26 Stories About Entitled Family Members That'll Absolutely Make Your Blood Boil
We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the most entitled thing they've ever witnessed a parent — or any family member — do or say. As you can imagine, the responses were prettyyyy infuriating. Here are some of the wildest stories we received:
1."My dad answered his phone in the middle of Wicked, the Broadway show in New York City. Frankly, even just doing that in a school play is incredibly rude, but he did it for fricking *Broadway.* I was completely mortified and immediately told him to turn it off (as did my mom on the other side of me). He told me/us to be quiet, stating that if he could hear, he would be able to finish the call quicker. I pleaded that he at least take it outside, to which he just leaned away from me and finished the call."
"To top it off, when I brought it up at intermission, he chastised me for ruining a perfectly good experience 'he had paid for' by daring to demean him in public."
—Anonymous
2."Near the beginning of the pandemic, my mom was paranoid, so she hoarded toilet paper and cleaning supplies. At one point, we had 70 rolls of toilet paper at home. Well, she would take me grocery shopping with her. She wanted to be the first in line, so we would get there at 7:00 a.m. for opening to avoid people (she would get upset even if we were the second or third in line). One day, she found travel-sized hand sanitizers in a random section of the store and there was no item limit sign, so she took 10. When we got to the checkout, the cashier told her that she could only have two. Without hesitation, my mom said, 'Well I work as a kindergarten teacher and I need these for my students,' She has never worked as a teacher in her entire life."
"I just kept my mouth shut and was glad the mask hid most of my expression because I was flabbergasted by her lie. The cashier let her have five. I appreciate that my mom wanted to protect us, but she's too much sometimes."
3."We were at the rehearsal dinner for one of my uncles at an upscale restaurant in the Chicago suburbs. The waitress went to take my grandfather's plate, but he wasn't done, so he stabbed her in the hand with his fork and berated her for clearing the table while we were still dining. None of the family (there were over 15 people at the table) said a thing and acted like this was normal and acceptable. They didn't even pause conversation. My mother told us at home to never do that (I was 9), but it was also somehow acceptable for grandpa to assault someone who was just doing their job."
"It still kills me that he thought it was acceptable to assault a server and berate them for removing a plate, as if they had no feelings and it was permissible to treat them as such. As an adult, I tip any server extremely well just because I remember SOBs like my grandfather and know what servers have to put up with on a daily basis. If you're that server, I'm sorry you had to experience my grandfather's abuse. He's no longer around to harm a new generation of servers."
—Anonymous
4."My father-in-law once decided the whole family was going to go to Outback for dinner —13 people, no reservation. He was furious when they couldn't seat us immediately. The hostess told us they only had booths and couldn't accommodate a large party at one table, but if we waited a few minutes, they would get us some booths next to each other. He got really mad and stormed out. The manager came running out as we were getting in the car, and my father-in-law got really smug for a second, but the manager handed him a card and told him to call that number beforehand next time for a reservation. He was furious, and as we drove away, he kept complaining that he thought the manager was coming out to give him a gift certificate for his troubles."
5."I’ll tell my mom something and she’ll immediately google it to prove me wrong if it’s something she doesn’t agree with. But, if I do that, I’m argumentative and 'always have to be right.' I’m in school for nursing and one of the classes I’m taking is on drug addictions. I told my mom how cocaine has to be refined with kerosene and gasoline to extract it from coca leaves and she argued with me for two days and said that’s only the cheap kind of cocaine. No, mom. All coca plant leaves are soaked in kerosene or gasoline regardless of the quality of the end product."
6."My mom's sister. We were on a plane together with her 5-year-old son sitting between us and he started kicking the chair in front of him kind of hard. I said, 'Hey buddy, don’t do that,' and she snapped at me. 'We paid for these seats. He can do what he wants.' Right...as if the person in front of us didn’t pay for their seat too? Just because you paid to be somewhere doesn't mean you can behave like a jerk."
7."When we were moving, my sister-in-law gave us a list of things she wanted of ours, like our couch. We hadn’t offered anything or planned on getting rid of those items."
—Anonymous
8."Every single restaurant we’d EVER go to, my mother would have us move tables — sometimes multiple times — because she felt 'chilly.' She’d ask the server WHY we were seated UNDER A VENT, and make a show of coughing and pulling on a sweater (in July). It was truly like something out of Seinfeld and I recall feeling incredibly embarrassed as we’d traverse the dining area with our drinks."
