The internet has slammed a father who played a "mean" prank on his son at a wedding, resulting in the offspring going hungry.
In a post shared on Thursday on the viral subreddit u/AmITheA**hole, the user, who goes by the username cookiesformehehe, asked if he was the bad guy for not eating dinner at his cousin's wedding.
He explained that after receiving the wedding invitation at his father's house, the latter took it upon himself to switch his son's meal choice as a joke. The son also explained that this joke has been ongoing since he was a teenager and on no occasion has he ever found it amusing.
The post read: "My cousin got married Saturday, a few weeks ago they sent out cards to pick our meal. They sent all of ours (Dad's, mine, sisters) to my dad's house, with one return envelope. The options were steak, chicken, or stuffed portobello mushrooms. I selected steak, and specifically told my dad to 'just let me have a damn steak instead of messing with it'. He said 'I won't write anything on your card'.
"Then fast forward to Saturday, everything is going well, wedding is nice. We sit down to dinner and they give me mushroom stuffed with vegetarian pilaf. I said 'there must be a mistake I selected the beef'. Server said that the star on my place card meant I ordered vegetarian."
The son then turned to his father, who confessed that after sending the cards he called the cousin back and said his son had turned vegetarian. Sick of the old joke, the furious son left his entire meal untouched while his father and sister tried to pressure him into "at least trying it."
According to statistics from The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is about $28,000. The average number of guests is 105 people, and the median cost of catering is about $75 per head.
The Reddit community didn't hesitate to jump on his defense, calling out his father for his inappropriate behavior. One commenter, Kris82868, said: "NTA. I have no clue why this amuses others in your family." Opposite-Employer-28 commented: "He's a controlling bully. He's not going to like it if op has to take care of him in his old age."
Other users thought it was really unfair that the original poster (OP) was left hungry for his father's amusement. Swedishpunsch said: "Your father is toxic and mean, OP. You should have taken his dinner. I'll bet that he had steak." StarInkbright added: "Yep. And it's not a joke unless everyone is laughing. There's a difference between 'mean' jokes where the recipient thinks it's a great laugh, and actually mean 'jokes' where the recipient is just miserable."
While most Redditor's criticized the father's "bullying" behavior, others gave him suggestions as to how to behave next time he shares a meal with his father. PhilosophicalEeyore1 suggested: "Next time you're eating with your dad, look at his dish with a mischievous smile, like you put something in his food and goad him into taking a bite. Do this every time you eat with him. On the fifth or sixth time, actually put soap in his food. It won't hurt him, but it'll taste gross. Make it your own tradition."
PortabelloPrince added: "For like a year. Every time you go to a restaurant with dad, politely excuse yourself to the bathroom after everyone orders, and speak to the server about how your dad would like to replace his previously ordered meal with a plate of mushrooms. Followed by 'they're just mushrooms. It's not that big a deal'."
