Pexels/Reddit

Support that only materializes once there’s a reward on the line isn’t really support at all, but in this story, one woman’s questionable friend group seemed determined to argue otherwise.

For two months, she attended a weekly trivia competition by herself, paying the entry fee out of pocket each time, while her friends repeatedly declined to join and called the activity boring whenever she brought it up.

That changed instantly once she won a $400 gift basket, with the same friends jokingly claiming a share was owed to them for having listened to her vent about previous losses.

She turned them down, pointing out that their sudden interest only appeared once there was something valuable at stake, and now she’s being accused of taking a joke too far and labeled greedy for keeping a prize she earned all by herself.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for not splitting the prize after everyone suddenly wanted in?

I entered a local trivia competition at a café every Wednesday for about two months. It costs just a small entry fee each week, and most of my friends always said it sounded so so boring whenever I invited them.

But when her trivia hobby earned her a sizable prize, suddenly all her friends changed their tune.

Last week I ended up winning a gift basket worth around $400. As soon as I posted a picture of it, a few of those same friends started joking that we should all split it because they had “supported me the whole time” by listening to me complain whenever I lost.

She thought it was a joke, but her friends wouldn’t stop talking about it.

I laughed it off at first, but when they kept bringing it up I told them no, because none of them had actually wanted to participate until there was something to gain.

They were then quick to gaslighting her into thinking she was just overreacting.

Now they’re saying I’m taking a joke too seriously and that it would’ve been a nice gesture to share at least some of the items since I couldn’t use everything anyway. One friend pointed out that I was always asking them to come with me, so if I wanted them involved I had the chance before.

This sowed some serious discontent in the group.

Another friend agrees with me and thinks they’re only asking because they know I won something valuable. They’re still teasing me about being “the greediest winner ever,” and now I’m wondering if I should’ve just divided it up to keep the peace.

AITA?

“Friends” definitely deserves to be in quotation marks here.

What did Reddit think?

This story is so audacious this commenter questions whether it’s even real.

These “friends” really need a reality check.

Some requests are better left ignored.

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If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a grandson who is tired of driving 5 hours one way to work on his grandparent’s investment property for free.

This user recommends telling it exactly like it is.

Nobody gets to opt out of something for two straight months and then claim a stake in it the moment it pays off.

It would seem these friends conveniently forget that actual support usually involves, at minimum, showing up at LEAST once.

Prizes are given for genuine effort, not nonexistent participation.

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Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.