This F1 fan made it very clear she didn’t want merch—and especially not from a team she despises. But her well-meaning sister-in-law didn’t get the memo (or ignored it entirely).

When the gift quietly disappeared into the closet, drama showed up in its place.

Read on for the story.

AITA for putting a gift in the back of my closet?

Hi everyone, I (f22) got scolded (yup) for putting a gift from my sil (f26) in the back of my closet and I genuinely do not know if I deserved to get told off or not.

I’m a huge Formula 1 fan, but I haven’t invested in merch because I can’t justify paying for something I probably won’t actually wear.

My brother (32) got married last year and my sil is the sweetest person ever who loves gift giving, but she is a bit stubborn.

I.e. Last year she bought me an F1 sweatshirt that was way too big for me (I wear small and she bought a men’s large) because “girls love oversized stuff” (my brother had warned her that it would be too big and that I don’t wear baggy clothes).

That wasn’t the only bad gift.

It’s a white sweatshirt and I don’t want to get it dirty, so I have it hung in the front of my closet as something pretty to look at and appreciate. I didn’t say anything about the sizing to her, I let it be.

This time, she bought me a hat of the team that is the rival of my favourite team.

I know it’s just a sport but I despise this team and make it known. Again, I didn’t say anything and I even sat it on my desk for a few days until I needed the space and put it in the back of my closet with the rest of my hats.

Apparently she overheard me offering it to one of my friend’s who actually likes that team and she cried to my brother and mom about it.

I wasn’t actively trying to pawn it off, I just mentioned that I now possessed one and that if they truly, they could have it.

Is it the thought that counts?

My parents and brother all gave me a lecture about how I should have appreciated the gift, but what about her acting on a whim (I know this sounds immature)?

My brother told me that he was with her and they weren’t fully sure, so she just picked up what she thought was prettiest (it’s an orange hat?).

He told her to wait to be sure, but she insisted that it was probably this team because the drivers are both young and popular, so I’d probably like it anyway.

Even my dad initially told my brother that they couldn’t have picked a worse piece of merch to give me.

All her SIL had to do was listen.

I feel like this was all avoidable if she had listened to my brother or even me when I said that I do not want F1 merch (she has seen me look at merch and put it away).

Again, I genuinely wasn’t mad about the merch, but I’m really annoyed about getting told off now.

Am I a jerk?

Was she supposed to fake excitement for a team she can’t stand, or was the real offense not gushing over a gift she never asked for?

Let’s see what Reddit has to say.

This person thinks the truth has to come out somehow (though, NTA).

This person also votes NTA, and says you can do whatever you want with something that is gifted to you.

And this person says SIL is probably going through stuff…but it’s not OP’s job to care.

When the gift quietly disappeared into the closet, drama showed up in its place…

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.