The Lies Never End | Reading Reddit Stories

- Hello, and welcome to Smoshreads Reddit Stories. I'm Shane, and today, the theme is Liars. All things lying. And I am joined by someone who can only tell lies, and someone who can only tell the truth. But I don't know which one's which. Trevor and Arasha. - Yeah, I don't know why I was a cast in this. - I've never lied in this. - This is ridiculous. - Oh, maybe it's because we've never lied, so we can offer some unique perspective. - Yes, yes, yes, yes. - Like as strictly truth tellers. - Okay. - Yeah. - You've got honesty over here. - All right. - All right. - All right. - Do you think, okay, we joke a lot about lying here at Smosh, but how could you think you are at spotting liars or catching people lying? - I'm really bad. I'm like a very trusting person. I think like, I may be to a fault, I just really lean on the side of trusting someone unless they give me a reason not to trust them. - Yeah. - And someone here at Smosh has certainly given me reasons not to trust them. - Totally, totally. Yeah, Amanda. (laughing) - Yeah, definitely. - I don't think I'm really great at catching other people's lies. I think when people are telling me the truth, I think they're lying to me. I think I'm like, I don't believe that. - Right, 'cause you thought Amanda was lying for being pregnant. - Yeah, I mean, I'll believe it when I see it. - Yeah, she's not, I just saw her a few days ago. - She's not pregnant. - Right, like, where did it go? - So what happened? - What happened? - No idea. - Right. - No idea. I don't know how it works, so, you know. All right, well, we're gonna read some stories about liars and we'll gauge who is the best liar by the end. First story comes from Am I the Asshole? Posted about August of 2023. Am I the Asshole for lying to my girlfriend's parents about being on a diet so I won't have to eat their cooking? - Right after that, I'm gonna say no. - Food lies are tricky. - Yeah. - From the start, it seems harmless, but I feel like with these, there's always more context. - There's more. - More has to happen. - And food lies are tough, I feel like they build. 'Cause we had that guy who lied about having a peanut allergy. - Yes. - And then everyone started to-- - Accommodating him. - Accommodating him and it got worse and worse. - Totally. - And he really loved peanut butter. - Yeah. - All right, let's see. My girlfriend's family are animal lovers and have several big dogs with long coats. A couple of cats, birds and her younger siblings have rat pets. Their entire house is covered in a thin layer of hair. If you sit anywhere in the house, it's guaranteed you'll have animal hair, joy writing on your clothes. It's so bad that their food will have animal hair in it. These people will pick the animal hair out of their mouths and keep on chewing like it's the most normal thing in the world. I've seen their cats use the litter box to then jump on the counter while their mom is cooking. Sometimes her mom pretends she's on a cooking show and narrates to the cats while the cats are pawing at the ingredients. Also, when I walk into the house, I'm immediately hit with the pungent animal odors. I don't know if it's from the litter boxes or the bird and rat cages, but I've gagged every time I've ever entered their house. Outside of these issues, they are great people. So her parents had a dinner party and were cooking lots of food because they were expecting about 50 people. I knew from past experiences that I can't eat there so I told my girlfriend I will meet her there instead of driving together because I had some stuff to do at work. I stopped at a restaurant after work and before the party. When I got there, her mom tried to make me a plate but I told her that I was on a diet and trying to lose weight. My girlfriend overheard and glared silently at me. Her mom tried to get me to eat and I kept on saying how great her food smells but I could see her in it the entire time. When we got back to our place, my girlfriend tore into me as soon as she walked through the door. She said I was being disrespectful to her family by not eating their food and lying about being on a diet. That exploded into her asking what else I am lying about. She wants me to admit to her parents what I did and apologize but I don't think I should as I did lie but it was to save their feelings. It's been a week and she's still mad at me and told me she'll remain mad until I apologize. She's angry sleeping on her side with her back to me right now. I never knew there was such a thing as angry sleeping but I swear her snores are more aggressive than usual. (laughing) - Oh man. - Oh man. - Damn. Well, rough. I think not the asshole. I don't think that that is something that you can fault a guy for. Like, that's not like a subjective thing. If you can just see a ton of animal hair in your food, I think it's perfectly reasonable to be like, I'm going to eat before and I'm just going to say a harmless thing that like, hey, I want to diet or whatever, like I'm just not going to eat right now. - Yeah, technically not a lie. If your diet is that you're not eating animal hair. - Fair? - Ew. - Fair. - And that's spoken like a professional liar. - Thank you. Thank you, I'm learning from Amanda. Yeah, I have to agree. Were you going to say something different? - No, no, I agree. He's definitely not the asshole. - Yeah. - I'm more thinking of like, what else he could have done. I think the lie was probably a tough one 'cause his girlfriend was there and his girlfriend's like, wait, you're on a diet? Like, immediately she knows it's a lie. He might have gotten off better if he just was like, you know, I'm just really not hungry right now. I know it's, you're kind of putting a tricky situation 'cause moms throughout the world, refusing food from them, that's really tough. - Totally. - They're not going to back down easily. - I mean, and, you know, I don't know where these people are from too, but also from a cultural standpoint, especially from an Indian household. Like, my mom is like, if you're stepping into the house, you're eating food. - Right, and it is seen as being extremely disrespectful to not eat the food. - Yeah. - I get that, and I think that's a lot of cultures. - Yeah. - So I would place bets that the mom, no matter, you know, who she is, would probably be. - Yeah, I wonder too if, like, the misfire was maybe that he didn't let his girlfriend in on what he was going through, 'cause she wasn't cooking the food. And maybe she would find it. I guess she would be a little insulted if he told her, but it sounded like the family wasn't at all offended or worried. It was just the girlfriend who was like, "You lied to my family?" So maybe beforehand, he should have been like, "Hey, just a heads up." Like, I don't really feel like all that excited about eating this food. - I'm curious what the girlfriend's feelings are on the hair? Like, if they've talked about it and he's like, "God, there's so much hair in your place." Or if it's just something that he doesn't bring up or talk about because he thinks it would like offend her or something. 'Cause, yeah, I feel like if they've had a conversation before about it, it would have been very easy to be like, "Hey, I'm gonna just eat beforehand. I just really don't want to eat the hairy food." - Right. - As she may just have never realized, 'cause, you know, when you grow up around pets and stuff, you kind of like, you just get used to the situation, right? Like, for so long, I didn't have cats. I had cats when I was a kid, but for so long, I didn't have cats. And when I would go visit someone who had cats, you kind of notice like cats shed, there's hair everywhere. You kind of can smell the litter box sometimes. And then when I got cats, you kind of are aware of it for like the first couple weeks to months. But then you kind of start not always clocking it. - You're like desensitized. - I try to be extremely clean. And when I have people over, I try to really vacuum and clean it all up. But I'm still just like, I know that someone who doesn't have cats might notice it more than I do now. - Yeah, from. - I don't think, I know it would probably hurt her feelings, but he probably would have gotten off better if he just was honest with his girlfriend and was like, "Hey, like, look, I love your family. They're so great. Like, there's a lot of animal hair everywhere." And I don't know, I have a hard time. I don't really have an appetite. - Yeah. - When there's so much animal hair everywhere. - Yeah, like I'm not no offense to their cooking or to them as people, but that's just the situation. - I agree. I just, I can see like, maybe from her standpoint, she's like, you know, really zooming in on this. And she's definitely evaluating, you know, what other lies are you telling that I'm not informed of. But also like, maybe there's a layer or a lens of kind of like, how she is wanting him to be around her family. - Yeah. - And she's probably also like, I want you to engage and eat with everybody and be like, in the mix of