“You Comment On My Weight, I Comment On Yours Too,” Says Coworker To Bully

Some people just can’t resist making unnecessarily rude comments, especially when they have an audience. But every once in a while, a victim decides they aren’t having it.

That’s exactly what happened when a workplace bully decided to publicly critique a coworker’s recent weight gain. He expected shame, but he got a symmetrical verbal smackdown instead.

The resulting silence was deafening, proving that sometimes, the best defense is an immediate, aggressive offense.

Now, read the full story:

We have to admit, there is a deep satisfaction that comes from watching a bully’s smug face freeze in real-time. This moment wasn’t about teaching a lesson in kindness; it was about teaching a lesson in consequences.

The coworker thought he could leverage a common microaggression—the weight comment—to assert dominance in front of his friends. Instead, OP instantly stripped away his armor of superiority.

OP proved that if you throw a stone at someone else’s glass house, you better make sure yours isn’t equally fragile.

Unsolicited comments about a person’s weight or body are pervasive in the workplace. While some people might dismiss them as harmless joking, they are forms of harassment.

According to a 2021 report on workplace stigma, nearly 42% of employees reported experiencing weight-related comments or harassment in professional settings. 

The person making the comment often attempts to establish social power, but the strategy frequently stems from their own insecurities.

As Clinical Psychologist Dr. Sarah Green notes, “Unsolicited comments about someone’s weight are almost never about the person being commented on. They are about the commenter’s need to assert social dominance or deflect their own internal shame.”  

When confronted with such an aggressive jab, many victims struggle to respond immediately. OP’s success came from mirroring the aggression perfectly and symmetrically. She didn’t escalate the situation or change the subject; she simply reflected the exact insult back to its source.

This tactic uses the principle of reciprocity—he gave a hurtful comment, and he immediately received one of equal measure. It’s a quick, effective way to end a conversation with someone who clearly lacks boundaries and respect.

OP proved that when facing a hostile, intentional attack, setting a boundary sometimes requires sharp, swift retaliation.

Check out how the community responded:

The entire community stood firmly behind OP, celebrating the rare instance where a verbal bully gets instant, symmetrical karma.

Many users agreed that when the shaming is started by the aggressor, responding with the same tactic is completely justified self-defense.

One commenter shared a memorable story about successfully defending a friend from a workplace bully using similar logic.

A final user offered a non-shaming, but equally brutal alternative clapback.

This situation proves that sometimes the only effective way to handle a boundary-less bully is to give them a taste of their own medicine. It might not be the highest road, but it is certainly the shortest path to silence.

Did OP’s snappy comeback truly teach the bully a lesson, or will it just lead to future, passive-aggressive conflict? Was OP justified in using body shaming in self-defense?