15 Controversial Stories From Reddit This Week That Split The Crowd (2024)

They Took Their Brother-In-Law To Court Over Art Supplies

From Redditor u/BroccoliOk923:

A bit of context: I (29M) like to draw and try other mediums as well. As such I've accumulated a lot of art supplies over the past few years. My wife (27F) also dabbles a bit and we have converted one of the rooms in our home to an art studio of sorts. There's easily a few thousand dollars worth of art supplies in that room and we tend to keep it locked for that reason. Most important to me are my pencils and markers, which were not cheap (Chartpak for those who care).

Onto the story: [My wife] and I had her family over for her aunt's birthday a few weeks back and my BIL and SIL brought their kids with them (7F and 6M). We had forgotten to lock the door to the room that day. About an hour into the party I noticed that both kids were nowhere to be seen, so I asked my SIL if she knew where they were. She said that they were drawing in the other room. I asked if my wife was with them and she said she (SIL to be clear, not [my wife]) just told them which room it was in. I immediately rushed over to the art room and found it was a total mess. Most devastatingly was the fact that all my markers were ruined because [the] kids were using way [too] much force, ca[u]sing the tips to fray. I yelled at them to get out and they started crying.

My BIL ran over and started yelling at me saying they're just kids and it's just markers. I told him that the markers alone were $17 apiece and he said I was stupid for paying that much. [My wife] tried to diffuse the situation, but my BIL starting yelling at her too, saying we can't have this [many] art supplies and not expect kids wanting to use it. I told him he's paying to replace the markers and other supplies they ruined and left. Everyone left shortly after that.

I totaled up the damages and I needed to replace about $375 and found that the kids drew on a piece I had spent the past week working on as well as [ruined] a finished piece [my wife] did. I sent him a bill and he blocked me. So I talked with my friend who was lawyer and had him draft a claim for small claims court and a letter to send my BIL (I paid him for this ofc). My wife is in agreement about this, but her family has been mobbing us, telling us we're being ridiculous over some markers. Only my FIL (who also has taken up painting recently) and my other SIL say that BIL has to pay. AITA?

Update: First off, holy s*** I did not expect this to blow up. I posted, figured I get a handful of responses, and turned off Reddit. I am extremely grateful that so many took the time to read and respond to this post. I'm going to read as many comments as I can, but I can't read them all. Either way, thank you all.

Anyway, last night my FIL called my wife and told us to come over. When we arrived my BIL and SIL were already there. FIL sat us down and told us we're figuring this out now and anyone who leaves gets written out of his will. BIL asked if he seriously would disinherit him over markers, and FIL asked him, "Would you seriously get disinherited than talk this out like adults?" He called all of us childish but figured the threat of court would make BIL admit he was at fault. He also was mad at me for reacting so nuclear and ruining aunt's birthday. After an hour and a half of talking, BIL said he was sorry and would replace the supplies his kids ruined, I apologized for making a scene, and [my wife] and I are taking aunt out for dinner tonight with FIL as an apology. I don't really care about the judgment here since I realize whether or not I was right for taking BIL to court… my a**hood from ruining the party far outweighs that. Hopefully things mend well with my wife's family.

They Ordered Steak At The Group Dinner

From Redditor u/xtrabaconplease:

My best friend of over 20 years has a sister with a husband who is just insufferable. Nothing is ever good enough. I blocked them all on social media during the pandemic because they would see my posts, take them personally, and make a fuss. Example: I posted something like “anyone who likes the color blue is an @$$,” and I guess they like the color blue, so they called my best friend and told her I was talking about them. When it finally came out it was just a generic post on my page, my friend was pissed.

Anyway, fast forward a few years, it’s been easy to be the adult and just not be involved with them; we can go to events and just not interact.

However, last week we went out to dinner for someone’s birthday. There were 10 [people]; the bill totaled less than $400 ($475 with tip). My husband and I do not drink; every other person at the table had multiple alcoholic beverages. No one’s meal was under $20, but I chose to splurge as we hadn't be[en] out and I got the steak meal, which was $43.

We did not split the check. I handed over $130 for my $43 steak, my husband's $20 nachos, our sodas, and tip.

When the check was delivered, Bluey picked it up and loudly proclaimed, “Who was the a**hole to get the $43 steak?”

