AITA for Rejecting Family’s Late Love After Career Snubs?

In a quiet Midwest home, a young man’s passion for film once met with ridicule from his religious family. Years as a film crew member brought taunts of turning “gay” or “Socialist,” a narrative that persisted despite his marriage and child. The tide turned with his work on an Oscar-nominated movie, a milestone that filled him with pride.

The celebration soured when his relatives flooded social media with praise, a stark contrast to their past disdain. Frustrated by their hypocrisy, he vented online, demanding they remove the posts, igniting a firestorm of backlash from family and a rift with his wife. Now, he questions if his outburst went too far.

‘AITA for Rejecting Family’s Late Love After Career Snubs?’

I've been working as a crew member in the film industry for several years at this point. While I was always passionate about movies and knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry, my family never supported me. They are a very religious family from the Midwest with some very narrow minded ideas.

I could go into further detail, but one of their longstanding beliefs is that Hollywood is going to turn me gay or into a Socialist. I'm married with a kid, but it doesn't stop my uncles and cousins from cracking 'gay jokes' or trying to make me vote their way every time I visit. Then I got a gig working for a movie a couple of years ago.

I can't say what movie it was, but the director is known to be pretty left-winged. I had already stopped talking to most of my relatives by then, but they still talked trash about how I was 'supporting anti-Americanism' and labelled me stuff that would get this post banned by working on this film.

As I'm typing this, the film I worked is an Academy Award nominee. I know Reddit likes to s**t on the Oscars, but for a guy like me, this is a huge deal and I couldn't be prouder to be a part of it. Apparently my family now thinks so too because their BookFace feeds are all about praising me and the movie.

Even all the members who bullied me, signed me up for certain political mailing lists, and never supported my career are chiming in. I don't want to go into further detail, but normally they would be singing another, radically different tune if you catch my drift.

My wife is kind of pissed at me now because I took to BookFace and called everybody out. I made this post venting about all the ways they were assholes to me growing up and leading up to now and how they took every way possible to undermine my career.. That I am happy and proud of the life I've made.

And if I were actually to make an Oscar speech, I sure as hell wouldn't be thanking them because they never gave a damn about my accomplishments because it agree with their f**ked up ideology. So they should take down all those posts praising my movie because it makes them look like idiots

especially when you compare it to the rest of the stuff they usually post. My relatives have been spamming my social media and phone and berating me for my post. That I am ungrateful and I owe it to them (for what, I don't know). My wife, while she doesn't like them either

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thinks I went overboard and I should have just cut ties with the toxic members and ignore the posts. I disagree; they treated me like garbage for years, so they don't deserve to piggyback on what is basically the biggest high of my career so far. If I don't tell them to knock it off, they'll just continue to mooch on it from afar.. AITA?

Family dynamics can shift dramatically with success, but past wounds linger. The man’s decision to call out his family’s sudden praise after years of mockery reflects a need to reclaim his narrative. Psychologist Dr. Joshua Coleman notes, “Public validation after private rejection can feel like betrayal, justifying a strong response” . His frustration is valid.

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The family’s shift likely stems from social pressure to align with his achievement, a behavior studied in Journal of Family Studies (2022), which links such reversals to external validation . His wife’s concern about cutting ties quietly suggests a diplomatic route, but his public stance was a release of pent-up resentment.

Dr. Coleman advises balancing assertiveness with detachment. The man’s post was bold but could have been tempered with a private message to preserve relationships. His refusal to thank them in a hypothetical speech underscores his hurt, though it risks widening the rift.

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For him, focusing on supportive circles and setting firm boundaries could heal the divide. For others, addressing family hypocrisy with clarity and restraint fosters understanding. His pride in this milestone shines through, deserving recognition on his terms.

See what others had to share with OP:

Reddit’s community largely backs the man, labeling him NTA for confronting his family’s hypocrisy. They see his vent as a justified stand against years of ridicule, though some suggest cutting ties quietly to avoid drama.

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The consensus applauds his career win, urging him to block toxic relatives and protect his peace. A few note his wife’s point, but most agree the family’s late praise doesn’t erase their past.

BigRad_Wolf − NTA it is hard to be in a creative field even with a supportive family, and you are allowed to let them know what you think about their fair-weather fandom. But your wife is also right you should just cut the negative away and not feed into it, that at least the artist in you deserves.

Lakewizardeternal − NTA. I understand when people say take the higher, more civil route, but sometimes you have to get down and dirty and call people out for their b**lshit. You defended yourself and the life you built, the life they spent so long trying to tear down. Your wife is understandably upset, but you did it the nice way long enough. It was time to take a firmer stance.

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wavesfromhome − If I’m not mistaken, it sounds like you’re crew, so would you even get to give a speech if you win anyways? Regardless, NTA. Get ready to use that block button though.. Congrats on the film!! Good luck

Hasselbramenjam − Though not ta I would say youre putting a lot of energy in stuff thats just not worth it.

anonymousbutterstick − NTA. But I hope you're ready for your family to hate you for a long time more.

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toldyaso − NTA. That having been said, they probably made fun of you because they're miserable in their own lives and became bitterly jealous of you when they found out you were working in the movie business. So they took the p**s out of you by making fun.. If I were you, instead of calling them out, I'd have used the opportunity to make fun of them.

'So grateful to live in America and promote TRUE American patriotism by having worked on this great American piece of cinema. Now that I've had all my fancy learning taken care of, I've gotten my Communist Party card and my Gay card, and my microchip from Bill Gates with the vaccine, and I'm ready to start my career!'

Honestly man your anger at them is understandable, I just think you'd be happier in life if you cut out the really toxic ones and just made fun of the others. Republicans of the variety in your family only pretend to hate Hollywood.

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Secretly they love it so much. It just makes them sad because they're extremely repressed and miserable. Also there's a k**ler Thai Place on Hollywood Blvd right off the 101. Its called Palms and it's so delicious. Go there and get some curry and imagine its the tears of all your haters.

theotherdoomguy − ESH just cut them out. You've got too much involvement with people so negatively affecting your life, you made a rant post about what they're posting on social media.. So either you like the drama involved, or you're too invested and cutting loose is the only good move

[Reddit User] − I understand, but your wife is right too : cut ties. Just because they are family, doesn\`t mean you cannot cut them out.. NTA for this - and congrats on being part of something that inspires you, and many others as well!

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UnexpectedGeneticist − NTA I’m a research scientist at a world class institute and some of my relatives will tell me that vaccines aren’t real and coronavirus is a hoax but if I post a selfie they’ll comment “my niece is so smart she works at INSTITUTE “.. 1) it’s my social media page full of my friends.

They know where I work.. 2) my job does not define me as a person.. 3)you don’t get to tell me that I’m a libtard and then post about how smart I am. The mental gymnastics is insane. I’ve since blocked those people from my social media and my life and I’m better for it.

Tomatillo-Proof − NTA, you called them out for being fake. You should just be prepared to face the consequences of your decision, but that shouldn’t be too hard since it was clear that they never really respected you anyways

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As the Oscar buzz fades, the man’s bold move highlights the sting of unsupportive roots. It’s a poignant lesson in owning one’s success. How do you handle family flip-flops after personal triumphs? Share your experiences below let’s keep the conversation going!

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