I gave my rebuttal, she said, 'Well, if I did, it definitely wasn't for no nine weeks or months,' and this started because she was praising me for reading so much and liking books. I said, 'Well, when you were grounded like me, that's all I could do (no TV, no friends outside of school, no music, nothing but my room and books)."
"There's a reason I only call or answer her calls once or twice every few weeks. And I only call to get food, really..." - ManicalMoe
"‘Fine, I'm sorry’ is not an apology."
"Whilst I’m sure it was said in anger, most things said in anger have a grain of truth. There are also some things that no half-decent parent ever says to their children, no matter how angry they are, and this is one of them! It also sounds like she has made repeated similar comments of not wanting you as her child."
"I understand her eldest had a disability, but this is no excuse for neglecting and emotionally abusing her younger child. Lots of families deal with a child with additional needs whilst still managing to prioritise their other kids. Children with Down syndrome are capable of understanding ‘that’s your sister's, not yours; give it back’ !! It sounds like your mum has mental health issues?"
"Do you have a present father or other family you can turn to?"
"Protect your peace. Your mum has hurt you time and time again, honestly, for no real gain other than momentarily satisfying her anger. You owe this woman nothing." - Background_Term9810
"I went through something similar. When I was a little girl, my mother used to make comments that implied she didn't want me, though it was never that explicit. 'I only had you because your brother wanted a sister,' and 'My figure never recovered after you; after your brother, it did.'"
"Each comment stayed with me, but I never addressed it with her. I tried to move on and leave it in the past. She did a lot of horrible things throughout my life, but her behavior was always ignored because that's the precedent my dad set, where she can do essentially whatever she wants."
"A few months ago, she came to see me because I was desperate for help and sick. Instead of helping, she made my life so much worse. I won't go into details. At one point, I could no longer keep it inside, and I told her that she is a narcissist, to which she responded with, 'It would have been better if I had never had you.'"
"In some ways, it felt really good to hear her come out and say it. It felt good to hear the truth I've always known."
"I don't know what you should do, but I've chosen to not forgive."
"Every time I forgave, I just let her know that she can get away with whatever horrible things she had done. Her apologies were never real apologies. She always found ways to blame me or others for whatever she had done."
"And I'm truly just done with it. As sad as it is to not have a mom, it's sadder to pretend that you have one when in reality you don't... quite the opposite, if anything." - Neos_Mom
"So, OP, what will hurt more: keeping her and the grudge in your life or making a break and going low or no contact with her?"
"Frankly, we've no idea of what she might have been dealing with at the time, but regardless, what she said was said only to cause pain and suffering. 'Sorry' doesn't magic that intent away."
"Me, I think spending time alone or with friends or in therapy away from her might be what you need here. You might come to some sort of acceptance, but if this is something that's just going to keep coming between you, then stop trying to have that relationship." - Tal_Tos_72
After the OP received feedback, she shared a few clarifications from her original post.
"I wanted to clear some things up, take accountability where it's due, and provide some much-needed context from many people commenting the same questions."
"I want to be completely honest. We had many arguments, and I was a rebellious kid. I acted out and argued with my mom."
"I don't want to give off the impression that I was an entirely innocent kid who never did anything wrong and my mom just snapped out of nowhere. We both said hateful and hurtful things to each other during our fights."
"Growing up, the only way she would accept an apology was if I got on my knees and begged her for forgiveness. If I ever asked her to apologize to me, she would say, 'I have nothing to apologize for; you should be the one begging for my forgiveness.'"
The OP had a lot of physical memories, too.
"Things also would turn into physical arguments, not just verbal ones."
"There were times when she would get so angry she would get physical. Like yanking me by my hair, twisting my arms, or throwing things at me (like remotes, a bug spray can, or a radio)."
"When she yanked my hair, I would fight back just to get her to let me go, and she would scream that I was trying to kill her and she would get me arrested. When she twisted my arm, and I begged her to stop because it felt like it was going to break, she would say she hoped it did."
"When she threw objects at me, she would say she wished they would hit my face."
"I remember in middle school, during an argument, she said she wished she could break my face and that she hated it because I look like my dad. I won’t lie, whenever she said things like that, I would say nasty comments about how she chose to have him put us in her."
While the OP wasn't financially ready to move out yet, she hoped to as soon as possible.
"Why haven't I moved out yet? The main reason I haven't been able to move out is financial."
"I wasn't making enough to support myself without worrying about whether I’d end up having to crawl back home."
"Thankfully, I have recently found a better-paying job. My plan is to move out between mid-to-late October, or early November at the latest."
"The only reason I can't leave this exact second is because I have a few legal/administrative things to get cleared up so I’m completely untied from my mom, which will take a few weeks."
The OP also had proof that her mother liked her sister better.
"Has my mom ever admitted to favoring my sister? Yes."
"In arguments, she has explicitly told me that she doesn't see me as her legitimate daughter, and that she adored my sister more and forever will. She has also called me a 'monster,' told me there is a certain type of evil inside of me, and said she was afraid I would be just like my dad and try to harm them."
"She would even tell me that she was telling family and friends these things about me, but then later claim she 'just said it in the moment' and wouldn't be crazy enough to actually tell people that."
"Because I was so confused growing up and didn't know if she was lying or telling the truth, I started avoiding our family when they came over."
"Naturally, that just made things worse because she would get mad at me for avoiding them (even now as an adult), completely ignoring the fact that she was the one who lied about what she told them."
Unfortunately, the OP didn't have support from her father.
"What about my dad? My dad is not in my life."
"He was around sporadically, but never as a stable parent. My parents separated before I was born and divorced when I was two or three."
"Growing up, it was just constant back-and-forth toxicity, with him telling me how toxic my mother was, and her telling me the same about him."
"He would mostly only come over to see my sister, and often used me to care for her if he wanted to take her out to eat. Ultimately, my dad didn't care about anyone else other than my sister (and his drugs)."
"I hope this can clear some questions on the original post. I know I didn't provide many details as I originally should have. I honestly didn't want to post something too long, and I honestly did not expect it to be noticed."
"Thank you all for taking time to talk to me and share your thoughts."
The subReddit fully sided with the OP, pointing out that no matter how heated the moment was, it would never excuse the terrible things the OP's mother had said to her.
If the OP's mother really wanted a relationship with her, she'd drop the defensiveness and demands, offer a genuine apology, and work hard to be better for both of her children.
That takes a very rare kind of person to pull off, and it didn't sound like the OP's mother had that in her.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp