Whether it’s true or just someone exercising their creative writing skills, we all love a good reddit “Am I The Asshole?” post, and this one really does make the pettiness of the holiday season that much sweeter. When the “new” girlfriend is constantly shunned by her boyfriend’s mother, what is she to do other than turn her own pettiness against her?

When one user dealt with her boyfriend’s mother constantly calling her the wrong name because she missed his ex-girlfriends, things got to a “boiling point” when his sisters mentioned that she was a great cook, and the mother suggested that Janet should bring the Thanksgiving turkey. She agreed—except she’s not Janet. She didn’t tell her boyfriend about the encounter and, at Thanksgiving, pretended to be just as bewildered as the mother as to why “Janet” didn’t bring them a turkey.

While her boyfriend is now mad at her, I don’t blame her. I don’t think that makes her not an asshole (mainly because I’m an asshole and I’d do the same thing), but the fact that the mother got away with calling her the wrong name for so long frankly means she had it coming.

So what’s the answer when one is an asshole to an asshole? You call it even. I do feel bad that her boyfriend is not seeing this as the well-deserved retribution that it is or that he didn’t do something more than just simply telling his mother to stop calling his girlfriend by the wrong name a few times before ignoring it, but frankly, she’s better off.

The ex-girlfriend of it all

While this person went to extremes to give her own version of a “f*** you” to her boyfriend’s mother, the fact that the family just let their mother constantly call this woman the wrong name is a problem. So, after over a year of getting called the wrong name (for her boyfriend to FINALLY even say something, despite it being ineffective) and everyone seemingly brushing it off, I don’t blame her! Even if she thought it was a joke and that the mother wasn’t serious about the turkey, it still isn’t fully on her.

If that mother really wanted to let her make the turkey, she’d follow up and make sure she knew it wasn’t a joke. I’m sure this woman saw this as an opportunity to bring it back to the high school girlfriend and why she was better or to make matters worse, and if the boyfriend doesn’t see that, then that’s on him.

I love pettiness, and I love a petty family interaction even more, so I’m Team The Girlfriend even if it seems as if everyone in this story is some form of an asshole. Sometimes, you have to match an asshole’s energy with your own assholery.

(image: NBC)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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