Inviting people to a family barbecue should mean offering them food and conversation, not surprising them with a list of dirty outdoor chores.

Suppose you arrived dressed for a relaxing afternoon and were told to clean up dog mess and clear space for a greenhouse – would you ruin your clothes to keep the peace, or leave when refusing meant you were no longer welcome?

Faced with exactly that situation in this story, one man takes his girlfriend and heads for a country pub instead, only to discover that the family drama follows him online.

Check out the full story:

AITA for leaving a “family” BBQ when asked to help in the garden?

On Thursday, I was invited to a family BBQ at my ex-wife’s stepfather’s house scheduled for today.

I brought BBQ sausages and prepared a homemade pasta salad and potato salad.

As it was a good weather, I dressed in summery clothes and shoes, as did my GF who was also invited.

This man was told to help clean the area first.

When we got there, we were told that we each had to help first.

Like clear the patio of dog mess (my dogs were at home) and clear a space in the garden, so that my ex-wife’s stepfather could put a greenhouse there next week.

He declined.

I told them I wasn’t dressed for yard work and that I had just been expecting conversation and drinks/food on the patio.

So I declined to help.

Instantly, everyone made it clear to me that I wasn’t wanted if I wasn’t going to help.

Now, everyone in the social gathering was calling him names.

So, my GF and I left and found a nice country pub for dinner instead.

I’ve got back home now and kids of the adults who were there are now calling me names on social media.

They are stating that I’m scared of hard work.

He’s wondering if he should have just stuck up with them.

Did I do the right thing after being lured there under false pretenses?

Or should I have stayed and potentially ruined a good set of clothes just to appease them?

AITA?

He thought he was a guest at a party not free help.

Let’s check out what others have to say about this on Reddit.

This person shares a similar story.

This person makes a valid point.

That’s rude and entitled behavior, says this person.

This user thinks they did the right thing.

And finally, here’s an honest opinion.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a teenager who wants to work, but his mom thinks working past 8pm is too late for high school.

At the end of the day, inviting someone to a family barbecue and then expecting free labor is a pretty reliable way to ruin the afternoon.

A simple request made in advance might have gone over much better, but ordering a guest to handle unpleasant chores after they arrived was never likely to end well.

Chances are the family still thinks he overreacted, although their decision to continue the argument online does not exactly strengthen their case.

In that position, I would have enjoyed the meal and considered leaving the barbecue the best decision I made all day.