NEED TO KNOW
- A woman asked friends and family ahead of time not to film her during her birthday dinner, but her influencer sister-in-law decided to do it anyway
- After the cake came out, the sister-in-law put the camera in the woman’s face for a “birthday girl reveal”
- Now the woman’s sister- and mother-in-law are telling her to “let it go for one night”
A woman set a boundary at her birthday party and then her “influencer” sister-in-law violated it.
In a post on Reddit’s AITA forum, the woman said she celebrated her 29th birthday with a small dinner, which was attended by her husband and a few friends as well as by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law Lina.
Prior to the event, she sent a message in the family group chat asking that no one film her. Filming the food or the setup was fine, she noted, but she simply didn’t want to be on camera for the event.
But once they arrive at the restaurant, Lina — an “influencer” who “films literally everything” — had her phone out recording. Again, the woman asked her sister-in-law to please not point the camera at her and after a little pushback, and her husband getting involved, she did eventually stop.
Or at least she did until the cake came out, complete with a sparkler and a singing staff.
The woman said that her sister-in-law got up and pointed the camera “right in my face” for a “birthday girl reveal.”
“I put my hand over the lens and said, ‘Stop’ — I didn’t grab the phone or touch her, just covered the camera for a second,” the woman wrote.
In response, she said that her sister-in-law claimed that “this is her job” and now her shot was ruined, while her mother in law begged her to “let it go for one night.”
“I said that it’s my night – actually,” she countered. After that, things got “awkward fast.”
“Husband tried to change the subject, but Lina kept muttering about how she had to scrap ‘everything,’ ” the woman continued. “I even paid for my own dessert (long story) and we left pretty quick.”
The next day, things weren’t much better either — and Lina texted the Redditor, claiming she had been “humiliated” at dinner, while her mother-in-law said that she “should’ve moved seats if [she] didn’t want to be in the frame.”
Her husband took her side in the family drama, although he did say that that putting her foot down “during the song when eyes were already on me” maybe “made a scene.”
The woman ended her post by saying that she sees both sides of the situation. Yes, she did physically block her sister-in-law’s shot in an incredibly public way but she also felt strongly about not being “online against my will,” especially on her birthday. Then she asked her fellow Redditors what they thought.
Those in the comments unanimously sided with the woman, considering she set a boundary beforehand and Lina chose to violate it.
“You are not part of her job,” one commenter wrote. “She doesn’t get to commandeer you as a prop for her videos, and she doesn’t get to seize control over your own goddamn birthday event for it either.”
Others noted that while there are times it could make sense to be more accommodating for Lina and her job, it was the woman’s birthday dinner — an event specifically dedicated to celebrating her.
“It sounds like making a scene is the only thing that might ‘influence’ Lina to respect other people,” added another, while a third commenter offered some succinct advice: “stop inviting her.”
Read the full article here