things. - Yeah. - And him not being as strapped in to really invest in like, the food and like, whatever their kind of culture is in that household. I can see her also maybe feeling that like gap between them. - Yeah, 'cause is there like, I also understand, especially 'cause she's not clued in. She didn't know that he was gonna refuse the food. Him refusing the food, is there a way that that maybe puts pressure on her with her family? - Yeah. - It's like, oh, my boyfriend doesn't eat your food. - Yeah. - And that's now like, is our question's gonna come my way totally my partner's not like be, now that's just been thrust upon her maybe not necessarily his fault. - Yeah, I want to offer too, like, you know, again, we don't know where these people are from, but I've been in a couple of biracial relationships. And I know I've felt this before like, where I will want my partner if they are not Asian or South Asian, I will feel like, oh, I really want my family to feel like, like, we're all on the same page and it's really not that different and it would really help if you were like, really immersed in our food and you can help like participate in it so I won't have to be like, sorry, I have a question. a white boyfriend. - Right, I get that. - Yeah. - So the verdict was no verdict, not enough info, but many comments lead towards not the asshole. I think a thing is we don't know if the girlfriend knows why OP won't eat at the parent's house. She might know, she might not know. But she brought up like that he, what else is he lying about? That makes me lean towards she doesn't know about this. He also went to a restaurant beforehand. I just think it's a lot where it's like, I get why that can feel hurtful. - Yeah. - This is just like, oh you truly are disgusted. - Yeah. - And then that's tough of like that's how you feel about my family no matter how justified he is because it was a secret and a lie. Now it just has this burden to it. - I wonder what the restaurant was. Like did he just like swing through a drive-thru? Did he like go sit down at like a red robin? - I'm assuming drive-thru, but I don't know. - Yeah, it'd be hilarious if you just like went and sat at a restaurant, had like an hour long meal by himself. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - If you went to checkers, you got a couple of the wicked marks from-- - Yeah, the wicked marks at Chili's. - That are currently available in the month of February. - Thank you so much. - And now February is over. - We have a bunch of comments here. Info, you didn't explicit note if girlfriend knows the real reason you didn't eat. If she doesn't know, it's no assholes here. O.P. versus girlfriend. In my honest opinion, she's acting reasonably if she only has the information she's been given. He's stuck off to a restaurant than lied to her family. If she knows the actual reason and she's still giving him crap, then yeah, you're not the asshole. Someone said, I mean, I get both sides. I'm not bothered by finding my own dogs fur and my food, but I can't say the same for my friends dogs. Someone said, I have two Boston terriers. They shed, but not too terribly much. However, I am constantly vacuuming and wiping down surfaces because they do shed, and I don't want dog hair in my food, et cetera. Not the asshole. You lied, yes, but you did so in order to spare the feelings of your girlfriend's family. Is your girlfriend aware of the pet hair issue, or does it not bother her? It's gross to find hair of any kind of food, but pet hair is the worst. Lastly, someone said, if your girlfriend is a keeper, you need to come clean with her. If she already doesn't know you are grossed out by her family homes, hygiene. She clearly loves her family and is defensive about this. Not sure why your girlfriend wants you to be honest with her parents, it will only hurt them and damage your relationship. But if you plan on a long relationship, she may not be the right girl. Talk to her honestly and see how to proceed from there. We don't have an update, so I don't know. - Yeah, it sounds to me like in the best case scenario, OP is going to these great lengths to protect everybody involved. I would like to see it like that. That he's like, I just don't want to hurt anybody. His girlfriend included. - I think it's a tough situation when you're in a relationship to speak poorly on their family and any capacity. And if this is a newer relationship, especially, he's probably just trying to save face and not insult anybody. But it also makes sense in that context of you're right if she doesn't know, and that is true. And all she heard was, oh, I'm on a diet. She's like, that's not true. Why would you just make that up out of nowhere? - Yeah. - Yeah. And I also understand the concept of like, if it's your own dogs, like it's less, it's like, you know, cleaning like your own babies. - It's just kind of the psychological aspect, too. - Yeah, yeah. - I get a little napkin hair in my food every once in a while and I just take it out. But also, he's like laying on my head in the morning while I'm in bed, like in my face. And someone else had a napkin hair in their food. I'd be like, yeah, I understand why you're grossed out by that. - Napkin, napkin your dog. - Napkin my dog, sorry, my dog name is napkin. Could understand why that would cause some confusion. We just started imagining what napkin hair would be. - Yeah. - And, you know. - It's very light. (laughing) - Well, damn, no updates, so I don't know. But that's tough. - Yeah, yeah. - Those are kind of the lies that were like, people are really on the fence of, of like lying to not hurt someone's feelings. - Yeah. I don't know, that's tricky. - Very tricky. - It's hard for me to relate to. I've never ever had pets. So, it's hard for me to find any of that appetizing. - But, yeah, 'cause have you been to people's places where they have a ton of pets? - Definitely, yeah. And I show here what you're saying exactly of like a smell that I might have, like everyone else is like, what are you talking about? I don't even smell that. Like everybody smells like something, but you don't know. - It is, it is also just true that it's the weird thing of like your own mess in your own place. Like kind of if you know the origin of something, it's not as gross. - Yeah. - Like we would like, I've over the years, had times where like my room gets messier. Like I don't clean my shower enough or whatever. But, and it's like, okay, whatever. Like it's not bothering me that bad, I'll clean it. But if I go visit somewhere else and it's in the same state as my own, I'm like, aw, gross. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I don't know if I can do this, but it's just, 'cause it's, you don't know the origin. - Right. - Something about it. - Origins. - Our next story is a confession. - Oh. - Wow. - What? - What? - This was posted in 2025, a year ago. - Shut up. (laughing) - 2025. - Last year. - Last year. - For sure. - Oh. - I faked a spinal injury to get out of paying late fees at blockbuster. - A spinal injury? - Yeah. - Late fees at blockbuster. - So they write long ago. - Real quick, yo, the y'all are so young. - Wait. - Oh, we had blockbuster. - And do a blockbuster. - We would do blockbuster. - You went to blockbuster? - Yeah. - How old were you when you went to blockbuster? - I wasn't nine. - Yeah, I was gonna say probably like eight or nine of like the memories that I have of going to a blockbuster. - Yeah. - Like I remember going and then you get like, you go look through all the movies and then you get the candy up at the front. - Yes. - Yes, that was the best when we were just young kids. (laughs) - Is it crazy that we were nine years old in a blockbuster? - Yeah, like for me, it's like when all my friends were gonna have a sleepover, we were like, oh yeah, blockbuster. Like we were like-- - I remember renting like a video game there one time as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. - Yeah. - And then I was like, this is so dumb because I played it for like a few hours. I'm like, I'm gonna be able to beat this. I have to like take it back now. - Totally. - Okay, the final blockbuster. (laughs) - Yeah, 'cause I do also remember it closing down in my hometown and like driving by and being like, oh no, I'll miss that. But high school's next year. - The blockbuster. (laughs) - The blockbuster in my hometown is now a yogurt. - Oh. - It's called, it's like a frozen yogurt. - Just called yogurt. - Yogurt's with a Z. - No. - Yeah, that's pretty rough. - That sucks. - Yeah, it's made great yogurt though. So. - All right, well it's in the name. - Wow. (laughs) - So it's not just yogurt is in the name. (laughs) Not great yogurt. - Long ago, obviously, I rented a movie and didn't return it for a month, so I owed roughly $30. I wanted to rent another movie, but I didn't want to pay the late fee, so I started scheming. My girlfriend at the time had been in a bad car accident and had to wear a big plastic splint that covered her whole torso for a while. I devised the excuse that I had been in