BAINVILLE, Mont. – I local grandmother is heartbroken after learning what her granddaughter really thinks of the holiday sweater she knit for her to celebrate the holiday season.

Vivian Menendez, 89, learned of this ultimate betrayal last night when her granddaughter, Vicki Menendez, 24, called to wish Vivian a happy birthday via Facetime while wearing the sweater in question. Vicki was at her friend’s house for their annual ugly Christmas sweater party when she made the call.

“I feel really awful about the whole thing,” said Vicki, who hasn’t been able to reach her grandmother via telephone since the fateful encounter. “I didn’t have time to go get a new sweater for the party and I’d just opened the packaged Nana sent me with this one and it was right on my kitchen counter, so it was just a matter of convenience more than it actually being an ugly sweater.”

While those words are endearing, they’re also equivocally false. With three large snowmen, several frills and pompoms, and enough sequins to make Elsa, queen of Arendelle, jealous, the sweater is hideous.

“It was the thought that counts, right?” asked Vicki. “I know she spent a lot of time making it, I remember seeing her knitting with this came colored thread over July 4th weekend. And I do appreciate the sentiment behind it, but honestly, it just isn’t something that goes with anything else in my wardrobe.”

To Vivian’s credit, the sweater received a lot of positive comments from the other partygoers, especially when it was discovered that it was handmade. Some even went as far as to praise it for being the absolutely perfect ugly sweater for an ugly sweater party.

“I bought my sweater from The Ugly Sweater Superstore (an online marketplace dedicated to the sale of ugly sweaters), ” said Sam Hughes, one of Vicki’s friends. “And I’ll be honest, nothing on that website was as unsightly as hers. It was absolutely perfect.”

We managed to get a hold of Vivian by masking our call to appear as a telemarketer. She said it was hurtful to learn her granddaughter was using her gift in such a cruel way but admits it’s difficult for her to sometimes remember that Vicki isn’t a child anymore.

“I have always knitted her a new sweater every year,” said Vivian. “I remember the Christmas when I made her a rainbow unicorn sweater when she was six. I’ll never forget the glimmer in her eye and the gasp of excitement she made when she opened the box. I suppose I was just hoping I could help her feel that magical again, but she’s not a child anymore. She’s a young woman and I suppose hand-made gifts are not cool at that age.”

Upon realizing the situation that was unfolding, an anonymous partygoer uploaded a summary of the situation to reddit under the AITA, or am I the asshole, subreddit. And, while Vicki did receive some support from the nearly 1.5 million reddit users who chimed in, the overwhelming consensus was that Vicki was the asshole in this situation.

“I totally deserve that,” said Vicki. “I should’ve just stopped at Walmart on the way to the party and picked up a new sweater. I just hope that Nana will forgive me someday. I feel terrible.”

“It’s just a thing,” Vivian said. “The initial shock was what hurt the most, but she’s my granddaughter. I will always love her, no matter what. I think I’ll go make her a fruitcake as a peace offering.”

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