Immediately I responded, “What does it matter, I paid for it,” and he said I should have ordered a more comparable meal to everyone else. But the steak was the only thin[g] I ate on the menu. The rest was covered in fancy chesses I do not eat. And I PAID FOR IT +++

So is there some social or moral clause I do not know about? That I shouldn’t order more expensive items than others at the table, even if I am paying?

Also for more context, everyone else had seafood or Italian. My husband had nachos and my best friend had a burger.

Editing to add, when I said “picked up the check,” I mean literally, he picked it up to read it. He didn’t pay for anyone else’s bill. But that was my poor wording.

They Rushed Home To Get Their Sister's Wedding Veil, But Gave Up

From Redditor u/PrincessDurian:

My oldest sister… just got married at a venue that (with no traffic) is about two hours and fifteen minutes away. [My sister] planned to wear Great-Great-Grandma's veil, which has a distinct lace pattern and is passed to only the eldest daughter. In our family it's considered good luck, heavily sentimental, and we have multiple bridal pictures of eldest daughters in the veil while standing with their mom and grandma.

The bridal party and family met at [my sister's] house before driving to the venue. The veil had been in a garment bag, hung up in front of a closet door, but the door had been opened, the hanger fell off, and none of us missed it when we packed up. We made it to the venue by noon for the 4 pm wedding. [My sister] realized the veil was missing and ran to me in a panic, insisting I needed to be the one to go find it: Mom wouldn't drive fast enough, [our] middle sister… was her [maid of honor], and Dad was dealing with setup. I didn't think I could make it there and back, but [my sister] insisted and said that if needed we could stall the ceremony a little.

I floored it but sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic for almost two hours, Waze estimating I wouldn't be at her house until at least 2:45 pm. I texted [my sister] that if I didn't turn around now, I wasn't going to make it. She texted back, "JUST GET IT HERE." When I emphasized that I wouldn't make it for her wedding ceremony or reception if I didn't turn around, she said, "The photographer doesn't leave until 7, just get it here before then so Mom, Grandma, and I can take pictures." I made it to her house on adrenaline, but it took me forever to find the veil and get on the road again.

[My sister's] texts continued after the wedding ceremony and pictures. I was already exhausted, sitting in rush-hour traffic, and upset that I'd missed the entire thing. After re-reading our texts, they were all about [the] veil. I realized that she didn't care at all about me being there, which upset me enough to turn around at 5:30 pm, with an estimated arrival of 6:30 pm and getting later. I texted [my sister] that I was sorry, but the veil was put up and the house key was in the flower pot. I woke up to a ton of angry texts from her accusing me of ruining her wedding and not trying hard enough to get back. AITA?

Their Boyfriend Got The Wrong Birthday Cake

From Redditor u/ReachOk6601:

I definitely have a bit of a complex about this kind of stuff because of how I grew up - always with my siblings getting what they asked for while I almost never did, and generally feeling like I never "get my turn" at things, so it will be helpful to know if I'm justified or overreacting.

My bf and I have been dating for 10 months and it was my birthday yesterday. I put a lot of effort into birthdays (including his) and was pretty excited about it for the last month or so. There is a local bakery that makes a really good-looking pineapple upside-down cake. I have been really wanting to try it and have been saving it for my birthday. About a month in advance, I told him my birthday was coming up and gave him a few activity ideas, and told him that I didn't need a gift but I really wanted a pineapple upside-down cake from XYZ Bakery; he said, "Sure."

Now... I know this was probably annoying, but I did mention this specific cake several times, even before last month. Like we would drive by the bakery and I'd say something like, "Oh hey that's the place with the pineapple cake; I wanna do that for my birthday." I wasn't deliberately hammering the point home or anything (or aware that it was gonna end in a cake-centered conflict), but there were a couple occasions where it came up. And then a week before my birthday I did text him a reminder about the cake so that he would have the bakery info on hand.