the hospital and therefore could not return the movie in a timely manner. So sorry, please pity me. I strapped that thing on, awkwardly got in my car and drove down to the movie rental to pitch my story and pick up another. The clerk saw me walking stifly up to the counter and bought it so holdheartedly that they gave me a free rental to take with me. That movie was how high, starring method man and red man. (laughs) I remember because I never returned it and it sits on my shelf to this very day. (laughs) (laughs) - That's incredible. - God, all that to get how high by method man and red man. - Oh my God. - Oh my God. - And well, you know, $30 back in that time was like, it was like $3,000. - That's $3,000. - $3,000. - Yeah. - $3,000. - This is tough because these are the lies that are like, karma is gonna find you, you know? If you believe in that of like, it's just like this awful lie that's like, you obviously, you don't ever wanna get into a car accident. So to pretend that you did or it's like, it's reminding me of like family emergency or like, oh, I have to go to a funeral like those kinds of things where it's like, you're really manipulating people. You're tugging at their heartstrings so that they give you some leeway. - True, that's true. - Well, unfortunately this guy is the reason that Blockbuster went bankrupt. I think they needed that $30 in that really bad, and now they don't have it. - That's what I was gonna say, a lie at the expense of a large corporation. I'm more inclined to forget, but he's the reason they went out of business. - Yeah. - He's blocked their busters. - He's the reason we have Netflix now. - Ooh, yeah, 'cause we, what was the other, it was Red Box? Is that what it was called? - Red Box was also around, yeah. - Yeah, outside of close to stores. - He's outside, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I think we were 10 then. - I remember the original days of Netflix though, when my mom would get them in the mail, I remember that. - I used to, I was a big Netflix person at the beginning where I was getting them in the mail every month, and I was putting those suckers in watching them. - Yeah. - And I had the final one for, like, ever. I think it was, I, what was it? What's the Kira Kurosawa movie? Yo-jimbo. I had that for, like, fucking five years. (laughing) And I was like, I really needed to cancel the subscription. - I don't think I ever got Netflix mailed. - Yeah, 'cause you were too busy at Blockbuster. - Yes, I was too busy being born. (laughing) - I agree though, Arasha, that it's like even though this is for $30, it's a Blockbuster, it's silly. You are still ultimately like pulling off a pretty bad lie here. And especially like, it's one of those where it's like, hey man, don't fake like things of that nature 'cause that could potentially, I know it's like such a silly small version of it, but it's very serious when you lie about stuff like that 'cause then it puts people who actually have those things going on in a position where people then don't believe them all the time. - Yes. - And you don't want to tell. - And his girlfriend, his girlfriend is the one that experienced that and he's like recycling her brace. - Did he, we don't know if his girlfriend knew about it or not. - Yeah, right, he's like, let me just borrow this for a second. - Here, let me take that off. (laughing) - I fear I have a problem where if something like that is funny enough and also isn't at the expense of like an individual, I'm like, that's pretty funny. I'd like-- - It's really hard when things are really funny. - Yeah. - It's really fun. - It's a problem. - It's tough, it's bad. - Listen, I'm all for avoiding late fees. I will do everything possible, but like, talk to customer support, like do whatever you can, beg, like, make other excuses. It just feels like you went from A to Z real quick with the car accident, you know? - It's true. Faking any sort of disability is so bad and it's so damaging for people with real disabilities. - Yeah. - Comments, so you're why the company tanked. Someone said, this guy is called Netflix. (laughing) It's me, Mr. Netflix. Someone said, hey, baby, I know you got your shit crushed. (laughing) And you need this brace thingy, but I owe Blockbuster $30. So you just lay there and don't move too much. I'm gonna need this for an hour. - Literally, yes. - If she was still using the brace, then he is an extra bad for her. - Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. - He's like, why are you just taking that for a second? - Just chill out. - I got this. - Just calm down. - Hey, relax. - Just chill out, dude. (laughing) I gotta go to Blockbuster. (laughing) - Our next story comes from Am I the Ashole, posted in February of 2024. Am I the Ashole for lying to my girlfriend? And inadvertently humiliating her on social media. - Am I the Ashole for lying to my girlfriend? (laughing) - Humiliating her. - Oh, that sounds like a toughy. I think I'm gonna need some more context. - Yes. - It's a 22 year old man. My girlfriend, who's 23, is a very artistic person who loves trying new things. Her most recent obsession is songwriting. About two months ago, a friend of hers got her to attend a beginner's workshop for it, and she's been hooked ever since. She's signed up for guitar and voice lessons and writes whenever she has a moment of free time. When she finishes something, I'm the first person she shows it to. I love seeing her so excited about something, and I'm glad she feels comfortable enough to share her art with me. She is, however, terrible at singing, like truly awful. And to be fully honest, she's not that good at guitar, either. Buddy, she just started. - Sorry, do you like her? - Yeah. She picks up a guitar for the first time. She's just like, "You're not Willie Nelson." (laughing) But obviously, I never wanted to tell her that. If she asked me how something sounded, I always said it was beautiful. I didn't think there was anything wrong with this kind of lie since it supported her and made her feel more confident. She disagrees. To give some context as to how she found out I was lying. A few weeks ago, she asked me if it would be a good idea to start a TikTok page for her singing and songwriting. I could tell she was excited about it, but was nervous about putting her work on the internet. I told her she was crazy-talented and should go for it. She lit up after I said this, and in the following days worked really hard to make videos of her original music. They didn't gain much traction, but she seemed to be having fun being a content creator. So I felt like I'd made the right decision in encouraging her. But yesterday, she walked into our bedroom sobbing and demanded to know why I'd told her she could sing. I asked her what she meant, and she threw her phone down for me to look at. On it was one of her TikToks. It was one of those trends where you do at another musician by singing color coded lyrics. Her video had been reposted to a cringe meme page and had blown up overnight. The comments were all horrible, truthful in some cases, but really mean about it. She asked me again through tears why I'd never told her she was bad. I told her she wasn't bad, people were just mean. If hundreds of comments say I can't sing, then I can't sing, she snapped at me, so stop lying. Okay, I said, fine, you're definitely no Beyonce. Oh. Nobody's Beyonce. There's only one, there's only one Beyonce. Only one Beyonce. You have a really unique sound, though, and I love that you share it. I thought she'd feel encouraged by this, but it only made things worse. She started crying harder and insisted that the only reason she posted things in the first place was because I told her she was talented, and now she's been humiliated in front of thousands. She's deleted her TikTok account along with all her videos and hasn't stopped crying or talked to me since. I feel like she's blowing this out of proportion. I was just trying to do a nice thing by supporting her, and it's not my fault, the internet is what it is. I don't think I should have done anything different, but since the internet put me in this position, I'm curious if it will think I'm in the wrong. Am I the asshole? This is tough. This is a tough one. This is one of those stories where I'm a little bit biased because I am a person who puts all my stuff on the internet. Yeah, yeah. So I feel a lot of different things about this. We've all been on cringe memes. Yeah. I mean, yeah, in last week's episode, you have, I've seen my. I think we've all. I think there's one that's dedicated to a Russia. I know we've all. But last week, we were talking about this 'cause we did cringe for the last episode of Reddit, and I was talking about how just like, I'm kind of in sort of immune at this stage to feeling it. Because after 10 years, we've posted so many videos that have definitely ended up on places where they're just getting made fun of. Where all the comments are like, "This is fucking cringe." On funny, bad. There's plenty of times where I do a joke on Try Not To Laugh, and I'm like, "They're gonna say I'm a cringe millennial." And Eddie is what it is. It is what it is. But the internet's really tough. It's a tough place. It's sad that it's just like, this is just everyone, when they're anonymous, they become horrible people. - Yeah. - Yes. - But is he an asshole? Is what he's asking? And the verdict was that, yes, he is the asshole. I think a lot of that might be about how he wrote this. - Sure. - Yeah. - Yeah. - How he's writing it. He did not write it in a way that makes me want to be on his side. - Totally, totally. But I do understand where he's coming from, and that's a very real situation that you could place on lots of other experiences too, right? Like it's kind of like when somebody has a dress on, and they're like, what do you think? Like you don't want to insult them. - Right. - But at the same time, I think if he used language that misguided her and genuinely made her think something that was more than support, you know? Like if he used the word talented, that's like, okay, maybe we'd reel it back, and in forms of support, maybe we encourage classes, more training, things, stuff like that. - He wrote, I told her she was crazy-talented and should go for it when she talked about putting her work on the internet. