Potlucks are supposed to bring people together with shared food and shared company.

But when one guest pressed for time takes “just bring yourself” at face value, the hostess serves the meal with a side of passive aggression.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

AITA for not bringing anything to my friend’s potluck after she told me not to?

One of my close friends hosted a dinner at her place last weekend.

She called it a “potluck” and sent a group text saying we should each bring a little something—drinks, snacks, whatever.

It wasn’t anything fancy, just casual.

She found herself pressed for time, so she tried to get clarification from the host.

I asked her what I should bring and mentioned I’d be coming straight from work and might be a little rushed.

She replied that I didn’t need to worry about it, she had plenty of food and just wanted me to come.

Taking that as permission, she decided to just bring herself.

So I didn’t bring anything. I showed up, said hi to everyone, and honestly, the night was going fine.

People brought stuff — a salad, some cupcakes, a couple bottles of wine.

I was planning to just help clean up or do dishes since I didn’t bring anything, and I figured she meant what she said.

But she was caught off-guard when the host seemingly made a dig at her.

But later on, while people were complimenting the food, she made this offhand comment like, “Well, not everyone contributed… but we’re still glad she showed up.”

Everyone laughed, and it didn’t seem super serious, but I felt my face get hot.

I didn’t know how to respond.

This really didn’t sit right with her.

I stayed polite and tried not to act weird about it, but I felt uncomfortable the rest of the night.

On the way home, I kept thinking about it.

I get that maybe she was a little annoyed, but she literally told me not to bring anything.

And now I feel like she put me on blast in front of people for something I didn’t even do wrong.

She’s not sure how to move forward.

I haven’t said anything to her yet because it feels small and I don’t want to be dramatic, but I also can’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t fair.

AITA?

When it comes to social graces, unwritten rules can be difficult to grasp.

Redditors take to the comment section.

It’s possible there was just a simple misunderstanding between the friends.

Maybe she should have just brought something to the party, even if it meant being late.

Her friend may have gone about it the wrong way, but there’s still an important lesson to be learned here.

There’s more than enough blame to go around here.

The host may have unfairly called her out, but she probably could have tried a little harder to adequately contribute.

Ultimately, both parties need a little refresher on party etiquette.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.