A woman set a clear boundary at her birthday party, but her “influencer” sister-in-law ignored it.
On Reddit’s AITA forum, the woman shared that she celebrated her 29th birthday with a small dinner attended by her husband, a few friends, and her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Lina.
Before the event, she sent a message in the family group chat requesting that no one film her. Filming the food or the setup was fine, she clarified, but she did not want to appear on camera.
Once they arrived at the restaurant, Lina — an “influencer” who “films literally everything” — had her phone out recording. The woman asked her again to avoid pointing the camera at her. After some pushback and her husband’s intervention, Lina did stop.
However, when the cake came out with a sparkler and a singing staff, Lina pointed the camera “right in my face” for a “birthday girl reveal,” the woman explained.
“I put my hand over the lens and said, ‘Stop’ — I didn’t grab the phone or touch her, just covered the camera for a second,” she wrote.
Lina responded that “this is her job” and that her shot had been ruined, while her mother-in-law urged her to “let it go for one night.”
“I said that it’s my night — actually,” the woman countered, and tensions escalated.
“Husband tried to change the subject, but Lina kept muttering about how she had to scrap ‘everything,'” she continued. “I even paid for my own dessert (long story) and we left pretty quick.”
The next day, the situation hadn’t improved. Lina texted the Redditor saying she had been “humiliated,” while her mother-in-law suggested that she “should’ve moved seats if [she] didn’t want to be in the frame.”
Her husband supported her, though he noted that putting her foot down “during the song when eyes were already on me” may have “made a scene.”
The woman concluded by acknowledging both perspectives. While she did physically block her sister-in-law’s shot, she strongly felt she should not be “online against my will,” particularly on her birthday. She asked Redditors for their judgment.
Commenters overwhelmingly sided with her, noting that she had clearly set a boundary and Lina had chosen to ignore it.
“You are not part of her job,” one wrote. “She doesn’t get to commandeer you as a prop for her videos, and she doesn’t get to seize control over your own goddamn birthday event for it either.”
Others pointed out that while accommodating Lina’s job could make sense at times, this was the woman’s birthday — an event dedicated to celebrating her.
“It sounds like making a scene is the only thing that might ‘influence’ Lina to respect other people,” another commenter added, while a third offered simple advice: “stop inviting her.”