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Crazy-talented is insane. - 'Cause to be clear, there was someone who pointed out, I think it was a stand-up comedian, I saw this, that Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, one of the greatest symphonies of all time, has tens of thousands of downvotes on YouTube. There are haters for everything. - I mean, true, like, earnestly, people are gonna laugh at this. Look at Taylor Swift, right? Biggest artist on the planet, also probably has some of the most haters on the planet. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Like, you can be also talented. And posting online, you're gonna have tons of people saying, "You certainly hate you." - Yeah, major fame is going to ask for polarizing views, especially because a lot of those haters are just hating on the fact that you're finding success. - Yeah. - I mean, I want to live, like, the funniest people probably on the planet, and so many times I see people being comments like, "Oh, driver's not that funny." - Yeah. - And then you look over and you realize it's not a comment, it's just me and Ian up to the side. (laughing) - Yes! - No, no, but-- - It's like @ Ian at Smok. - Wait, wait, wait, wait, there's a blue check mark on that one. - Oh, look at him in there. - That's my dad, bro. - Oh, what? - I forgot to switch account. - Stop, no, he's kidding, I'm kidding. - But then there's also the fact that, like, yeah, if you are also, if you are genuinely earnestly trying something on TikTok, you're gonna get made fun of. - Yeah. - And that's not indicative if you're good or not. That's just how social media works. People are just extra mean there. Now, this is also a thought that I have. She is freshly beginning something. I think there's definitely hubris to when you are a month into anything. And to go, I'm gonna post this online, and everyone's gonna think I'm great. It's like, you're just starting out. Like, you might have the potential to do great things with this, but you're in the first month. You, even if you are talented at singing, you're not gonna know how to do it. Like, just give yourself time. - You can even market it as day one of starting my singing journey, you know? - Absolutely, like. - Like, making it sort of the focus of it, rather than like, oh, this is something I'm an expert at. - Right. - Every skill, news. skill you're gonna suck at. That's how you get better. >> And there's been a lot of that. I've seen a lot of that on TikTok and that stuff is great. I love that because what is amazing about picking up a new hobby is not if you're good or not at it. It's seeing progress, like that's such a beautiful thing to experience. And kind of the worse you are at the beginning, the more satisfying it is a year from then or two years from then. I think a lot of people do this with like drawing and sketching because it shows like day after day you get to really see your progress. But people do it with stretching, people do it with working out. That's like the joy of it. But when you start and you're expecting positive, that's gonna be really, really tough. >> I think like in, and maybe yeah, this is because we're on the internet and we see so many things. But I feel like if I'm talking to anyone who doesn't post a lot on the internet and they're asking me like, oh, should I put this thing up? My first piece of advice, no no matter how good they are to think is like, be prepared for people to be just shitty. Like there are shitty people on the internet and they say really mean things no matter what. So like you totally should, you should do the things and make you happy, but just like be prepared for their to potentially be just really mean people. >> Yeah, I'm kind of curious, and I'm not blaming her here. But I'm curious if being on TikTok, if she's seen other comments on other people singing. >> Yeah. >> I'm like, you've definitely seen it. It's such a vicious place. No, obviously he's asking if he's the asshole. He really, it sounds like he really dug in on. No, you're amazing. >> Yeah. >> Post on there. And there's the aspect of like as a partner of being super supportive. There's also the aspect of being like a teammate and being like the confidant and being the like trustworthy source and being like finding that way to be positive but also honest. It's just like, hey, should I post on there? It's like you're just starting out. >> Yeah. >> Like you are a beginner. Like I think you're amazing. >> Yeah. >> But I also being honest about being like, hey, but I'm biased. >> Yeah. >> I'm your boyfriend. I'm biased. >> Yes, I love everything you do. >> I would maybe sing for some other friends and maybe build up a little bit more and then put it online. >> Totally, totally. >> Or at the very least, my view is put that shit online like embrace who you are. Have fun, but you're going to get the comments. >> Yeah, I got this piece of advice a while ago that was super helpful as well. That, you know, if you are posting it and you're being vulnerable and just starting out with something, nobody that is like better than you or has found success is going to be hating. >> Yeah. >> It is only people that are afraid to post themselves or again, just like hiding behind the internet. But nobody who has perfected a skill will be doing that because they know the grind. They know the hustle and on top of progress, I think the other thing is also passion. As long as you're having fun and you're into it and you're energized and stimulated, it's a great hobby. >> Yeah. And I think what I think is sad about that we've lost in social media is the social aspect, which is that it is a platform where people are supposed to find community and sharing things with each other. It's like, yeah, you're posting online singing. Hopefully you'll find other people who are posting their songs and singing. And you're then like you're meeting each other and working together and making songs together or making content together, talking. That was kind of the point of it all. >> Right. >> But now it's become this weird place of like, oh, get up there and do your thing and everyone's going to make fun of you. Sad. >> Super sad. >> Comments, you're the asshole. She asked me if it would be a good idea to start a TikTok page for her singing and songwriting. I told her she was crazy talented and should go for it. She lit up after I said this and in the following days worked really hard to make videos of her original music. You deliberately encouraged her to embarrass herself publicly, instead of being at least somewhat honest. You lied to her repeatedly, telling her what she wanted because it was easier for you in the moment, rather than respecting her enough to have a serious conversation about something she was very passionate about. How difficult is it to say that while she sounds good to you, perhaps she should get other opinions or ask the voice trainer that she sees for a more professional take on what your girlfriend can do to maximize her talent. Instead, you threw her to the wolves after over encouraging her to believe something untrue. Under the guise of caring, be supportive, do not routinely lie and knowingly cause someone you purport to care about to humiliate themselves. Could you not foresee this outcome if not the scale? Someone said my husband told me years ago I can only hit a note on accident. Thank goodness I don't want a career of it and enjoy my off-key singing at home. To be fair, he also said my voice was good. It did hurt to hear, but thankfully I never embarrassed myself in public. Someone said not being a dick, this is a genuine question. How does someone think they're good at singing? Ears, can you really be that clouded by one other person's opinion? Someone responded, it's actually called being tone deaf. You