Dad Defends Son's Aerial Performance Career Against Belittling Wife in Viral Post

A father took to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole" forum following a disagreement with his wife after she belittled their son's job as a professional aerial performer.

Reddit user u/8423618597 wrote in his post, which received more than 11,000 votes, that his son performs in a popular horror-themed circus. While he said it's "amazing" to watch him perform, his wife belittles him.

"My wife however will just tell people he works in the circus," the Redditor wrote.

He said she does not mention what he specifically does in his performances or that he's part of a popular show. And, she takes the time to disparage him when they go out together as a family.

"Whenever we are out and she sees a clown she will point at it and say 'look, it's [son's name],'" u/8423618597 wrote. "And it is very clear she looks down on him for what he does, she assumes he makes next to nothing and is 'poor.'"

The Redditor said while his son is not necessarily wealthy, he is capable of supporting himself.

A piece published with Empowering Parents touched on how a parent should respond if they don't agree with their child's life choices.

"The reality is, this is now your child's journey," the article states. "Whether you approve of their career, their lifestyle or their choice of life partner, it doesn't change the fact that they now have the right to make their own choices."

It suggested that a parent who may be feeling this way should objectively examine their own feelings and why they may feel frustrated.

The couple's disagreement came about when they were with some of her friends and one asked if their son could entertain her children at a birthday party. She said she would pay him well because "he must be struggling."

While laughing, u/8423618597's wife said she'll check to see if he is free to work at the party.

Fed up, the Redditor said it is unlikely his son will be able to perform because the party falls on the same day as the performance where he works as a headline aerial performer.

"Almost everyone there was shocked since all this info was new to them, my wife looked pissed and left," u/8423618597 wrote. "She sat in the car and texted me that she wants to leave."

The Redditor answered questions from his wife's friends and showed them some videos before he left.

"The woman who asked apologized, saying she was given the impression by my wife that our son was a struggling and failing cheap circus performer and wanted to help him," he wrote.

When u/8423618597 got into the car, his wife accused him of making her look like a bad mother in front of her friends.

He said he then felt guilty for saying something and wondered if he should have left it alone.

However, commenters said he did the right thing by defending his son.

One commenter wrote that because the Redditor told her friends what his actual job was, it showed her character to them.

"When you revealed the truth, it exposed her as an incompatible parent as best and abolitionist of his job and accomplishments at worst," the comment read.

Another commenter insinuated that she is "ashamed" of her son.

"By making fun of his job, she distances herself from the source of the shame and demonstrates to everyone that 'he didn't get it from me' and 'I raised him better than that' and similar s****y sentiments without having to say them out loud," the commenter wrote.

The Redditor responded to one of the comments and noted that his son came out to him as gay and asked him not to say anything to the Redditor's wife. This led commenters to suggest there was a bigger problem at hand.

"I'm guessing that your wife's view of your son may be rooted in homophobia rather than a general disdain of the circus," a commenter wrote.

Another commenter agreed with the sentiment and suggested that the Redditor's wife suspects her son is gay, which is why she acts combatively against him.

"So based on the suspicion, she hates the son and doesn't want anyone in her entire social circle to know anything about him, let alone go to any of the performances," a commenter wrote. "She is angry at OP because she probably blames him for causing him to go down this path in life."