Yesterday rolls around and my boyfriend comes over to my apartment and gives me a gift, which is a Kindle. Not a bad gift and I know they are expensive, but not something particularly relevant to me either. Then he says, “Let's have cake,” and presents what you all know by now is not the pineapple upside-down cake, but just a regular grocery store cake with the frosting balloons. Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. You guys, I was legitimately sad. If I knew he was gonna drop the ball on this, I would have just gotten myself a pineapple cake months ago instead of waiting. I was on the verge of tears because of not getting the one thing I actually wanted, which was that stupid cake, so I told him I was very disappointed and that he should just go home. He had two tickets to a comedy show for that night and one ended up going to waste. Now he's annoyed because it is of course "just a cake," and wants me to reimburse the cost of the wasted ticket. It was only about $30, but I'm bristling at the [principle] of it and said I didn't owe him the money. He sent me a Venmo request for $30. AITA if I don't pay?

They Went To The Funeral Of Their Ex-Girlfriend's Brother And Missed A Wedding

From Redditor u/Character_Jaguar3037:

I (M25) am in a relationship with ["A"] (F26) since two years; she is wonderful, we live together, and I think we are close to engagement.

In the past, I was in a relationship with ["J"] (25F); we met in high school and had a very passionate relationship for five years but it didn't work. In the end it got quite heated between us and even with her parents, so we blocked each other. ["J"] had a brother, ["D"], two years younger, and we always shared a special bond.

Like me, he wanted to become doctor and I helped him with med school. Even after the breakup, we stayed close (["J"] and their parents weren't aware); he was definitely very important for me, almost like a younger brother.

Unfortunately, ["D"] had a car crash and died last week. I didn't know until ["J"] came to my home to announce two days ago. I am absolutely devastated. She apologized because she wasn't aware that ["D"] and I were still close; she also thanked me for being there for him when he was fighting depression and [said] that all her family would like to see me at his funeral next Sunday in their hometown (seven-hour drive). I replied that I wasn't sure if I could come because I'm running low on money at the moment and my car will be at the mechanic's; she said she could drive me there, but she had to be there two days earlier to help with the organisation. I said that I will think about it; we exchanged numbers and hugged; she cried a little and said she was sorry for all the things of the past and was happy to see me again.

["A"] came home at this moment, and I explained the situation when ["J"] left (she already knew about my past relationship with ["J"] and my friendship with ["D"]). ["A"] told me that I wouldn't be able to go at the funeral because the wedding of her sister is the same day and we both agreed to go. I said that I need a bit of time to [process] all that.

The following morning, I had a very emotional phone call with ["D"] and ["J's"] parent; they apologized for the past and thanked me for being there for ["D"], [said] that they would always consider me family from now, [and] insisted that they'd like to host me for the funeral to save me cost.

After reflection, even if it sucks for ["A"] and the wedding, I cannot imagine missing ["D's"] funeral. I talked with my… head of unit and they're okay with me missing a few days and cover[ing] for me. When I told my decision to ["A"] yesterday, she [blew] up and said that I'm a huge d**k to ditch her and her family in favor of my [exes]; she said that I committed to the wedding and I couldn't leave her alone to reconnect with my ex. We had a big argument and haven't talk[ed] much since. I had some messages from her friends and her sister; they said that I'm a major a**hole for abandoning my GF in favor of my ex.

I was sure about doing the good choice, but I start[ed] to feel bad and second-guess myself, so AITA ?

He Refuses To Give Their Baby A Name Spelled An Unusual Way

From Redditor u/NeverlyLane:

My (28M) wife (27F) is pregnant with our first baby, and I’m so thrilled to be a father! We recently had some scans, and found out that it’s a girl. We had an agreement that we wouldn’t talk about names until we knew the gender, so of course on our way home from the gynecologist, we immediately started discussing. We’ve talked about this a little before, and we agreed that we both have veto power. I suggested my all-time favorite name, Anna. My wife suggested Caeleigh (pronounced Kailey, and yes, she spelled it out). I vetoed it.

She suggested another name, Ryleigh (Riley, and again she did spell it out). I vetoed it and suggested Riley spelled the normal way. She refused.

She then suggested Novalynn. I vetoed, suggesting Nora as an alternative. She again refused.

This continued a few more times, until she snapped at me, calling me unreasonable for vetoing all her picks. She said, “What’s the point in talking about it if you veto all my choices, you controlling a**hole!” I responded, “Maybe if you picked something normal, we might get somewhere, but you won’t even try to compromise!” She looked really hurt, and we drove the rest of the way home in silence.

Now I’m wondering if I’m in the wrong for vetoing her picks and for what I said to her. AITA?

Edit: Girlfriend was a typo; she’s my wife and I’m an idiot.