Babysitter Reveals The 'Inappropriate' Shirt That Made A Family Refuse To Pay Her & Insult Her Mom
All this over a tank top?
Ground Picture | Shutterstock A babysitter was left slack-jawed after an interaction with one of her clients. The mom refused to pay her and sent her multiple scathing text messages. You'd probably assume it was over something truly egregious that the babysitter did. But, nope, it all came down to a shirt — one most of us would never even blink an eye at.
A babysitter shared the 'inappropriate' shirt that made a family refuse to pay her and insult her mom.
We're living in conservative times, which means many people have very conservative ideas about what is and is not "appropriate attire." But even by the most buttoned-up standards, this uproar that erupted between a 15-year-old babysitter and the mom she works for is not only ridiculous, but rather shocking.
As she shared on Reddit, it all began when the 15-year-old, Mae, reached out to the mom via text several days after working because she hadn't yet been paid. What she received in response left her surprised, to say the least.
Antonio Guillem | Shutterstock
"Hello Mae, Dan and I have been talking about it, and quite frankly, we do not feel comfortable paying you the full amount after you wore such inappropriate clothing to our house," the mom wrote.
She then added that since her kids love Mae so much, they were willing to give her "a second chance," but would be "unable" to be able to pay her more than $50 for seven hours of work taking care of two children, because "you wore that." And then it got even uglier.
The babysitter stood her ground, and the mom ended up insulting both her and her mother.
The babysitter handled the situation beautifully. In a follow-up post, she shared that she apologized for offending the parents and for any misunderstanding, and then politely said that $50 was not a fair rate of pay. As a compromise, she generously offered to give the mom a discount
That apparently was not good enough because the mom never responded, even after the babysitter had her mother email on her behalf. So, she asked the mom to pay her what she was owed and suggested they both agree to "put this behind us" and not work together anymore. The response she got was frankly shocking.
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"I have known you since you were a little girl, and it is quite disheartening to see that you have grown up into another version of your mother," the mom wrote back to Mae. "You were so lovely growing up, and we always prayed you would find a silver of normality among your parents." She then fired Mae, which is hilarious since Mae had already quit.
Many suspected the vitriol arose from religious and political bigotry, not the shirt.
Given the abhorrent way the mom spoke about Mae and her mother, you'd probably assume that Mae wore some kind of tube top or barely-there bikini top more appropriate for a nightclub or something. But nope! It was… just a tank top, sold by teen fashion brand Brandy Melville. It's not even low-cut and covers far more skin than a bathing suit would.
Brandy Melville
Mae revealed that there was more to the mom's puritanical response, however. "[My mom and her] do not get along very well due to opposing political beliefs and religions, etc.," she wrote, adding "my mom is Jewish, she's very Catholic."
For most readers, that explained everything. "This is an antisemite," one commenter flatly responded. Others who grew up Jewish said they'd had similar encounters with devout Christians during their own upbringings. "I would wager my whole life savings that she's been plotting how to convert [this babysitter] since she was in the single-digit age range," one user added.
Others couldn't help but spy a subtle anti-Jewish stereotype in the mom's text. "I inhaled so sharply when I read that," one person wrote. "That is the dog whistle, isn’t it? 'You’re turning out just like your [Jewish] mother, [caring so much about money].'"
As someone who grew up a devoutly evangelical Christian, I must admit, I didn't even need the "very Catholic" information to suspect that this was precisely the kind of thing going on here. But it is, of course, impossible to know the mom's motivations based on these texts alone.
What is indisputable is that speaking to a child like this and insulting her mother is abhorrent, inappropriate, and morally bankrupt,t far beyond what even the most scandalous clothing could ever be. This babysitter has dodged a major bullet.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
