My awful manager got me fired from my job by stating that I wasn't doing enough to try and complete their impossible task. So I decided to get some revenge by going behind their back and tricking them into spending way more money than they had on their budget. And as a result, my old manager got fired and I got paid a lot of money as a result. And I've honestly never felt better about getting back at somebody in my life. Here's what happened.
So this happened in the early 2010s, before the advancement of technology and video editing and content creation. I was hired as a content creator for a university that wanted to leverage YouTube to kickstart their branding campaign. The pay was low in those days, there were not many video creators around, and the process usually took a long time from start to finish.
but I was hired on. And on my second day, my manager presented my KPI of 85 3-10 minute videos in 52 weeks, which was impossible for a one-man team in those days. This meant I had to do the scripting, producing, casting talents, shooting videos, composing music, and all of the editing, and all of which I had to use my own equipment and software because their cameras and computers were so old. They simply couldn't handle the strain of doing anything in high quality.
I tried to let my manager know, but she just smiled encouragingly, telling me to give it a try. Assuring me if the videos were good, the quality would not be what she focused on. So, hearing this, I agreed to give it a try. Now, my manager treated me well in the first month. However, one day when she found out I was a smoker, her attitude changed overnight.
A colleague had actually done a face palm when I told her about it, and she'd let me know that the manager hated smokers, and often advocated to get them fired. She started nitpicking me on everything, from smelling like cigarette smoke after my breaks, coming in 5-10 minutes late despite doing more than 4 hours of overtime daily, not being easily contacted during my lunch break, and honestly the list goes on.
But regardless, I soldred on because I just wanted to do the work and do it well. Five months in, I was called into the director's office where I saw my manager putting on her best displeased but gleeful face and I felt my stomach drop. The director told me that she was disappointed because she had heard that I was falling behind on my work and it was already halfway through the year and I had only completed 30 of the 85 videos. I tried to explain that I'd been working my butt off on these videos.
I literally worked six days out of the week, and this was over 60 hours a day just to do what needed to be done, and that being a one man army made things impossible, and also the fact that the videos I put up grossed the highest views ever on their YouTube page. I also recounted how my manager said that she was looking for high quality videos over quantity.
Well, the director dismissed this and stated that the KPI was simply 85 videos in a year, and since it was almost half a year in with my numbers at less than half, she felt it was prudent to cut the cord early. I asked, well, how would I even meet the KPI if they were to fire me? At this point, my manager snorted and she said, we'll find a professional production house to finish your work.
Now, the director had given her an odd look, but nodded in her support nonetheless, telling me, you don't need to worry, the manager will get the job done. And it was at that moment that a light bulb went off in my head, seeing as I was the content professional in the office. One of my jobs was to keep a database of production houses to use in the event that we needed to do a shoot that required more resources.
and I was sure that they would be using the production houses in my database as my manager had no contacts in the production industry. So I changed the contact numbers and messed up all the emails on all of the entries except for one. The one I didn't mess up was where I had a friend working as a junior director. I gave him a call and I told him my plan and sure enough within two days they were called to come into pitch.
I told him that I had a plan that was a win-win for both of us. It would instantly help him and put him on the fast track to a director position by bringing in that much more business to his production house. And it would also benefit me financially. I would teach him exactly how to pitch so that he can win over the boss and the director. And in turn, his company would pay me a standard finder's fee of 15%. Well, he instantly agreed.
and immediately put me on the line with his general manager, who upon realizing that this was to be 6 months of work for a high 6-digit payout instantly agreed and drew up a contract. As it turns out, after I gave them a metaphorical step-by-step playbook, they were the perfect fit, somehow understanding the needs and style of the university, as well as the sort of themes the university wanted to feature.
The director and my former boss were amazed that my friend's production house was so familiar with their content that they signed them up right on the spot. Now even back then, using a production house was not cheap. Each video that they produced could cost double or even triple my monthly salary, given that they had specialized people for each function.
namely a producer, a director, a director of photography, a gaffer, a sound person, a video editor, basically meaning that it wasn't a one-man show, but this also meant that they could complete a video every 2-3 days. So yes, they produced 50 videos in a span of 4 months for over 100 months of my salary, and I sat back and collected the healthy 15%, which was about 15 months of my salary.
This allowed me to put money aside for a holiday and the rest to further my studies with a respected film school overseas. I thought my plan ended here and I had gotten back at my former bosses, but to my surprise, I received a call from my colleagues while I was away on holiday. And this was the same colleague who had face-palmed when I told her that my manager had found out that I was a smoker. She told me that my former manager had been fired and my director was given a massive blasting by the Chancellor of the University.