basically more or less hear what you want to hear. I know I can't sing, but when I was younger, music wasn't a skate for me and I would constantly sing. I thought I was going to be a pop star until someone had me listen to a recording one day. It was awful. Dude, honestly, like knowing someone who is genuinely tone deaf, my friend Elias, I love him to death. Damn, I love him. Oh, he's one of my best friends. I've known him since I was like first grade and that man cannot sing and I tell him every time and I love him so much because he does not care. That's so good. He just, from the heart, he's just is so soft. And it's so beautiful. Yeah. And those are the main events at karaoke bars. Yeah. They're like, oh shit, Elias is about to go off. Yeah. Everybody get their shots ready. If you sing well, do not show up at karaoke. It actually kind of cringes, I want to be honest. It kind of cringes me out when a really good singer goes up at karaoke and they pick the song they're really good at. And I'm like, okay, pal. Okay. All right. Okay. You got it. Yeah. Elias back on there. He's going to sing one week. Yeah. That's bad. But that's what you want. You want. Because you're all going to be partying. So you're like, that guy sounds fucking amazing right now. And if you actually sound amazing, it's like, shut up. It's like it goes back to your point. There's nothing better than passion. And I'm always envious when someone's in flow state, I'm like, that's awesome. Yeah. No matter what. Yes. It is, I will say, I agree with these comments. It is also as a perfectionist, as someone who's very like self-conscious. I am amazed at just, you needed one person's approval. No matter even if it was your partner. Yeah. I'm like, no, I need, I need 20 people's approval before posting that online. Yeah. I mean, again, if he really came in with that much positivity though, I know. Because I imagine the conversation where she's like, I don't know, should I? And she's like, yeah, you should. Yeah. And she's like, oh, okay, then I. Hey, I'll make your TikTok page for you. I'm going to type in right now. You're not. Okay, get in the role for a picture. Okay, upload it. He becomes a full cowboy. He's like, oh my god. It's flip seven in energy right now. Okay, last comment. Part of being supportive of someone's dreams is actually being honest, which he refused. Someone wanting to be a professional chef being told their burnt chicken is heavenly isn't going to help them achieve that goal. At best, you've refused to help them. And at worst, you're helping push them to a point where their spirit and will to try are too crushed to chase said dream. Being supportive means that sometimes you're slapping the shit out of their ego and helping them see how to change and make it work. Yeah. No. I mean, it's true. I believe that no matter how talented you are, something seeing someone do something with like true joy and passion. It's like, I don't care how good you are. That's beautiful to me. That makes me so happy. But unfortunately, people on the internet don't think like that and they just love being mean. Totally. I'm also, I'm also thinking like in terms of, you know, this specific post, maybe OP. I mean, definitely OP didn't have the tools to navigate a serious conversation like that. But I'm thinking of as well as like with acting, right? It's really hard to give like notes, a lot of times Fabian and I will do our self tapes together. And it's like, you can't just be like, that was the take. That was it. Let's send it in. But it also can be very touchy to be like, I think you should do it like this or, you know, let me do this. So we kind of implement this thing where we're like, are you open to notes? Or like, would you like some feedback? Like that kind of thing? And almost like prefacing before you're about to say something that could be misconstrued. Right. I also think when it comes to the work we do here, you know, it's a very vulnerable thing that we do as a team. And we do a lot of writing together. We do a lot of creation together. And I think where I've gotten nowadays is that I treat each individual thing as a separate thing from them. It's like, we might be in a writer's room and you pitch something and you go, oh, I think this is really funny. And if I don't think it's funny, I'm like, well, I'm just saying that I think this isn't funny. That has nothing to do with whether it's you. Like, I think we all know and we all work together and trust like, oh, we're all really good at this. We're professionals at this, especially in creativity. It's a fluctuating thing like totally. And like, I think it's important to have creative hobbies because I think it humbles you in a way where it's like, oh, I can make something amazing one second and something so dog shit the next. Oh, yeah. And that's just human nature. Totally. And if I started to play basketball right now, I think within like 30 days I'd be shooting like 100% though. >> I think if I got like a basketball coach, I think I would think I would get there really wrong. >> You should put that on TikTok. >> I'm sure. >> I'm sure. >> Okay, honest to God, a TikTok of me, missing basketball, she wants every time is kind of it. >> Just day one, don't make a single one. >> If I had a basketball hoop and every single one was just one shot and I miss, and I just miss it. >> Every day for a year and I'm going to make one. >> But that would be awesome. >> Well, that's funny. >> Because all the comments are like, you suck. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> But no, I get it though. >> Yeah, it's just the words that you really have to be careful. >> But I think it is a respect thing when you can give honest feedback to people. >> Yeah. >> Because it's respecting them as a person and going, I know you can handle this. >> Yes. >> I'm not worried about saying this to you. You know what, we've had this conversation too where it's like, you can't be on the other end of being like, I'm just being honest, you suck. >> Of course. >> I'm just like, I'm just going to be forward, I'm going to be blunt, you're ass at that. >> There's a disrespectful level on that. I think it's also the notes that whenever we give notes to each other here at Smosh, it's always more of like, oh, I don't think that works, but here's how, I believe you can make this work. >> Mm-hm. >> Or like, I'm feeling to see the connection here, like, can you draw that out for me a little bit? >> Right. >> Instead of just like, I don't get it. >> Absolutely. >> There's a level of trust to like, knowing like, hey, I am going to say something that might not just be the super nice positive thing, like giving like a critique on something and trusting that your coworker, partner friend, whoever it is is going to be able to receive that. And then if they aren't able to receive that, then that's on them. Like you've been honest with them, you've tried to like, as long as you're not being mean about it. Like, you have to have that trust of like, no, I can take kind of like, honest feedback. >> Totally. >> Absolutely. >> It comes from "True Off My Chest," this was posted in the summer of 2024. I edited a K-pop idols Wikipedia page with wrong information as a joke and accidentally contributed to a massive spread of fake news. >> [LAUGH] >> Oh God. I was reminded of my shameful past yesterday while talking to a friend. When I was a teenager, probably 14, I thought it was hilarious to edit Wikipedia articles with random incorrect information. I was also a huge K-pop fan, so a lot of my victims were K-pop idols. Well, one day I thought it would be funny to edit artist Joe Kwan's Wikipedia page to say that his former stage name was Sokrei Blue. >> [LAUGH] >> That's pretty funny. >> [LAUGH] >> That's awesome. >> Why? I have no fucking idea. I guess I thought it was a funny expression and I was deep in my lulls so random XD phase. >> XD. >> RRXD. >> No. >> I was expecting the mods to correct my dumb joke within a couple of hours, but to my surprise it didn't get removed. In fact, it spread like wildfire. News articles, fan pages, K-pop, profile sites, famous birthdays, all started including fucking Sokrei Blue. >> [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] >> Confusion spread among the fandom, but most just ran with it as a fun Joe Kwan fact despite zero proof to back it up because it literally just came from my stupid 14 year old mind. I have compiled a small collection of Sokrei Blue here to show just how bad it got, but all you have to do is Google Joe Kwan Sokrei Blue and it shows up. I was mortified watching this happen real time, but instead of coming clean about my wrong doings, I decided to completely disengage because I was 14 and scared of the life consequences. [LAUGH] I never told anyone until now, over 10 years later, Joe Kwan's English Wikipedia page has since been cleansed of any mentions of Sokrei Blue, but the damage has been done. His Wiki pages in French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and probably more have never corrected the