A newlywed explains her issues with a “gross” portrait she commissioned from her friend — and is labeled a “jerk” after refusing to pay up for the service.
One woman learned the hard way to never mix friends and business.
Taking to Reddit’s infamous AITA (“Am I the A–hole”) forum, a new bride explains how a portrait she commissioned from a friend tore the pair apart — after she found the finished product “so gross.”
Keep reading to see how the feud played out … and whether the internet had her back!
Friend Fallout
OP (a.k.a. “the Original Poster”) began her story by saying her good friend is a painter who does “beautiful” work.
“I asked if she was willing to paint a portrait of me and my husband in our wedding outfits. I thought it would be a good one year anniversary gift. I have seen her work and she can do realist painting of people,” she explained.
OP then sent over a few photos for reference, as well as a $300 deposit on what would be a $700 gift. But when she saw the completed portrait … OP was not happy.
“She showed me the painting yesterday, my husband looked great but I looked completely different. In short she sexualized me and I find it so gross,” she wrote, before explaining how, exactly, she was “sexualized.”
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“The painting has me with huge boobs (I don’t really have any, I’m an A cup due to running). My wedding dress is showing much more skin,” she continued. “She even added a split to my dress to show off more leg. I don’t look like that in any of my photos I gave her. I find it really gross.”
OP went on to say she told her friend she wouldn’t be paying her, and that she “needs to fix it or she can keep it.” That, she said, “caused a huge argument” and now “she thinks I am a jerk for not paying and pointing out the stuff above.”
“It is going around with my friends, some think I am being petty and others are standing by me,” she concluded. Her question: AITA for refusing to pay for a wedding portrait because my friend sexualized me in it?
Reddit Response
With more than 1.6K comments, OP earned an official “Not the A-hole” badge from Redditors.
One of the most popular responses came from someone who said, “Your friend did not show you sketches or progress photos? That is a bit weird.” OP replied, explaining, “She just told me she was going off the one picture I gave her.”
Wrote someone else on OP’s side: “She could have a push-up bra on that day which would give her a HINT of cleavage. Just FYI. But to draw her looking like Jessica Rabbit (which is what I am picturing here) would just plain old piss me off if I didn’t ok that.”
“It would piss me off, too,” another reader commented. “The artist basically said she was not sexy enough as her natural self so she added all this other stuff. The final insult was making her boobs bigger. There was nothing wrong with her breasts!”
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A Redditor who explained they were also an artist added, “I can tell you that unless that person specifically says they want it to be a surprise, you always always show a rough draft first. If you want to give her the benefit of the doubt (not saying you should), sometimes the brain photoshops as you go along if you aren’t careful.”
Someone else wondered if the portrait is a gift for her husband, why OP didn’t let him decide whether he wanted to keep it. “Maybe he’ll love it and you can pay your friend and everyone will be happy,” they wrote — before OP responded, in all caps, “BECAUSE I DONT LOOK LIKE THAT.”
When another person asked what her husband thought, OP added, “Didn’t even show him, it was suppose to be a gift for our one year anniversary. He hasn’t seen it and I am not giving it if I look like how I do now.”
What do you think?
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