The content creation project which I was hired for was only given a budget equating to a year and a half of my salary, and they had exceeded that budget by over ten times. My former manager was so desperate to ensure that her content creation project could be completed that she had thrown caution to the wind, paying anything to get the job done so that she can show my director that she had completed the project.
and had approved the massive spend without getting consent from the director. So, that's how I got my friend a super fast promotion to a full director in his production house, and how I got a year of pay after getting unfairly fired from my job. And honestly, I've never been more satisfied about getting back at my old boss in my life. Good for the original poster for putting these people in their place. This is some fantastic revenge, and honestly, this is the kind of stuff you'd love to see.
For starters, they gave him basically an impossible task. The level of work that one man team would have to do, just to reach the 85 videos, is honestly boggling. Like, what do you think that maybe you hire on, I don't know, someone to edit the videos while this guy makes them? For him to be expected to do all of that, especially with what sounds like a complicated like branding campaign, that in my opinion is so unfair and he definitely got fired for unfair reasons.
But I love the fact that even though he got fired, these people still ended up having to pay him a lot of money. And it truly is an icing on the cake that the manager got fired, like that lady absolutely deserved it. Because she tried to set this guy up for failure, but in the end, she got exactly what she deserved. If you like Am I the Jerk, you're probably going to love Am I the Genius. Check it out, link down below in the description. Also, go to amithejerk.com slash submit if you would like to submit your own stories.
Am I the jerk for telling my dad's wife that she's not included in any pre-wedding activities? All because of the one-sided contest that she has with my mom. Because right now, she is very angry with me. And at this point, I'm seriously not sure what to do. Here's what happened. Okay, so my parents got divorced when my siblings and I were in middle and high school. We're now in our 20s and dad got married two years after the divorce. He met his wife and married her in six months because she was planning to move back to her home state and he didn't want to do the long distance dating thing.
So we didn't really know her when he told us that they had eloped in Vegas. She, however, thought we were all super close and was really disappointed when our reactions were pretty muted to their news. This started her off being jealous of my mom. She was jealous of the closeness that we had with my mom.
Then she was jealous of the fact that we got along so well with our mom's partner, and we are still close to them even to this day, even though mom and him never got married. Dad's wife started showing up all glam to school functions and football games that we were involved in, and she looked like she was attending a wedding or red carpet, and she'd make snarky comments about dressing up to support her kids all while looking right at my mom. She would throw us these lavish birthday parties and invite both sides of our family and then attempt to dress us in matching outfits.
It always made her twitchy when we didn't want to dress like her, and when my twin siblings turned 16, and my sister and my mom had matching necklaces, my dad's wife actually went home to change and wore the same color dress as my sister. She talks like my mom is somehow less than her, all because she's not remarried. She glows that she has a ring on her finger, and that she shares the same last name as us. Just all kinds of really petty things. She is someone we tolerate, but we don't like her.
And if we could exclude her from our lives without losing our dad, we definitely would. Fast forward and I'm getting married and so is one of my brothers. My dad's wife has not been invited to any fittings, tastings, viewings, etc. by my fiancee and I. Or my brother and his fiancee.
But mom has been invited to stuff on both sides, and my dad's wife was so upset by it. She asked my brother about being invited to something first, and he said no, nothing else that was it. And she pestered him for a while before moving on to me, and she just broke down over it, and said she can't understand not being included in pre-wedding activities.
Well, I told her that she's not included because of her one-sided contest with my mom, and that it's so pathetic and that none of us want to deal with that. She said it was such a mean thing to say, and all she's ever tried to do is earn that spot as our mom. But we treat our mom's partner who isn't even our stepdad, like he's more important than her, and at this point while she was saying that she was even crying harder. So honestly, am I the jerk for excluding her? Because right now, I seriously don't know what to do.
Yeah, it sounds like your stepmom is being really obnoxious about being a mom in your life. And she has actively tried to be like in competition with your real mom. And that's really annoying and I can see how that would wear on you after so many years. And the fact that she's comparing herself to your mom's partner and being like, well you like him, why don't you like me? But like how can she not see that he's probably not super obnoxious? And he doesn't try to be like, oh yeah, I'm gonna be your best new dad in the world.
Because that would be really annoying to have that from two people, let alone have it from one person who's actively antagonistic towards your mom. So I personally don't think you're the jerk for excluding her from pre-wedding stuff, because the way she's been acting is honestly completely inappropriate. Am I the jerk for telling my former social worker that I do not credit her for the good life that I currently have? Because she actively made my life a living nightmare growing up, and at this point I seriously don't know what to do. Here's what happened.
Okay, to start things off, I'm a former foster kid who ended up with an incredible foster family who eventually adopted me when I turned 18 years old because I wanted to create those legal ties with them. I credit them with giving me a good life after seven years of having an awful one.