misinformation. Wiki data still has Sokrei Blue stated as his former stage name. To this day, several K-pop profile sites have Sokrei Blue stated as his nickname, 2024. I feel awful that I did him so wrong, I could have done him the courtesy of picking a cooler name, but I went with Sokrei Blue, this is my dark past. >> Dude, that's hilarious. >> This is awesome. >> Wow. >> Wow. >> We have some photos here, it shows English Sokwan description, South Korean singer and actor, also known as Sokrei Blue. >> No. >> That's so good. Oh my God. >> Sokrei Blue. >> No, that's hilarious. >> Oh, man. Then we have a couple tweets, someone says, why does Kwan's Wiki say Joe Kwan commonly known as Sokrei Blue? Quotations. Joe Kwan formerly known as Sokrei Blue, I'm screaming his pre-debit name, why, I like bad spelling. Joe Kwan formerly known as Sokrei Blue, trained at JYP entertainment seven years after joining the company. Wow. Oh, that's brutal. >> And there's never been any direct interaction with his team or anybody. >> That's not. >> Yeah, I was going to say, it feels like a pretty simple thing to clear up of just asking the guy. >> Yeah. >> And to be like, no. >> Right. >> What's that interviewer who knows all the information about our music artists, the guy who's, where's the like, what, Nardwars, Nardwars talking to Jay Kwan, he's just like, hello, it's interesting to talk to Sokrei Blue, and he's just like, what? >> What did you say? >> He's just like, well, I have to know, you're Sokrei Blue. >> That is so awesome and funny how much traction it got. >> And it was just a 14-year-old guy, isn't it so scary? How much power people have from their computers now? >> Yes. >> Like, you just lie, and that's all it takes. >> And you know, Wikipedia, generally speaking, is really good about if something gets edited. It's immediately like fact-checked, reviewed, whatever, find the source. >> Yeah. >> That's so funny that that's one of the things that slips through the cracks though. >> Right. >> It's just such a funny, dumb little fact, yeah, and then everyone picking it up. >> Why was it believable? >> Hilarious. >> I think 14-year-olds should have their own internet. >> And I think just 14-year-olds, they, for one year, you go off and you have to have your own internet. >> Yeah. >> And it's just 14-year-old internet, and you have to be 14. >> My God. >> And if you're 14, you have to be there. Because 14-year-olds are too smart and too devious for the internet. >> That's a lot of people's personal hell, actually. >> Just like, go off, do your thing. You come back at 15, you're like, that was crazy. >> Yeah, yeah. We're really diabolical in there. - Accidentally being like 20 years old and put into 14-year-old internet? - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no (all laughing) - I don't believe that that's on the 14-year-old. I think the 14-year-old did nothing wrong. I think what they did is really funny. And I think that this is on all those news outlets that we're just using Wikipedia? - Exactly. - The hell? - Not far as everything sources. Your journalist, call the guy. Call his team. It's that easy to clear up and you didn't. - Yeah. - Unbelievable. - No, yeah, let's blame the media on this one. They're the asshole. - Yeah. - 14-year-old was funny. - Comments, I know you feel awful about it. So I'll start saying, I'm sorry, but this is the funniest shit ever. (all laughing) Someone said, this is hilarious. Did he ever address it? Someone said, I don't think it ever reached Korea, thankfully. My biggest fear would be someone asking him about it. Someone said, you can't be held responsible for other people's stupidity and lack of fact-checking. You are a dumb teen doing dumb teen stuff. The main lesson from all this is to not take Internet/Wiki/ChatGPT as the final and absolute truth. Bailey, you wrote in, when I was in sixth grade, I broke up with my middle school boyfriend and I logged into his Facebook account and made it a Justin Bieber fan age. (all laughing) - That's hilarious. - And speak on that. - That's hilarious. - Sixth grade Bailey is awesome. (all laughing) All right, our next story. This was posted in 2023. Am I the asshole for avoiding my parents? After discovering they were spreading super inappropriate lies about my husband and I. - Oh shit. - So their parents were spreading lies about them. - Super inappropriate ones. - Last year, my husband, H, and I met my parents, aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving. They had been vacationing together a few days prior. As we were leaving, my aunt, who was visibly upset, pulled me aside. "I need to talk to you. "Can you call me in a few days?" I asked if she was okay. She said, "Yes, I just need to ask you something, "but not now." When I called to ask what was going on, my aunt said, "I heard something "that seems very out of character for you "and I want to see if it's true." Evidently, a few days before Thanksgiving, my parents told her an untrue story about how my current husband and I met. To note, I was separated at the time from my now ex-husband when we met. She explained, "According to my parents, "I met H while online soliciting "for a proposed threesome with my ex-husband "as a last-ditch effort to salvage my then-failing marriage. "However, during this trist, "H and I supposedly realized we had a connection "which led us to be together "while choosing to dissolve my previous marriage. "My parents shared more gross details, "but I'll spare you. "I was shocked as none of this was true. "We met at work through mutual friends "and our romantic relationship "developed slowly over a period of time. "I had repeatedly told my parents how we met "and even introduced our mutual friends "to my parents at our wedding "as the ones who got us together. "So I facetime my parents and ask them "why they're lying about us behind our backs. "They look me dead in the eyes and say, "because that's what you told us. "Excuse me? "When I refuted this, my dad proceeded to get angry at me, "saying that I must have amnesia "as my mom stormed off refusing to discuss. the issue. The rest of the call is me sitting in silence while he attempts to gaslight me. I'm dumbfounded. A few days later, I got a call from my cousin. She explains that my dad had told her husband the same story almost eight years ago, which they had believed until now. My cousin apologized for not saying anything sooner, but the story made them so uncomfortable they didn't know what to do. H and I wrote my parents an email explaining what we had discovered and asked them some simple questions like, "Why did you make this up? Who else have you told?" etc. We've been emailing back and forth for almost a year and gotten nowhere. Their story keeps changing, the blame keeps shifting, and they have continuously tried to diminish the seriousness of this issue, even saying, "No one thinks any less of you because of it." What? It never happened. Period. The only apology we've gotten is we're sorry for upsetting you. You mean you're not sorry for lying about your daughter for ten years? Most recently, they have almost demanded that we forgive them and move on. Since we haven't forgiven them yet, we're responsible for my mother crying all the time and essentially breaking the family apart. So am I the asshole for wanting to continue to avoid my parents even though I'm tearing the family apart? Yes, you should have forgiven her parents. I'm sorry, can you go back for a second? Yeah, yeah. So how did they discover that what they were saying wasn't true? The aunt, their aunt, after a dinner, walks up to her and goes, "Can I call you in a few days?" No, no, sorry. How did the parents, like, and they still believe that that's true? They're saying that, well, it's, details are changing and stuff, but they're saying, no, that you told, they're saying you told us. And they're sticking to that. They're sticking to that. Source? I made it up. Source? Yeah, Dr. Manhattan. They're saying she told them 10 years ago or whatever, that that's what happened. And they're asking for forgiveness, but still sticking to the story? Yes, they've set up, sorry for upsetting you. That's, that's crazy. It's, there is so many, this is a lasagna of insanity. Right. Like, they had to have just this, like, they both had the same dream? Yeah, no, that's, I was literally just about to say, this feels like something that happens in a dream that you wake up and then, like, a couple days later, you're like, was that real? Like, did I just dream that? Was that real? Did they see it? Did they watch, like, a porn together? And they're like, wait, I'm sorry, I'm getting mixed up. I thought that was our daughter's story. No, that was a porn we watched. Right. They're watching the porn, and they're like, I'm thinking of my daughter. Oh, yeah. Yeah, like, what, how did this happen? Watching porn? No. Giving my daughter. What if the parents are like, oh, wait, no, that was us. Back in the 70s, that happened to us. It has to be an intricate lie. It has to be that they are, like, committed to following through with, I don't understand. But for why? Like, and like, and like, do they lie about a bunch? Like, are they pathological liars? Because it doesn't seem like that's tracking. I, I would say if, if for an explanation, yeah, maybe it is their story, and they're like, trying to keep the attention off them. So they're like, we're just going to like, but nobody knows. I'm just like, it's an adjusting case. I'm like, even if that is the story, like, on behalf of my children, I'm probably not. If they're asking that, I'm like, oh, like, it was like, what, like, you should ask them, like, if she told them that story, they shouldn't be telling other people that story. 