9."My mum came from extreme poverty, but married my dad who 'pulled himself up by his bootstraps' and became very wealthy, which is a statistical anomaly and not a sociological theory I endorse. My mum, I guess, eventually forgot where she came from and how people from hard places suffer...or perhaps she didn’t want to remember. It became a trend where we’d go through the drive-thru of fast food restaurants and she’d verbally abuse the workers. She’d scream and say they were ‘servants’ who needed to wait for her response on her own time. I remember driving through the fast food window and just shaking my head, sobbing, and mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ to the worker, but he was obviously unforgiving of 13-year-old me."
"I want to find that dude today and explain how mentally ill my mum was. But, realistically, no matter her mental health, there's no justification for the slurs she threw at him. I know I was a kid and wasn’t at fault, but I can’t stop the constant guilt. I try to atone for her wrongdoings every day."
10."One night when I visited my mum, she had a little too much wine and she ordered pizza (delivery) for us. The pizza took forever, and when it did come, they gave us the wrong order. She went ballistic! I was so embarrassed. I mean, I get grumpy when fast food orders get delivered late or aren't right, but I'm still nice to the staff/drivers. She called them back to tell them that we got the wrong pizza and how useless they were. She said, 'So, we have to wait again another hour for your fuck up?' I was like, 'Shiiiitt.'"
11."My grandma went to our local Kroger maybe twice a week or more. Usually she’d buy hundreds of dollars in groceries. This particular time, she did her usual and her credit card declined because it was maxed out. She then proceeded to yell at the cashier (and me) for 15 minutes about how they should just charge it anyway because she was going to pay it anyway. We had to leave when I started crying from embarrassment. My grandpa later came back for the groceries with a different card, apologizing the whole time."
—Anonymous
12."My mom and I made an appointment at a nail salon. We arrived at the salon and ended up waiting 10 minutes while the nail techs finished up with their clients. The salon was probably half-full. My mom turned to me and said, 'This is what they do. They lie to you! They say they have appointments to get you in here just to wait.' She did not even whisper and it was VERY quiet in the salon. A woman immediately came up to us and started my mom’s manicure."
—Anonymous
13."When I was in college, I decided to switch majors. My mom proceeded to yell at me and tried to 'make' me keep my first major. I reminded her that I was the one paying for my education and she had no authority to make me, an adult, do anything. She told me she had a right because she gave birth to me. I laughed in her face and walked away."
14."One night, I stopped at Arby's with my mom and went through the drive-thru. They forgot a cheese sauce and an order of fries. Instead of heading inside to ask politely to fix it, my mom parked, got out of our car, then headed to the drive-thru window and started beating on the glass — all while there was a car there waiting for their food."
—Anonymous
15."Whenever my mom has a technology issue, she starts blaming the 'damn TV' or the 'damn coffeemaker' yet refuses to let me help her. 95% of the time, the issue is absolutely her fault and could be fixed with the literal tap of a button. She'll even call a maintenance worker to come to the house before letting me try to resolve the problem."
16."My mom is what I call a 'pre-Karen' — a Karen foremother if you will. One of the worst things she would do is buy clothing at full-price, and I'm talking really expensive department store gowns, hide the tags, go out for a night in them, then return them. I know that a lot of people do this, still today, but she would also not give a crap about ripping it, tearing it, or staining it, and would come back to return it and raise holy hell, claiming that she took it home and saw the item all trashed. She would yell at the workers, calling them stupid for letting an item out on the floor like that, lie her ass off, and not only get the item returned at full price, but get coupons for later purchases (which she only used on things she would keep). She won't return anything calmly. So, not only is she scamming, but she berates workers for NO REASON other than to be a total bitch and make sure her story sticks."
17."My dad had COVID symptoms but refused to take a self-test, even after my mom tested positive. He also kept going to work as an elementary school bus driver, though he did have to wear a mask at work regardless of whether he was sick or not. He’s retired and keeps his income below the level where he would have to pay taxes, so it’s not a money issue. I think he has a misguided loyalty to work, even though nobody would have wanted him there if they knew. I also think he was worried it would be inconvenient. He just brazened through, no matter how much we yelled at him."
18."My mom always thinks she's entitled to my money because she birthed and raised me. I was giving her half of my paychecks from the time I was 18 until I was 29 when I bought my own house. I was living with her, so it was fine that I had to pitch in and everything, but here's the kicker: Any time I get any sort of extra money, she thinks she deserves some of it. A few years ago, I got a $1500 check from my mortgage company. She demanded I give her half, which I refused. Good thing, because the check was sent as a mistake and they needed me to pay the money back. Recently, I got a surprise bonus at work. My mom again demanded I give her half because 'I owe her for raising me.' Now I try to keep my income/raises/bonuses a secret so she doesn't demand money from me."
