AITA for getting someone fired because they pretended to know the language?
Picture walking into your dream job interview, your native Russian flowing like a river, only to be met with an interviewer whose “Russian” sounds like a Google Translate trainwreck. For 27-year-old Katya, this wasn’t just a bad interview—it was a betrayal of fairness. Fluent in Russian, she aced every mangled question, yet was rejected for “poor” language skills by an interviewer barely able to form a sentence.
Stunned by the injustice, Katya posted a truthful review on a job site, detailing the interviewer’s incompetence. The post went viral, prompting a company investigation and the interviewer’s firing. Now, Katya’s inbox is flooded with angry messages from the woman’s friends, blaming her for ruining a livelihood. Was Katya’s review a stand for justice, or did it cross a line? This Reddit tale unpacks the fallout of workplace lies and the courage to call them out.
‘AITA for getting someone fired because they pretended to know the language?’
A job rejection stings, but one based on a lie cuts deeper. Katya’s review exposed an interviewer who faked Russian fluency, costing her a dream opportunity. HR expert Liz Ryan warns, “Deception in hiring undermines talent and trust, harming businesses and candidates alike” (Human Workplace). The interviewer’s false assessment protected her own inadequacy, potentially blocking countless qualified applicants.
This highlights a wider issue: skill misrepresentation in the workplace. A 2024 LinkedIn report found 29% of employers have faced employees exaggerating language skills, disrupting team performance (LinkedIn). Katya’s feedback was a public service, alerting the company to a flaw in their process. The interviewer’s firing was her own doing—Katya merely shone a light on the truth.
Feeling guilty is human, but Katya’s review was factual, not malicious. She could reach out to the company, saying, “I’d love a chance to re-interview with a qualified assessor,” as Redditors advised.
Heres what people had to say to OP:
Reddit’s serving up takes sharper than a job market edge—here’s what they said about Katya’s interview fiasco:
![[Reddit User] - Nta. You were denied a job based on a lie that wasn’t yours. That’s not on you. It could have been your only source of income too.](https://en.aubtu.biz/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/297743c-02.png)
![[Reddit User] - NTA, she shouldn’t have pretended to know a language she wasn’t fluent in, and it’s her own fault for being sacked. She could’ve easily had avoided this by not pretending and having someone else do the interview that did know Russian](https://en.aubtu.biz/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/297743c-03.png)
From roasting the interviewer’s scam to rooting for Katya’s reapplication, Reddit’s got her back. But do these takes land the job, or just stir the pot?
Katya’s review toppled a workplace fraud, but it came with a side of guilt. Was she right to expose the interviewer’s lie, or should she have spared her job? Have you ever called out unfair treatment at work? Drop your stories—what would you do when a lie blocks your big break?