100%. You know? Yeah. Also, not the focus, but who says we need to talk, call me in a few days. Yeah. No, my aunt said call me to talk in a few days, it'd be like, what? Yeah. Is something like, what? Like, tell me right now, you back. What is going on? Yeah. Not the asshole. The comments, not the asshole. I think they've earned a nice, long time out. 10 years seems about right, doesn't it? 12,000 up votes. Someone said, not the asshole. I literally laughed out loud at, no one thinks any less of you because of it. About something that is made up, LOL. It's so ridiculous that it's funny. Have they always been this way? I mean, making up stories for no reason, no accountability, O.P. response. Yes. But never towards me. My dad would always tell crazy stories. Most weren't bad or weird, but they were about people I didn't know. So there was no way to prove they did or didn't happen. Plus, he's my dad and I was a kid, you just believe. My mom can't be wrong ever about anything. Someone else asks, are they slash were? They on good terms with your ex. Is it possible he told them this story and they believed it? Oh, shit. That's huge. We forgot about the ex. Yeah. The ex always the ex. The ex? But the parents also sound awful. But the mom was never wrong. I just don't understand if you're the parents and you're like, that didn't happen. Holy shit. And like, immediately apologizing. Yeah. They've either doubling down it like, that pretty sure it happened. Right. You're like, so this person asks if the ex told them the story. O.P. says no, not at all. They hate him more than us. We were married young and mutually decided to end things. It wasn't overly dramatic. Divorce sucks, regardless. But generally speaking, it went smoothly, in my opinion. At the end of the day, he's happily remarried as am I. However, my dad still has a lot of issues with it. For example, I had to reprimand my dad last year because he kept bringing up my divorce and how bad it was, which it wasn't. Or my ex in general around my husband, age, and I. I told my dad to stop because it makes me into age uncomfortable. It's been 10 years. Let it go and move on. And then, whenever he caught himself bringing it up around us, he'd say, "Starkly comments like, oh yeah, I'm not supposed to talk about it." Uh, yeah. Why are you? Someone lastly, someone lastly commented, "What the. I want so badly to believe this is fake, but unfortunately, I do know people who would absolutely do this." Um, well, firstly, they made up the story and got themselves in this whack-ass dilemma, so the responsibility is on them for a start. And who, in their right mind, makes up stories about their kids soliciting three ways. Even a grown up kid. What does age think of all this? Is this on par with your parents' personalities? Can I ask what the hell again? The biggest mystery of all is how can you possibly be the asshole here? Not the asshole, OP. So if the parents, if it tracks, it sounds like the dad's a pathological liar. He did that kick out of telling wild lies. Yeah, and probably was still upset about not being able to discuss the previous divorce, so maybe in a weird, twisted way, it was like, "Well, then I'll make up a lie about you until the family." Yeah. I have to judge someone I don't know, but the dad just kind of sounds like an asshole. Just like, "Oh, I'm not allowed to talk about your divorce." Yeah, I'm just shitting. I don't know like the studies or anything behind it, but I have heard, and I might be doing the thing, but I think it's also very true anecdotally that if you tell a lie enough, you do start to believe it. I mean, our memories are fickle, right? And our memories change over time, so like, what we tell ourselves, you can make a memory. And so this dad, if he just spends 10 years convincing himself of this thing she told them. Yeah. And they're so entenial, so staunch in it. That's exhausting. I think clearly, like, she can't talk to her parents. Totally. Yeah. Because there are people like that that just like blatantly lie about things that can so easily be disproved. Yeah. And they'll do it like right in front of the person who like knows the truth, and they will still stick to it. Yeah. I had a friend one time that like came in like up to me and handed me a fully fake like save the date because she was lying that she got engaged. That's great. And I was like, and I held it and I was like, oh, incredible. Congratulations. And I swear the whole time I thought she was actually engaged and gonna get married. And it turned out to be this whole bit and prank. And it was like the craziest thing ever. And it literally made me feel like shit. What a disgust. Seriously, she sounds hot. Despicable. All right. Our last story. Fuck. Buckling up. Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. There's only one. You're not moving around that much if you clicked in that much. Yeah. Our last story comes from off my chest and best of redditor updates. Holy shit. So, she know this is gonna be good. My wife is addicted to making up reddit stories for TikTok and it's ruining this marriage. This is matter. Yes. So the OG post and account have since been deleted. But the original title was I caught my husband with my daughter. So this is a comment on a fake reddit post that the wife had made titled I caught my husband with my daughter. Rose. Liz, what the actual fuck is this story? You showed me that you were posting this right before you went to bed. I hope you wake up and see this. This is not healthy and I've been telling you not to post stories on reddit anymore. It's a new throwaway, a new fucked up nightmare scenario that you keep creating so you can get some chuckle fuck on TikTok to make a video about it while I'm playing Minecraft park war. I'm taking your ass to therapy and if you refuse, it's over. I'm tired of it. I cannot reach you like I have been as you shut down any attempt to talk about this issue so everyone here deserves to know the truth. This is a 100% completely fabricated story. Another comment down the thread. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I see your phone light on from the guest bedroom since you chose to sleep in there tonight. An additional comment down the thread. Yeah. Now you go to sleep after I catch you. Just know if you get fired from your job for this and you still can't quit, it's over for us. I hate to shame you publicly like this, but you won't listen to me or anyone else. Whew. I'm scared. Damn the reddit divorce. (laughing) - The live update Reddit divorce trend. - I see sleeping over there. - Um, believing? (laughing) - Oh my gosh. - That's a really good update. Husband then posted a day later in off my chest. Hello Reddit. Longer term lurker and first-time poster here needs some advice. My wife of three years, age 25, has been constantly on Reddit and TikTok for the past eight months to the point where both take up anywhere from nine to 13 hours of her battery usage. She got into them heavily after I sent her one and it just spiraled to the point where she is writing her own for cloud, I guess. Two of them that I know she wrote herself were about a man whose dad thought he was cheating on his boyfriend and cut him off for a year, then coming back begging to reconcile. One that she showed me she wrote earlier tonight before bed was where a 43-year-old woman found her husband cheating with their 20-year-old stepdaughter, what the actual fuck by the way. That one she posted and it's already gained so much traction that it'll probably be on TikTok by morning. We work at the same company and she has gotten written up for being on her phone multiple times to the point where she might get fired. I've tried to get her to go to therapy because a lot of these are disturbing scenarios she's writing about, but she says it's just a creative outlet. I'm worried for her and honestly if she doesn't quit, I'm most likely gonna separate from her as she's shown me such a dark and twisted side of her mind through these. From the twisted mind. - Yeah. - Wow, I've always wondered when there's so many fake stories on Reddit. I'm like, who's writing these? - Her. - And it's all her. - Oh, yeah. - Turns out it's her. - I mean, I wonder what the gratification is. - I think there's probably similar to like, there's probably something similar to like the lying. It's like an attention. You make up a big fabrication. You get