Man told friend to replace what he broke — but now the friendship may be in pieces, too
A man on Reddit who uninvited a friend from an annual Academy Awards party after the friend broke an expensive bottle of whiskey and refused to pay for a replacement was not wrong to do so — though he may want to adjust his priorities, other Reddit users decided.
An individual with the user name "InternationalList333" asked others about the situation in a March 8 post on the subreddit AITA ("Am I the A--hole") — drawing some 4,500 reactions with approximately 2,000 comments in a short time.
In the post, the writer asked if he was wrong "for uninviting my friend from my Oscar party over a bottle of [whiskey]." The man, 29, said that every year, he and his wife, "Kate," age 27, host a party to watch the Academy Awards, something they've done for five years.
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"We dress up well, place bets on the winners and eat popcorn," he said. "It's a fun tradition that many of our friends look forward to every year. One of those people is ‘Rick’ (28M), a friend of mine from college."
The Reddit poster said his wife "loves" whiskey — and ahead of last year's party, she received a gift of an expensive bottle from her father. The bottle cost $175, the Redditor said.
The man on Reddit wrote that his wife loves whiskey — but never got to try a nice bottle of it that her father bought her, as his friend broke the bottle by accident. (iStock)
However, as "Kate" had recently given birth and was still breastfeeding, she did not yet open the bottle.
"During last year's watch party, [the friend] Rick got wasted," wrote the man in his post.
"While reaching for something else in our liquor cabinet, he accidentally dropped and broke the bottle. He apologized profusely once he'd sobered up. I was angry, but the whiskey was Kate's and she forgave him, so I decided to drop the subject."
"He was shocked at our question."
InternationalList333 said his friend Rick was the only person at that party who got drunk.
"Also, we'd selected drinks and set them on the kitchen counter. Rick went into the cabinet to look for a bottle of liquor (without asking me first), and was the only person who did so," the man wrote.
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A few weeks after the party, InternationalList333 and his wife asked Rick how he was going to replace the broken bottle of whiskey.
"He was shocked at our question, and told us he didn't intend to. Rick's been having money problems for a while and struggles to pay his rent," added the man on Reddit.
"He said that since we knew about his condition, it was unreasonable of us to expect him to pay for a $175 bottle of whiskey."
The Reddit user (not pictured) said he uninvited his friend from an annual Oscar watch party, but later wondered if he made a mistake by doing so. He wrote, "I'm starting to feel guilty" about it. (iStock)
InternationalList333 then gave Rick an ultimatum: Replace the bottle by next year's party, or he would no longer be invited.
"At the time, he agreed," he wrote. "Throughout the year, I asked him about the savings several times. He always told me he was close to the goal."
This turned out to be untrue, apparently.
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"Last week, I asked Rick about it again. He confessed he hadn't actually saved any money for the bottle," wrote the Reddit poster. "So I kept my promise and uninvited him from the party."
This apparently made Rick and his girlfriend very upset — who said breaking the bottle was a "drunken mistake."
"So I kept my promise and uninvited him from the party."
"They also insist that I'm being unsympathetic and entitled by expecting Rick to pay for a new bottle," he said.
"Kate's on my side, but is worried we're being too harsh. I really don't think we are, but as Sunday approaches, I'm starting to feel guilty," wrote InternationalList333.
The friend confessed that he was unable to save $175 to replace the bottle of whiskey he broke last year by mistake — even though he pomised he'd replace it. (iStock)
Fox News Digital reached out to InternationalList333 for additional comments or updates.
On the AITA subreddit, people can reply to posts and indicate the poster is "NTA" ("Not the A--hole"), "YTA" ("You're the A--hole"), "NAH" ("No A--holes Here") or "ESH" ("Everyone Sucks Here").
Users can "upvote" responses they think are helpful and "downvote" ones that are not.
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While there was substantial debate in the 2,000 or so replies to the post, the majority of people said that InternationalList333 was not wrong for wanting his friend to buy a new bottle and replace the one he broke — but that it might not be worth losing the friendship for this.
"If you've known him for awhile, and he's been a good friend all the time you've known him, I'd let it slide."
"NTA. Wasted or not, he broke something that a father gifted his daughter and lied about replacing it. But that being said, if you've known him for awhile, and he's been a good friend all the time you've known him, I'd let it slide," wrote Reddit user "rafaelvandercan" in the top-upvoted comment.
"Friendship is worth more than a few hundred dollars that was unintentionally lost," the same user added.
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Another top commenter concurred, saying that as Rick had previously broken something, he "shouldn't be allowed back in your house until he makes amends, either by replacing the item or by covering the cost of it," said user "7hr0wn."
"It doesn't matter that the item was a bottle of liquor. It doesn't matter that Rick was drunk when he broke it. This is very basic guest etiquette," said the user.
Reddit users were divided as to whether it was reasonable to uninvite a friend to a party after the friend refused to replace a bottle of whiskey he broke inside the house. (iStock)
The same commenter added, "If you break something in someone's house — accidentally, on purpose, or drunkenly — you make it right."
Another user had a different take on the situation.
"Obviously unpopular opinion, but ESH [everyone sucks here]. Seems like Rick did a really poor job apologizing and shows little remorse," said user "here4judgment."
Hosting a party, said this same user, comes with the risk that something could be broken, especially if alcohol is being served.
"As I understand you, it was an honest drunken mistake, not the result of completely reckless behavior," said here4judgment.
"Rick is struggling financially and It's just a bottle of booze, man," he added.
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The friend should "apologize for not apologizing properly in the first place and for promising to replace the bottle when he didn't intend to, and you should apologize for hounding him over a bottle of booze when you knew he was having a hard time making ends meet," the commenter concluded.
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Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