19."My military (army) father was on leave from deployment and wanted to take his four kids to the YMCA to go swimming, despite the fact that he didn't have a membership. My mother was a member and had previously enrolled us in summer camps there, so we (the kids) were very familiar with their policies and told him repeatedly before we went that they did not allow anyone in without a membership. He insisted this was not the case and took us anyway. Of course, they would not let us in without a membership and he refused to sign up for one. To our embarrassment, he proceeded to yell at the poor teenage employee that he could not believe they would treat a member of the armed services this way, though he was the one asking for special treatment."
—Anonymous
20."We could never convince my mother that servers only make a couple of dollars an hour in pay. She thought they were undereducated and/or stupid and making too much money for their skills. If she could keep my father from seeing, she would pick up all or part of their tips on the way out."
21."My mom always told me to watch how my dates treat waiters or waitresses because it can reveal a lot about their character. My uncle will always talk down to waitresses and can be very handsy. One time, I remember him grabbing a girl to pull her on his lap. She was a teenager and we were a group of maybe 11 people. I've seen anyone move so fast to get out of a room. Now, his wife (my aunt) will send all of her food back. Salads, drinks, half an entree, glasses of wine, whatever. We can order the same dish and mine will taste fine, but hers is somehow ruined. It's an absolute nightmare to go out with them."
22."My dad grew up in a very 'traditional' (read: sexist) home and unfortunately treats my mom almost like a servant. He is very entitled to her labors, and he doesn't show her much gratitude. For example: My mom will prepare dinner for everyone and he will scoff at it if it has something he doesn't like in it (like beans). He will then get up and microwave himself a frozen meal instead. He also never helps make dinner, doesn't help clean up afterwards, and leaves his dishes all over the house. What's worse is he does these sorts of things in front of guests. When my husband and I visit my parent's house, I almost die of second-hand embarrassment."
—Anonymous
23."My brother recently moved out of state. When he came back to visit, he wanted to go out to lunch with our family and our mom got weird. My brother asked us if we’d be okay going to a local place that he missed since moving away, and my mom got really passive aggressive about the whole thing. She kept saying it was up to my brother and she didn’t care where we went, but then she kept bringing up reasons she wanted to go somewhere else. It culminated with her accusing my brother of lacking compassion, telling us that we didn’t want to celebrate her birthday (which was several months after my brother’s visit), and telling us that she was struggling with her mortality. All because my brother asked to go to a restaurant he missed."
"Later, when I tried to talk to her about stuff, she told me our relationship wasn’t salvageable since I had deemed it toxic. I’ve started therapy. My therapist suggested my mom might be a narcissist. I think she might be right."
24."We were at a jewelry store in Chinatown in NYC where it is common to haggle over prices. My mom was haggling with the sales lady over the price of a diamond necklace that she wanted to buy for me as a wedding present. This involved lots of yelling and shoving the comically large calculator back and forth across the counter with proposed numbers. When they finally come to an agreement, my mom said, 'Fine! But I’m taking these too for free!' and proceeded to empty a small display of crystal beaded bracelets onto the counter. The sales lady calmly packaged the bracelets along with necklace and said, 'OK, but don’t come back!'"
—Anonymous
25."My biological dad is a very 'interesting' person. One time, we were on holiday in his hometown at a restaurant where his dad used to work at (I was probably about 11 at the time) and he complained to the manager about the food. It ended up becoming a full-on yelling match with the manager and a couple of other employees. I was absolutely mortified and just stood there awkwardly. He then continued to ramble on about the poor customer service and quality of the food, and he said it was a much better restaurant when his father had worked there. He continued to go on and on about how rude they were on the car ride home and for a solid two or three hours after we got home. I sat there on the couch listening to him complain, and I thought, 'Wowww, this dude is so petty and entitled.' Anyway, I haven't had contact with him since I was 14, so yeah, he was a *great* dad."
—Anonymous
26.Finally: "My parents went on their first cruise in their 60s. It was cheap, so it was likely more crowded and not as 'high end' as they thought it would be. They complained about everything — the amount of food everyone else on the ship ate, having to wait in line, children doing childish things like running around the ship, etc. They seemed to forget that some people can't afford anything more than this type of cruise. I don't know when my parents turned into people who they're above the rules they taught us as kids, but it's only gotten worse since."
—Anonymous
What's the most entitled thing you've ever witnessed a family member do or say?? Give us the juicy details in the comments below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
