Am I Wrong for Painting a Curse Word on the Wall of My Friend’s New House?

One online user has been at odds with his friend and wife. What started as a joke led to a conflict that left the trio in a not-so-much-good standing.

A Reddit user shared a story on the platform about his predicament involving a pal and his spouse. The Original Poster (OP) revealed the couple recently purchased their first home together.

The property is a fixer-upper; he has been helping the duo fix it. OP has skills and experience in maintenance, repairs, and upgrades and has the tools to do the work.

OP Painted a Curse Word on the Couple's Wall & They Asked Him to Apologize

While painting the couple's dining room one weekend, OP was let down by the wife, who allowed the couple's dogs to enter the room he was busy with. One of the pets stepped on the roller tray and jumped on him, and the wife laughed it off like it was no big deal. OP explained:

"I also had to throw out that primer because it now had mud in it."

This was after he asked the wife and the husband to allow him to do the work without disruptions. Following the incident, OP prepared a new tray of paint and decided to write a curse word on the wall in big letters using a primer.

A primer is a coat of paint often used before applying the actual paint – it sticks better to the wall, and once it dries up – it creates a better surface for the paint to stick.

"His wife saw it and freaked. She said I was drawing profanity in her house," OP revealed, adding he told her it was only the first coat and that she should let him finish painting.

He then completed the job and went home, only for his friend to call and tell him he had upset his wife with his "childishness" and needed to apologize. OP asked why he had to offer an apology, and his pal said it was because he wrote a curse word on their wall.

"I asked him to provide a picture. He said he couldn't since I had painted over it. I asked what the problem was since the word wasn't there anymore," OP recalled.

Still, his friend persisted in saying he should apologize and told him he should not return until he did. OP was not bothered by the ultimatum since he was helping the couple for free during his time off from work.

Two days later, his pal called him again and asked whether he could return to finish painting since he would return to work for three weeks. However, OP told him he was not ready to apologize and probably would not.

Things escalated after the wife badmouthed OP in their close circle, saying he left the job undone. But he is defending himself, saying he was working for free and was told he should not return.

According to OP, their friend group is now torn as some believe he should apologize to keep the peace, but some say the wife is only being difficult.

OP divulged no one else has offered to volunteer to finish the painting at the couple's home and that they either have to leave it unfinished or pay someone to get it done. "I'm getting hell for that too," he said.

OP admitted he was upset by his friend's wife for ruining part of the work he was busy with and wrote a curse word on their wall but has since fully painted it, so the word is no longer visible. OP believes he might be the bad guy for refusing to apologize "and continue to work for free for an ungrateful and deranged woman."

Online Reaction to OP's Post

While OP is at odds with how everything else played out, fellow Reddit users have since weighed in on the matter. Most of them believe he should be the one getting an apology from the couple since they allowed their dogs to make a mess in the first place.

In addition, some expressed that the two should be grateful that OP was willing to use his downtime to help them out without getting paid, while others do not understand what the fuss is all about since the offensive word is no longer apparent. Here is what online users had to say.

Do you think OP was right in painting a curse word on the couple's wall? Would you have reacted the same if you were in his position?

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