all this attention. Like that's a very-- - All these people like angry for you or like advocating for you. - And there's something very, it's deep within like the id of human behavior of like, we do anything and you get a big positive or a big reaction. Our brain is like, oh, like, I'll do that again. Like I think there, and you don't want to get caught in that loop with something bad. - It is, and I mean, when she says like, it's a creative outlet, like, yes, it is a creative outlet. One that you're using in a very toxic way. Like, right, like, creative stories. You creative writing, like things that aren't weirdly harming or making people uncomfortable or just straight up lies that you're posing as truth. - Right, she's already creating fiction. Just make them other characters and direct a short. - Literally hop onto, just hop over to a different subreddit. - Yeah. - There is a subreddit for everything. Go there and get that affirmation of people know that you're making it up, but they're appreciating what you're making. - Yes, I love that idea. - Look, and what she's writing is a little pretty far, but I think posting these on places where it's like, oh, this is real. Like, that's so dangerous. - Totally. - Because people are reading these as real. And I think having done this show for so long, I take everything with the caveat of like, it's a hypothetical. - Totally. - Anonymous story, I don't know. - Yeah. - Could they be really yes? Every type of scenario happens in the real world. So I kind of take it from that angle, but I still get really frustrated when I'm like, hey man, like. - Yes. - Like, this is an outlet for people to try to really get a genuine response when you make stuff up. - Yes. - Especially, I mean, I don't hate it as much as the people who run things for chat GPT. I'm like, come on. Like, at least, at least make it up yourself. Like, good God. - Yeah. - No, but you're so right. There's been a handful of times where like certain stories actually stick with me. I take them home with me. And I'm like, I heard this crazy story and this happened. And like, gosh, I really feel for this person. And it's like, you're actually doing with people's feelings. And what you're writing is just gibberish that you made up. - And it sounds like this is really dysfunctional to their personal life and their relationship and her job. So there's problems on several layers. And I think he is right to look at these stories and go, hey, the content of these is disturbing. - Yeah. - Where is this coming from? You're doing this for fun? - Yeah. - We have some comments here. I never thought I would have read about a relationship between two grown adults ruined by Reddit. My God, we've come a long way. Oh, he responded, it's actually fucking appalling. I only ever use Reddit for news or stocks and junk. Meanwhile, she's actually seriously addicted. Some responded that saying, if she's that addicted, she's going to find this if it gains traction. How do you feel about that? Opie says, I hope she does. I hope it's a wake up call. She brushes it off whenever I try to make conversation about it. One of those stories I mentioned is already locked and deleted so it's a start. Someone said, or is this the wife and a new wave of stories? - Oh my God. - The plot thickens. So Liz, the wife, found this post and commented, but it's been deleted. Opie responded to it, though, saying, go to bed. - He is my hero. - Go to bed. - Update. - Oi. - Hi guys, long story short, we're getting marriage counseling and therapy. As far as I know, she hasn't made any new accounts and hasn't posted any other stories on here other than her last one. Her boss came to me and commented after her third day post Reddit fight and commented on her work ethic, stating that she has improved, not remarkably improved, but it's a good start. I did get Liz's permission to make this update as I want to be as fair as possible, but just know that she said herself that every one of your comments gave her a brutally fair reality check. I tried telling her what some of y'all told me in that if she wants to write horror, go do it in one of the horror stories subreddits, but that the R off my chest one wasn't a good spot for that. Anyways, we're slowly getting better and I'm spending more time with her. I've also come to realize that I haven't been a perfect partner to her and I've started packing her lunch as well as buying her flowers every day after work. I've realized how much I truly love this woman and I do not ever want to push her away or lose her. So yeah, thanks to everyone for their support. Also, making an edit here, please do not harass anyone posting any stories on the pretense or feeling that they might be Liz. She has given me zero reasons to not trust her as she's had less phone usage time, both at work and at home. And it's also discrediting other people who are experiencing in real life events and venting to Reddit about them. I know I am to blame for part of that and I deeply apologize to anyone who has been falsely labeled as Liz. My coworker just showed me that the post I made did in fact get made into a few TikToks. Oh, the irony. (laughs) Oh. - Well, that seems like a happy ending. - Yeah, I mean, hey, I'm glad I hope it's a wake up call for her. But you know what makes me think of is like, how many people like this there are on the internet? Accountless amount. And what's crazy is like there's, for most people, we have two selves. Ourself and our internet self, right? And it's just like, isn't it scary to be like, I don't know what people are doing on the internet. They can be making a fake account. - Yeah. - 'Cause there was another story and I can't remember if we read it on an episode or not, where a woman found out that her husband, who was a sweet, loving, great guy, she found out that he was a horrible, horrible internet troll. Like going on subrits where women were posting and just talking horribly about them. Like, any photo of a woman he would go on and just discredit her looks and just rag on it. And she was like, she found this out, like, oh, this is what you're doing anonymously on the internet. - Oh man. - And it's just like, it's kind of the same with this, where it's scary, where it's like, hey, just because you're making a throwaway account, doesn't mean that's not you anymore, it is who you are. - Totally. But you know what, I want to give him a lot of credit for the empathy that he's showing though, because it's such a real thing. Like you're talking about with these two selves that internet self, it sounds like, it sounds like she just got lost in that, you know? And nine to 13 hours is a lot. It is a significant amount. And I'm sure if you are constantly just like scrolling and reading and writing and just like, really, really getting immersed in that. Like, I just feel like, again, it's not an excuse, but it's just an explanation that it sounds like she really did become addicted and found herself maybe making choices that she wouldn't otherwise make, especially now through therapy and counseling, it seems like she actually is reeling back. She's taking the opportunity to write her wrong. And that progress, I feel like, should not be going under the radar. - I do agree. Her behavior was so interesting, so extreme, that I really hope a therapist can like, dig into it and get to the bottom of it, 'cause it might be symbolic of something going on deep down. - Yes. - Scary, 'cause obviously, very grateful that she had a husband who was wanting to hold her account before she could be good. It scares me the amount of people that could be like that that are just alone and doing these things that don't have anyone to hold them accountable. - Right. - Hope for them to be a better person. - Yeah. - Which is unfortunately, I think the reason there are so many awful people on the internet, 'cause they don't have people to hold them accountable. - Right. - But I think this is even just a testament to relationships, right? Of like, nobody's gonna show up perfect, but if you're willing to grow with people and see their flaws and be able to be like, "Hey, we're gonna work on things together," instead of just expecting them to be this flawless human being, I feel like that really does show how much he actually cares about her. - Yeah. He's able to sort of put that to the side and be like, let's work on it, let's make sure that we get you to be the best version of yourself. - Yeah, absolutely. - Really honorable. - What a ride. - Wow. - Well, I had such a great time reading these stories with you guys. - Why are you all right? - Hey guys, all of these stories were fake. - Oh. - I wrote all of these stories. - Every single one is false, not true. - Lies. Thank you both for being here. - You're welcome. - And thank you for listening and watching this. Let us know whether the themes and subrits you'd like to see on this show. We'll see you next Saturday. And that's the truth. - Bye. - Bye. - Bye. - Or not, we're sticking around for my story. - I know that. - Or not, can you imagine? - Lies. - Lies.