I (24F) live alone in a small apartment near my college. It is not fancy, but it is mine, and I pay for it myself while working part time. Sometimes it gets cluttered because I work, study, and honestly get exhausted, but it is not dirty. Just lived in.
My cousin (26M) came over a few weeks ago with some family after dinner. I thought everything was fine. He made a couple little comments about my apartment being “tiny” and asked if I “decorate with laundry now,” but I just laughed it off because I didn’t want to make it awkward.
Later that night, I saw he had posted a story with a picture from my living room. You couldn’t see anything private, but you could see my folded clothes on a chair and some textbooks stacked on the floor. The caption said something like “student housing or evidence locker?” A few people replied laughing, and one of my friends even sent it to me asking if that was my place.
I texted him and said it was rude to post my apartment without asking. He said I was being sensitive and that it was “obviously a joke.” I told him jokes are less funny when they’re about someone else’s home.
Now he needs a place to stay for about two weeks because his lease ended before his new place is ready. My aunt asked if he could stay with me since I’m close to his work. I said no. She pushed, so I told her I’m not opening my home to someone who already used it as content to make fun of me.
Now my family is saying I’m holding a grudge and making him struggle over one dumb post. Maybe I am, but I feel like if he thought my apartment was funny enough to mock online, he shouldn’t need to sleep in it.
AITJ?