The Internet is backing a man who passed gas during a family gathering in order to help divert attention away from his girlfriend.
The viral Reddit post recounting the situation, titled, “AITA for forcing out a fart to get my mom to stop asking my girlfriend invasive questions in front of the whole family,” was shared in the subreddit “Am I the A**hole. ” The post, shared by Redditor @throwa7694, has garnered 12,800 upvotes since it was shared on May 9.
It’s not uncommon to be embarrassed or embarrass others with flatulence, in fact. According to a survey by Devrom, an internal deodorant company, 55 percent of respondents said flatulence makes them embarrassed around loved ones, as reported by the new york post. Around six in ten people over 25 years of age have performed a flatulent prank or joke, and 64 percent have farted in a social situation, Yahoo reports.
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What Happened
The original poster (OP), who is a 23-year-old male, called the scenario a “desperate situation.”
He’s been dating his girlfriend, a 22-year-old, for seven months. She has a scar on her neck, and the OP said she “hates” being asked about it or to explain the “story behind it.” Even the Redditor doesn’t know how she got the scar, and he’s waiting until she feels “comfortable” enough to tell him.
The OP’s girlfriend has met his family a few times before, and he says “of course” his mother and aunts asked her about the scar, claiming it was mentioned around three or four times in a few hours. Plus, it was brought up again at dinner and again during a movie.
“It got bothersome, and my girlfriend would look uncomfortable, and I could just tell that the question itself brings her sadness,” the OP said. “I told my mom to stop asking such invasive questions about the scar, and every time she’d say, ‘OK, [I] won’t ask I promise,’ but then she would turn around and do it again.”
On Mother’s Day, the OP’s girlfriend accompanied him to attend dinner at his mother’s place. “We were sitting in the living room, and my mom goes to ask my girlfriend about the scar again, this time with a bigger audience because the whole family was there,” the Redditor said.
The OP’s girlfriend relayed that she’d rather not speak about it, but the Redditor’s mother “kept cornering” the woman, asking her questions in a yes or no format.
The Redditor was seated by his mother, and he “forced” out a “loud fart,” attempting to take some “pressure and attention away” from his girlfriend and get his mother to switch focus onto something else.
The OP continued, “I was like [‘Whoops,’] and the family started laughing. Mom turned to me and gave me a nasty stare. It got awkward, [not going to lie]but I was desperate and couldn’t really yell at mom to stop and start a fight on Mother’s Day, so I thought of this instead of making a scene.”
However, the OP’s mother pulled him into the kitchen, scolding him for his actions after he told her he did it on purpose. His mother de ella proceeded to call him “childish,” adding that if he did n’t want her to talk about his girlfriend’s scar de ella then he should have said that. However, he insisted that he did speak to her about it.
The OP and his girlfriend left, and she “couldn’t stop laughing” once in the car. “Unfortunately, [my] dad was upset too, saying I behaved poorly and childishly in front of the extended family and told me to grow up,” the Redditor added.
Redditors’ Responses
Over 700 comments poured in, and people are overwhelmingly backing the OP in the situation.
One Redditor doesn’t think the OP is the one at fault, adding that his mother kept “repeatedly” violating an already “stated and perfectly reasonable boundary.” They question how she thought the OP was the one being “childish.”
“Nope,” they said. “Her assertion that you should’ve told her is ridiculous. Not only did you repeatedly tell her to stop, your girlfriend told her. At that point, what does it matter what you have to say about it? The only relevant opinion in the room was expressed, and your mom kept pushing. For real, if she does it again, why stop at a fart?”
Another user admitted the OP made their day, and that the commenter’s wife gave her “enthusiastic endorsement,” adding, “Your dad told you to grow up? Your dad should be congratulated because he raised you right, and you and your girlfriend were the only adults in the room.”
A Reddit user thinks the OP’s mother is really the “childish” person here, admitting she’s actually just “like a toddler,” as she asked the question over again multiple times.
The hypocrisy of her calling you childish when she’s being actively cruel is just appalling.
Reddit comment
“And not having the emotional intelligence to realize how invasive of a question it is,” they added. “I love how you defused the tension with a fart! And it sounds like it helped your girlfriend too. Keep being supportive of her de ella. NTA [not the a**hole]but your mom certainly is TA.”
While one Redditor gave the man an “A+,” adding it’s an “impeccable divisionary tactic.” However, they believe the OP’s mother is “incredibly rude for pushing” her girlfriend over it when the woman is not comfortable discussing the situation.
“The hypocrisy of her calling you childish when she’s being actively cruel is just appalling,” they added.
Another person wondered what the OP could do in the situation, and they don’t believe it’s OK for his family to be so ill-mannered to his guest in regard to a delicate topic.
Also, childish a fart may be, but your fart on this occasion was hilarious!” they said. “It’s good your girlfriend was cheered up by it.
Reddit comment
“Also, childish a fart may be, but your fart on this occasion was hilarious!” they said. “It’s good your girlfriend was cheered up by it.”
One Redditor thinks the OP “took one for the team,” adding, “And the people in your family, as you describe them, are f**king idiots. Your girlfriend is lucky to have you.”
While another Redditor called the flatulence “the right move,” insisting that the OP’s mother and aunt are clearly the a**holes in the scenario.
Newsweek reached out to Redditor @throwa7694 for comment.
This isn’t the only viral moment involving relationships.
A husband is being slammed for ordering his wife to make him dinner at 2 in the morning.
The Internet is supporting a partner for “spraying water” in their wife’s face to wake her up.
And a man was bashed for hiding his girlfriend’s passport to keep her from taking a trip.