If something is bad enough to call someone sobbing and describe as “Dateline level,” it should be bad enough to actually say out loud.

You don’t call someone in hysterics, tell them something horrific happened, refuse to explain, and then get offended when they can’t guarantee they’ll be available for a callback two hours later.

One man is trying to figure out if he’s in the wrong after his friend called him crying, then flipped a switch the second he said he might miss a call because he was out bar hopping with friends.

He still doesn’t know what happened, and at this point he’s not sure if it was a genuine crisis or just a test of his loyalty.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITAH for not taking my friends “dateline level” situation serious

I’m 30M and have a friend who is 30F. We’ve known each other since high school and she moved out of state.

We hang out fairly infrequently and hook up some.

Lately the two have grown apart, which made the following story even more puzzling.

We have been in a weird spot where we don’t talk much lately.

The one night I go out with a group of friends she calls me and leaves a voice message crying and freaking out.

So he calls her back and his friend is really upset.

I call her back and she says something horrible has happened. She’s said it’s a “Dateline level” situation and she can’t tell me because it’s “so bad.”

She knows I’ve been front and center for a lot of traumatic things. Yet she framed her situation this way.

But she wasn’t forthcoming at all about the actual details.

And she would NOT tell me what was happening.

I asked if anyone was dead and she said no. And then she just kept saying she couldn’t tell me while crying.

So it was honestly frustrating and annoying.

She continues to needlessly drag the whole thing out.

And at the end of the call she said, “I’ll call you back in a while and tell you, can you answer?”

I said I’m out with a big group and we are bar hopping, there is a chance I miss a phone call but text me.

So when he hears from her again, her demeanor changed dramatically.

She goes from sobbing to very distinctly saying, “Okay never mind then.”

Basically am I the AH for not taking this seriously??

I have texted her multiple times today and still have no idea what the actual situation was.

Sounds like this friend really just wanted some attention.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a middle schooler who was totally frazzled after being left to babysit alone for 3-plus hours, and swears she’s never doing it again.

What did Reddit have to say?

This redditor would have told it exactly like it was.

Surely this friend knows better than to behave this way.

Maybe this friend found someone else to feed her dramatic story to.

It’s likely she’s just upset he didn’t give her the reaction she was hoping for.

Telling someone who’s witnessed real-life tragedies that your situation is “Dateline level” and then refusing to share a single detail puts the other person in an impossible position.

He can’t help if he doesn’t know what’s wrong. He can’t calibrate his response if the only information he has is “something bad” wrapped in tears.

He did everything a reasonable person could do with what he was given: he called back, he listened, he asked direct questions, and he offered to stay reachable.

The fact that she went from hysterical to dismissive the moment he couldn’t promise perfect availability suggests the call was less about the crisis and more about just needing attention.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man whose friends say he’s privileged for wanting to eat at nicer restaurants.