Man Says Sister's Boyfriend Made Joke About Wife's Mastectomy in Viral Post

A man claimed in a now-viral post that his sister's boyfriend recently made a "joke" about his wife's mastectomy and commenters came to the man's defense.

Posting to Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" forum on Thursday under the username u/ShutupHank766, the man said that the joke caused him to lash out at his sister's boyfriend, which ultimately upset his family.

The post has received more than 20,000 upvotes and over 2,000 comments from Redditors who applauded u/ShutupHank766 for defending his wife, suggesting that many might be tired of excusing hurtful "jokes."

At the beginning of his post, u/ShutupHank766 explained that his family recently gathered together to meet his sister's boyfriend for the first time, but things quickly went south.

"My wife had breast cancer and got a single mastectomy last year. She told the story to my sister's boyfriend and...he stared at my wife briefly then 'playfully' said, 'Without even asking, I can pretty much tell which one got the blow,'" u/ShutupHank766 wrote.

Almost immediately, u/ShutupHank766's wife began to tear up, so he decided to give his sister's boyfriend a piece of his mind.

"Are you serious?" u/ShutupHank766 asked the boyfriend, who responded: "What??!! I was just joking, bro."

Of course, u/ShutupHank766 didn't think the joke was funny at all. So, he repeatedly asked his sister's boyfriend to explain the joke, which eventually caused the boyfriend to leave.

Later, u/ShutupHank766's sister "berated" him for being "hostile" toward her "perfect" boyfriend.

Redditor u/ShutupHank766 also received a lecture from his father, who argued that the poster should have simply ignored his sister's boyfriend rather than show "aggression."

According to Psychology Today, people sometimes use "jokes" as a way to hurt others. These offensive jokes, "ironic comments" and backhanded compliments are all examples of indirect verbal insults.

Though these insults can be damaging and eventually lead to feelings of "anger" and "anxiety," the magazine said that the best way to deal with these types of comments is to accept and ignore them.

"If the insult is true or largely true, the person it came from is reasonable, and his or her motive is worthy, then the insult is not an insult but a statement of fact, and, moreover, one that could be very helpful to us," said Psychology Today.

"On the other hand, if you think that the person who insulted you is unworthy of your consideration, you have no reason to take offense, just as you have no reason to take offense at a naughty child or a barking dog," the magazine continued.

In a situation where an individual is insulted by someone they'll have to see again, Psychology Today said it's good to "have a quiet word" with the person to establish boundaries.

Of course, u/ShutupHank766 didn't have a "quiet word" with his sister's boyfriend. Instead, he called him out in front of the family. Though psychologists might disagree with this approach, Redditors were quick to applaud u/ShutupHank766's actions.

"Congratulations, you handled the situation perfectly. You simply asked the a**hole to explain himself. He couldn't. You doubled down. He chose to not apologize which could have diffused the whole situation," wrote u/GreekAmericanDom.

"OP [original poster] is NTA [not the a**hole] and frankly my hero for how he stood up for his wife," added u/Levantine1978.