But I don't credit my former social worker for that success at all. For a bit of context, my mom lost custody of me when I was 5 years old, as well as her older kids when they were 11 and 12 years old. They had a different dad than me, and I'm not sure what happened there, but when we first were taken from our mom, we were placed with a family member who eventually decided that she didn't want us, and we were then placed in the same foster home.
But my half-siblings hated me. They were always telling me that I shouldn't have been born, tried to make me cry, and they said my dad was dead, and that they were glad because he was awful, and that I was awful as well, and I shouldn't be alive just like him. And the thing is, I don't even know who my father was, and I don't even know his name, and no, there is no name on my original birth certificate.
This all started before we were taken into care, but continued until I was finally separated from them after an incident when I was six years old. I was placed in seven different foster homes before finding my family. My former social worker fought against me and my half-siblings being separated, and even when she'd lost the ability to keep us together, she insisted on visits between the three of us.
I told her how they treated me, and I recorded it once with my family's camcorder, and she just didn't care. The visit stopped once my half-siblings aged out of the system, and it was such a relief to no longer have to deal with them in my life. I knew that they hated me, I was terrified of seeing them, and I used to not eat and sleep before those visits. And my parents tried to protect me, but they were ordered to maintain the visits. Even after they ended, my former social worker would tell me I should keep in touch with my half-siblings, and she would tell me that I would thank her one day.
Fast forward and I ran into my former social worker recently, and she approached me and said I was one of her best success cases. But I did not want to hear it, and I told her I don't credit her for that good outcome, that she forced me to endure years of bullying and verbal mistreatment at the hands of my biological siblings, who she knew that hated me and insisted it was in my best interest
When in reality, it was the worst thing that she could have done. I told her that I hope she learned from it and does better, but I will never give her credit for how great my life has become. I walked away from her, and then last week, I ran into her again, and she told me I had no reason to be so bitter and hateful towards her, and that I will one day see why she did what she did and understand that she acted in my best interest.
She told me to grow up and learn how to see nuance in these situations. But I told her I wouldn't see anything differently, and she responded that I can't keep her as the villain in my story forever. So honestly, am I the jerk in this situation? Because at this point I'm very upset and I just don't know what to do.
No, you are not the jerk. Your former social worker that was supposed to help you out is a massive piece of garbage. She knew how your siblings were treating you. You had physical evidence on a family camcorder that literally detailed exactly how they treated you and she still just didn't even care. She pushed it aside and said, Oh, you'll thank me one day. And that is such a selfish thing to say. If anything, she only did that because she wanted to see you as some kind of success story because she's probably had no success in her entire miserable career. So no, of course you're not the jerk.
That social worker treated you so poorly, and I think the way you retreated was completely unfair. Am I the jerk for using my husband's salary to try and make a point at his family just so I could stand up for myself and stop their stupid remarks, because right now my husband is very upset with me, and at this point I seriously don't know what to do. Here's what happened.
Okay, I want to start off by saying that my husband and I are doing okay financially. We make enough to not worry about rent and necessities, and we are saving a decent amount, and we have a good scope for growth in our careers. I make a little more than one third of our combined income, and we're both in our late thirties while also having two six-year-old boys. Now, I have never liked my husband's family because they have a lot of old-fashioned opinions, and they just don't really approve of me.
Although we don't have a lot of contact, so it is okay. My husband's cousin's wedding is this week, and they are getting married in our city. So he offered for his parents, aunt, and uncle to stay with us, with the bride and groom renting their own place. And while it is a bit of a squeeze, it is working. They have been here for two days now, and on the first day, I heard them having a whole discussion on how it's so sad that our children won't get to have a proper childhood, with a mom at home like my husband and his cousin got.
and they said this while they were in the living room and I was in the kitchen, and they knew that I could hear. I was stewing, but I don't really like confrontation, so I didn't say anything. Later, I asked my husband if he could please tell them to shut up with the snide comments about me. He said that's just their opinion, and it's not really hurting me, saying that if I'm really bothered, I should learn to stick up for myself.
and that he can't always do it for me. Now, this struck a nerve with me because it is true that I usually ask him to do small things, like telling the drive-through person if our order is wrong because it just makes me feel weird and guilty. But somehow, it feels like more his responsibility because it is his family involved here. So, today, my father-in-law made one more pointed comment during dinner, so I said that his son makes this amount of money, telling them exactly how much he makes.
I also said that we live in a big city with very high rent. We literally cannot live on his salary, so I don't know why you think I should be home all day. Well, after I said that, they got pretty quiet. And now my husband is really angry with me, because I put him down in front of his family who are all much richer than us. And now they're gonna look down on him. So honestly, am I the jerk in this scenario? Because right now, I really don't know what to do.
