AITAH for telling my girlfriend her dark humour is cruel ?
My (29M) girlfriend (28F) has always wanted to pursue stand up comedy. We have been together for 6 years and I have been encouraging her to try it as I think she is quite funny. Both of us work in tech, and earn reasonably well. She finally picked up courage to try it and started doing some open mics recently in her free time. I found her material to be relatively uncontroversial.
Yesterday, she mentioned that she is working on new material which involves some dark humour. Now, I have never seen her make dark jokes before. Being curious, I asked her what topics she is considering. She said she wants to roast three groups: single people on dating apps, self-made fat people (her words), and virgins over 30. I was quite shocked as she is a really sweet person and have never seen/heard do something like this. I heard some of the initial drafts of the jokes and thought they were mean spirited. She claims it’s just dark humour.
She says she’s also adding exceptions to avoid unfair criticism. Virgins over 30 are only targeted if they’re choosing to be so or just can’t get laid (her phrasing). Asexual folks or people with medical barriers are excluded. Fat people only count if they’re lazy (her words), not genetic. She’ll apologize upfront for people with health conditions. Single people are only mocked if they’re actively on dating apps—she says they’re begging for love and deserve the heat.
I told her this is bullying disguised as comedy. She argues she’s punching up at people who won’t improve themselves and that free speech means no one’s safe. When I said I’d reconsider our relationship if she pursues this direction, she called me oversensitive and accused me of stifling her creativity. Our views usually are very aligned and this is perhaps the first time when we disagree completely on a topic.
Reddit, AITAH for drawing this line? Some friends agree with me, others (including most of my family, who really love her) say no topic is off limits in comedy and I’m overreacting. Could this really be harmless fun, or is she crossing into cruelty?