I swear, people love to talk about other people. And the worst part about it is that when there's nothing to talk about, they straight up make stuff up. I would know--I once had people spread a rumor that I lied about having a college degree (which I do), among other weird, untrue stuff.
Typically, rumors come with a preconceived narrative about a person, whether or not that narrative is true. Here are some of the more ridiculous rumors jealous and unhappy people have come up with, courtesy of Reddit.
U/darky761 asked: What is the most ridiculous rumor you have heard about yourself?
The most hilarious rumors usually end up backfiring.
Technically the truth.
My parents have been happily married for 25 years, and when I was little, my mum was a law student at the same school where my dad was teaching (my parents are the same age, she just went to law school later). Someone saw them leaving together and a rumour started going around that she was having an affair with a prof.
So that's the story of how a whole bunch of law students got mad at my mother for sleeping with her husband.
RIP these guys.
mitsubishi business time GIFGiphyThat I was dead. About 6 months ago someone from high school that I wasn't even friends with reached out to me and said they were told I died years ago and couldn't believe they were talking to me. I felt very accomplished.
Same here but for a different reasons. I ended up switching to homeschool halfway through my senior year because of medical issues in my family. I don't use social media and I don't even really use my cell phone for anything other than work and emergencies. So fast forward like 5 years after high school and on multiple occasions, I've seen old classmates who told me they thought I was dead. I always tell em I am to go back to thinking that.
She tried.
In high school a girl who didn't like me tried to "save" other girls from dating me by telling them I had given her an STD. I never even dated her, nor did we have sex. It backfired on her pretty hard because it was widely known she hated me so when she started it her friends were like "Wait but you slept with him tho? lol"
That’s unfortunate.
That I was a murderer because someone with the same name and age as me made the papers after killing someone.
That's mad, that would actually be pretty hilarious tho if you told everyone you escaped from jail.
Sometimes rumors come with some really serious repercussions.
Poor seals.
massage bliss GIFGiphyWay back when I was in my early 20's I went to Alaska to work on a fishing boat. My best friend told my other friends that I went to Alaska to club baby seals. Sadly, a few of my more gullible friends believed him. It was pretty funny.
I should add that he told me that he was going to tell people that and I was ok with it.
Messed up.
My mother and her husband have what I can only describe as "mental Munchausen" or "psychiatric munchhausen." I am no longer in contact with them, but last I heard, I am a junkie sex worker who is about to be homeless. Apparently, I lie to everyone. When my grandpa drives me to my therapy sessions, I secretly go somewhere else and do drugs.
I cut off contact with my parents last year. I'm 28 now. I sent them a 26 page letter outlining things they said and did from when I was 12 until I was 25.
I developed alopecia in 7th grade and Lyme disease in 9th grade. They told people I was faking it both times. I got my driver's license when I was 16. Until I was 21 or 22, they said I never learned how to drive. I got accused of smoking tobacco and marijuana. Never did. I got accused of binge drinking, even drinking at work. Never did. My mom would tell our Catholic friends we were Catholic, our Protestant friends we were Protestant, and our atheist friends we were atheist in order to fit in. I worked five days a week starting at age 19. Until I was 24, she was still saying I was spending all day watching TV on her sofa and that she couldn't get me to look for jobs. I came out as gay at age 23. My parents still would tell people that I would meet the right woman someday. I lent my dad about $5,000 between 2015 and 2018 because he couldn't pay his bills. And then he would go around bragging about how successful he is.
I'm happy to be done with them. I've become very close to my aunts, uncles, and extended family who got tired of my parents' bullshit years ago.
Other times, rumors are just funny because they make zero sense.
I’m sorry, WHAT?
Dog Puppy GIF by TikTokGiphyWhen I was in high school, this rumor was going around that I stole pets from the popular people, dress them up like the popular people and hide them in my shed. Like, can you believe it? As if someone would actually do something crazy like that! Totally ridiculous.
D&D is a gateway drug.
That I was a massive stoner. A friend of mine's mother believed that when my friend stayed over, we were getting high all the time and it was because I was such a bad influence. The evidence was clear, he'd come home, stinking of smoke and very tired/out of it. The reality is that we were playing D&D until 3am with some friends who smoked... tobacco.
That rumor is kinda fun.
It was rumored that I had opened a Rolls-Royce dealership.
The rumor began circulating because I was seen driving a friend's 1957 Rolls-Royce "Silver Cloud." (He collects antique cars and thought I'd enjoy the experience of driving a Rolls.)
As someone who has had countless rumors spread about them, I can tell you firsthand that they are more confusing than anyone else. Like, I had a rumor spread about me that I purposely started a fire in my house because I wanted my husband to come home from game night. Like, what?
A lot of times, people spread rumors to feel better about themselves. My best advice is to just take it as flattery--they're obsessed with you and can't stop thinking about you, and that doesn't make them a hater. That makes them a fan