No, I don't think you're the jerk at all. For starters, the fact that your husband didn't want to get involved and defend your good name, or at least tell his family to shut up and mind their own business, that in my opinion is completely unfair. Like seriously, where's his backbone? This guy is literally just letting his family walk all over you. He's not saying anything to defend your good name, and he's just allowing them to say all these nasty things? Like, I don't care who you are.
When you find out that family really doesn't like you for one reason or another, like that is going to negatively affect you. But also, this extended family sounds super toxic. Like, why would they care in the slightest about how much money you're making, or that you're not even a stayed-home mom like they're practically begging you to be? Last I checked, that's like literally none of their business. So you know what, if I was in your shoes, and my partner said, I'm not gonna take care of this, it's time to stand up for yourself.
Then, in my opinion, I think the way you did that sends a clear message to everybody. For starters, it sends a message to the extended family that, no, we don't make enough money. But also, it tells your husband that, hey, if you don't want to take care of it, then I'm just gonna have to do it myself. Because at the end of the day, those comments are completely uncalled for. It is completely over the line, and there is no good excuse for his family to treat you that way.
Am I the jerk for kicking my friend out of my wedding after she accused me of stealing multiple times? Because as of right now, I'm not totally sure if I made the right decision. Here's what happened. I'm a 21-year-old female and I kick my best friend and roommate out of my bridal party after she accused me of stealing. Things were great until one day when I got a text from her asking about her bridesmaid dress.
I chose bride-made dresses that I found affordable, considering all my bridesmaids are young, and they're either still in or just finished college. I also told all of them that if any of the costs were too much for them, then they need to say something. I didn't want them to not be able to be in my bridal party all due to the cost.
So I sent them a group text telling them to each reach out separately when they would be ready to buy the dress. And I would send them the link since everyone had different styles. A few months later, this friend reached out about the dress and I got a quick text back asking for me to pay the express shipping since it wouldn't be there in time to have alterations if anything didn't fit correctly. Now I was very surprised by this since I told them all the date to order it by.
Now I didn't think that this was on me and my fiance suggested that I tell her that. I kindly sent a text back saying that since I gave everybody a date that in turn I shouldn't have to pay for this. I will add that shipping was not very expensive and she was open about having a lot of money to spend. She shopped a lot and always bragged how her parents paid for almost everything.
Now I was hurt that she wouldn't just pay for the shipping almost as if it wasn't important to her. After this, she sent me a text message asking if I took her shoes that she couldn't find. Now I was surprised by the text message and I just told her no. She spent a lot of nights at her boyfriend's house and came home looking for things that she eventually found at his house later on. Once I came back from class early and I found her digging through my dresser.
I asked her what she was doing and she just left my room without saying anything. And then she sent me a text saying she knew I was the one taking her stuff and that she was gonna call the authorities. And you know what, at this point I kind of hoped that she would because then she would realize that I didn't take anything. The next day I got another text asking for a specific shirt telling me she was looking through my closet and laundry but didn't find it but knew I was hiding it. But I just told her that no I didn't take it.
Later on, she told her other roommate that she found the shirt at her boyfriend's house, but I never got an apology. I sent her a message because she wouldn't agree to a phone call, telling her straight up that I had thought about it, and decided it would be best that she wasn't in my wedding. But I hope that we could still remain friends. She told me that she was so relieved that I told her before her dress arrived, and that she would cancel the order.
Now, I thought I made the right call, and after her response, she confirmed for me that she wasn't acting like someone who I would want in such a special role. However, one of our mutual friends said that he thought I was being a bit rude, and I shouldn't have just kicked her out like that. So honestly, I need to know. Am I the jerk for kicking her out of my wedding? Because right now, I'm not sure if I made the right decision. No, I don't think you're the jerk at all. For starters, if you're still living with this roommate, you need to lock your doors or at least put some kind of lock on your belongings.
Like who knows how long she's actually been going through your stuff. This could have been going on for like months on end and you're just now finding out about it. Like if I were you, I would do an inventory of all your belongings and just make sure that you don't have any like personal property that's missing. And I know if I was in your shoes, I would not want to be friends with this lady ever again. She's made some wild accusations and basically even said that she would get the authorities involved even though you didn't steal anything and she found all of her crap at her boyfriend's place.
So yeah, this lady sounds super toxic, and if I was in your shoes, I definitely would never want her in my wedding. When you subscribe, make sure to hit the bell to turn on notifications. To finish listening to all the stories, check out the playlist at the top of the description. And if you want some chill music to put on in the background, check out easymode.com. If you like Am I the Jerk, subscribe to Am I the Genius. Everything will be linked down below in the description.
