Sometimes, weaponized incompetence is funny. No, but seriously, it really is not. And users on TikTok quickly told one woman, Robin Lee Flask, as much when she posted about her husband’s lackluster decorations he set up for her birthday. While some people took the offensive a lot more seriously than others, there are plenty of users who commented that the video must be a joke.
But, joke or not, it sparked a lively debate in the comments about men doing the bare minimum and women laughing along with them. In Robin’s case, the video shows her going on a mini tour of their apartment to show hastily taped streamers and a ‘happy birthday’ sign sagging on the wall. All the while, Robin laughs and, she wrote in the caption, “He did his best.” But his “best” does not sit well for some users on TikTok.
A husband was called out for his lack of effort in decorating for his wife’s birthday.
@robbinleeflask he did his best #birthdaygirl #birthday #birthdayparty #youtube #husbandwife ♬ original sound – Robbin Lee
In the video, Robin shows a few sad and short streamers taped to the top of the doorframe at the door to her and her husband’s apartment. Then, she shows a shimmery backdrop garland that was hung in a doorway using the string from her hoodie. She also shares a shot of blown up balloons sitting in the middle of the living room.
For people who came across the video organically on TikTok, the setup was not it. In many ways, it’s giving Jim and Dwight’s attempt at celebrating birthday parties on The Office. And, as TikTok users tend to do, they made sure Robin knew where her husband went wrong and, by extension, where she went wrong in not calling him out herself.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s so funny and cute about this,” one TikTok user commented.
“Women need to start reciprocating the same level of effort and energy,” another user added. “Because men know the difference, watch him freak out if you pull this stuff on his birthday or anything he cares about.”
Then, there were the clear judgments about the husband, with one person writing, “He’s testing how little effort you will accept from him btw.”
Another suggested, “He is training you to expect so little. And with your consent.”
The wife might be the only one who thinks it’s funny.
@robbinleeflask Replying to @- JACKAL – #birthdaygirl #birthday #birthdayparty #youtube #birthdaygift ♬ original sound – Robbin Lee
In a follow-up video, Robin explains that she never wanted decorations for her birthday in the first place. So for her husband to play this joke of sorts, it seems right on par with what she finds funny about the whole situation. Strangers on the internet? Not so much.
“Thank you guys for making me feel so special on my birthday,” Robin says in the follow-up video. “I didn’t want the house to be decorated and so he did it in a funny way because that’s what I find funny. I absolutely love it because it’s my sense of humor and that’s how me and my husband joke with each other. But thank you for all calling him names and telling him I should leave him and saying that he’s probably cheating on me. I appreciate that. Making it a great birthday. We are going out to dinner and he bought me all the things that I love and took me to all the places I love today. So I guess I’ll see you all later.”
After she said the video was a joke, not everyone believed her.
@robbinleeflask #birthdaygirl #birthday #birthdayparty #youtube #husbandwife ♬ original sound – Robbin Lee
Robin posted another video to further explain the context of her original birthday decoration video. She once again says that the original video was meant to be a joke. But she also calls out users for being so comfortable shaming both her and her husband.
“Say that video wasn’t a joke and I was actually like a victim in this situation,” she says. “The fact that you guys are messaging me and like calling me fat and telling me all these horrible things and telling me to [kill] myself, that’s crazy. Like, imagine if I was a victim in a situation like that and that’s how you’re treating a victim in that situation. But I’m not because it was a joke.”
And yet, even in the comments under that video, users joked about Robin keeping her relationship dynamic to herself. But, luckily for Robin, this video found users who were more willing to see her side of things and believe that the original TikTok was a joke and that the problem lies with the comments.
READ NEXT: Man Tells Wife And Kids He Isn’t Helping Decorate For Christmas: ‘Not Going To Waste Time’
