Teen calls out 'brat' stepsister for temper tantrum at Applebee's, 'the poor waitress was standing there.' AITA?
"AITA for calling out my stepsister for acting like a brat in public?"
Here's some backstory: My dad (52M) met my now stepmom, Janet (47F) when I (17F) was 10. She also brought in my two younger stepsiblings, Mike (13M), and Lindsey (17F). If I'm being honest, I actually really like Janet and Mike.
The only person who I never took a liking to was Lindsey, mainly because she's a brat and it's gotten to the point where I don't like being seen with her at all, especially in public. She will start throwing actual childlike tantrums and will start pouting and being extremely rude to my parents if:
We don't go to a restaurant she wants to go to when the rest of us agree on another place. We want to see a movie that she apparently hates, even if it literally JUST came out. We use the bathroom (there's two, she just prefers the SLIGHTLY bigger one) when she needs it, even though we ask her if she needs to go beforehand.
My parents say to just let her ride it out and ignore it, but it's so EMBARRASSING to be seen with this 17-year-old girl who is crying and yelling just because we can't afford to go to Starbucks, or whatever it is she wants in that current moment.
The situation: We went to Applebee's the other day because my parents took us to a local fair and they didn't want to spend a bunch of money on fair food (and anyone who has ever been to a fair knows how ridiculously expensive it is).
We were already teetering on the edge to a meltdown with her, because of course she didn't want to go to Applebee's, but Janet calmed her down and told her she could get whatever she wanted, within reason.
So, we sit down, everything is going well and then the waitress comes over and obviously, asks what we wanted. I asked for a cheeseburger with fries, because it was on the cheaper side, but Lindsey wanted this BIG steak and a bunch of sides. Janet tells her to get one side and a smaller steak, and I guess that sent her over the edge.
She started being so incredibly rude to Janet, saying how her dad would let her have it, that she was told she could have whatever she wanted by Janet, even though Janet said to keep it cheaper. Lindsey just kept talking about how she WANTS a bigger steak, she WANTS more sides, all the while this poor waitress is standing there looking nervous.
So, I cut her off and said, "You're lucky you're getting anything at this point, because you're acting like a giant ungrateful brat and it's so embarrassing." She just stopped and went quiet, and the first five minutes after were a little awkward, but the rest of the dinner was fine.
When we got home, Lindsey just went straight to her room and slammed the door (as usual when she doesn't get her way), but my dad stopped me before I went to my room and told me that while he sees where I was coming from, it was a bit of an ahole move to embarrass her like that in front of the other customers and the waitress. So, was I really the shole?
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
Square-Minimum-6042 said:
NTA. She already put on a show for the waitress and other customers, I bet that waitress told her friends in the kitchen how you put the brat in her place. Doesn't it embarrass your father when she acts that way? Does he not think they should be addressing her tantrums?
peebaby1 said:
NTA. I think she honestly needs to be embarrassed more, or else she’s just gonna keep doing this and causing issues. Do your parents usually say no to her or do they just give in? That could also be causing your stepsisters behavior to not get better.
Distinct-Brilliant73 said:
NTA. You didn’t embarrass her in front of everyone, she had that covered allll on her own.
bookishmama_76 said:
Uh how about the fact that SHE was embarrassing your entire family? It’s unfair that you guys have to put up with her embarrassing behavior. Could you possibly skip out on things like this when there is a possibility she’ll throw a temper tantrum? You said you like Mike so he’s obviously turned out ok. I wonder what went wrong with her. NTA.
Unlikely_Context5048 said:
NTA. I think you’re kind of awesome, TBH. I also think your dad agrees but can’t say so.
StellarPhenom420 said:
NTA. If your parents don't parent this child and get her the medical support she clearly needs, what you said to her will be the nicest that happens once she's out in the world on her own.