'AITA for putting my hand over my SIL's camera at my own birthday dinner?'
"AITA for putting my hand over my SIL’s camera at my own birthday dinner after I told her no filming?"
ClassicEarth7924 writes:
I (29F) had a small birthday dinner last weekend with my husband (31M), SIL “Lina” (27F), MIL, and two friends at a normal but nice place. Lina is an "influencer." She films literally everything: plates, forks, even people breathing.
Three days before, I wrote in the family chat: please don’t film me. Food and the room are fine, just not my face. She said, “got u.” We sit down and within ten minutes her phone is up. I quietly say, “please don’t point it at me.” She goes, “you look great, it’s just vibes.” My husband backs me up and says, “she said no.” Lina rolls her eyes and lowers it… for maybe two minutes.
Then the cake comes out (little sparkler, staff singing). Lina stands up and points the camera right in my face saying, “birthday girl reveal!” I put my hand over the lens and said, “stop.” I didn’t grab the phone or touch her, I just covered the camera for a second. She snaps that I “ruined her shot” and says this is her job. MIL tells me to “let it go for one night.” I said, “it’s my night, actually.”
It got awkward fast. The server was right there, and I felt embarrassed. My husband tried to change the subject, but Lina kept muttering about how she had to scrap “everything.” I even paid for my own dessert (long story), and we left pretty quickly.
The next morning Lina texted that I “humiliated” her and made her look unprofessional in front of everyone. MIL said I should have moved seats if I didn’t want to be in frame. My husband says my boundary is fair but that maybe I “made a scene” by doing it during the song when all eyes were already on me.
She has posted me before without asking and co-workers mentioned it. I’ve asked her to blur or remove posts and it turns into drama, which is why I set the boundary in writing before dinner.
Why I might be the AH: it was a public place, I did physically block her shot, and yes, it was during the song. I could have stood up and turned away or something. But also, I don’t want to be online against my will, especially on my own birthday. I don’t know. AITA?
Here are comments from the post.
kalequinoa says:
No, SHE made herself look unprofessional in front of everyone by behaving unprofessionally in front of everyone. Honestly, I would not invite her to things you host going forward until she can respect the most simple of requests: “don’t film me." NTA.
CherryStatic says:
Already sounds f^#%ing insufferable. NTA. She should have respected your boundaries.
Disastrous-Assist-90 says:
Lina and her mother no longer get invites. If she truly is making money off of this, then she should be paying you for helping her make content, but I suspect she really isn’t. NTA.
ImaginationRound184 says:
These people are the most ignorant, rude and disrespectful cretins to grace our current era. I am so over seeing wannabe influencers blocking up tourists spots for everyone else. Turning restaurants into their own mini reality sets. You name it, they are there ruining the "vibes" for everyone else. Your SIL is delusional and needs to get a real job.