A couple of weekends ago, we had a small family get-together at my aunt’s house. Nothing huge just some homemade food, drinks, everyone hanging out in the backyard. My brother came too. He’s been having a rough time lately; he got laid off about a month ago and has been quietly trying to figure things out while applying for jobs. He’s been keeping it together, but you can tell it’s been weighing on him.

Enter my cousin Lisa. She recently got promoted at her company and got a big bonus, which great for her, honestly. But the way she went on about it at dinner was... a lot. From the moment she arrived, she was talking about how her new apartment is almost too big, how her bonus was more than most people’s yearly salary, and how she’s finally done dealing with poor people problems. She was saying all this while sitting across from my brother, who was just quietly eating and trying to stay out of the conversation.

At first I let it slide because I figured she was just excited. But it didn’t stop. At one point, she joked that if you're not making six figures by 30, you're doing something wrong. I looked at her and just said, maybe read the room some of us are going through stuff, and this isn’t really the time to be flexing. She got defensive right away, saying I was trying to shame her for being successful. I told her no one was upset she was doing well, but there’s a difference between celebrating and just being tone-deaf. She didn’t say much after that, and things got kind of awkward until dessert.

Now my aunt says I embarrassed her and should’ve pulled her aside instead of calling her out in front of everyone. Lisa hasn’t talked to me since. My brother texted me later saying thanks, but I still feel a bit weird about how I handled it.

AITAH for saying something in the moment instead of just letting it go?