AITA for kicking my cousin off of my sister’s wedding Zoom call?

A man was tasked with hosting his sister’s Zoom wedding, where guests were asked to remain muted except during designated times to ensure the couple’s moment remained special. During the unmuted portion, his cousin attempted to propose to his girlfriend, seemingly stealing the spotlight.

The host promptly kicked him off the call, citing “technical difficulties,” allowing the focus to stay on the bride and groom. The cousin and his family are now furious, claiming the moment was ruined. To dive deeper into this dramatic Zoom wedding interruption, continue reading…

‘ AITA for kicking my cousin off of my sister’s wedding Zoom call?’

My [27M] older sister [30F] and her fiancé [31M] were planning for over a year for their wedding to be this month. Obviously, they can’t have the wedding as planned, but they still would like to get married, so they decided on a “Zoom” wedding where all of the family/friends would just call in to watch the officiant, my sister, and her fiancé.

My sister didn’t want to be in charge of hosting the Zoom call because she thought it would stress her out, so she asked me to and I gladly accepted. She and her fiancé decided to invite everyone they originally wanted to, and it was a very big list.

When we were going over the list, my sister mentioned to me that she wanted everyone else to be muted for the majority of the wedding as she was worried that others would talk over her and her fiancé and quote “overshadow” them on their big day “that was already scaled down”.

However, her and her fiancé said that I should unmute everyone at one point so everyone could talk and have a nice time with each other. Fast-forward to the day of the wedding—everyone is muted during the ceremony which goes great,

and so I then unmute everyone and ask to please raise a hand if they’d like to talk so it doesn’t get confusing. My cousin (around my age) starts waving his hand crazily, and he’s with his longtime girlfriend (also similar age I guess). He’s a very gregarious guy, so I was not surprised.

Then, he says stuff like “(my sister) and (her husband) are such an inspiration, it’s given me the courage to do this….” then turns to his girlfriend and pulls out a box that is the size of an engagement ring box?? I immediately saw this as him trying to steal the spotlight (something that he’s done since we were kids,

ex: he would secretly mess up my sister and I’s drawings if the adults would praise ours) and booted him off of the call. Then I quickly announced that my cousin had technical difficulties and would not be joining again. Everyone else accepted this and went about talking, and my sister and her husband did too.

The rest of the wedding went smoothly—except for the fact that my cousin kept texting me angrily saying that he finally wanted to propose as a surprise with family all around and I ruined it. My aunt and uncle texted me the same. AITA??

Here’s the comments of Reddit users:

drseussgrandchild −  NTA!!! THANK GOD YOU DID THAT! Your cousin has issues, who would propose at another persons wedding? that’s the definition of overshadowing that your sis didn’t want. If I were your sister, I wouldn’t even know how to thank you.

[Reddit User] −  Nta Good on you for looking out for your sister. Your cousin is an attention*ore that deserved to be kicked out. So INAPPROPRIATE to take away from your sisters big day, ESPCIALLY since it’s already small since a pandemic. Despicable. Your cousin needs to grow up.

poodle_kitten −  NTA. That was probably the best unintended outcome of the wedding being virtual! Imagine if it had been in person – you’d have had to tackle his dumb ass, lol. Good for you!! I’m sure it’s annoying that you have to deal with his texts and those of his obviously biased parents.

But just be thankful that you’re not posting on here “aita for not stopping my cousin’s proposal at my sister’s wedding?”

tallclaimswizard −  NTA People who propose, make baby announcements, wear white dresses, or do other things that pull focus from the wedding couple are assholes.

unsurehowtoreddit −  NTA. It wasn’t his moment. You made a judgment call as moderator. I personally think you made the right one.

loxpoxmox −  NTA – I love the swift action to protect your sister’s moment. Well played!!

Whycantooooo −  NTA He was trying to upstage your sister on her wedding day, and she made it clear she didn’t want anyone overshadowing/usstaging her on her special day.

myxgreasyxflannel −  NTA. Your cousin knew what he was doing and you did what you had to to make sure that you kept your promise to your sister.

[Reddit User] −  You are a saint! What a clutch move, “Someone is about to propose mid ceremony? NOT ON MY WATCH!” Obviously NTA

[Reddit User] −  NTA and you’re the real MVP for blocking his attempt at sabotaging their wedding. He sounds like a tool.