Smosh Reads Reddit Stories

They Are Cringe And Free | Reading Reddit Stories

February 21, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The hosts define 'cringe' in the context of the episode as behavior that is mean or selfish, rather than simply being unpolished or earnest, suggesting a cultural swing back toward authenticity. 
  • The first story revealed a husband consistently sending flirty emojis to his wife's cousin in a family group chat, escalating to an explicit compliment, which the hosts interpreted as blatant infidelity. 
  • The second story detailed a family playing the game 'Slip It In' during wedding speeches, which the OP felt invalidated their wedding by making the event about an inside joke rather than genuine sentiment. 
  • The final story involved a musician who plagiarized his girlfriend's private high school poetry for a song, leading to her leaving him and confirming the hosts' observations about men not taking 'no' for an answer. 
  • The hosts and commenters overwhelmingly condemned the boyfriend's actions as narcissistic and a severe violation of privacy, especially since the girlfriend explicitly asked him not to look at the material. 
  • The discussion concluded that the boyfriend's act of using and publicizing the deeply personal, old poetry, compounded by adding a 'bongo drum solo,' represented a peak level of cringe behavior discussed in the episode of Smosh Reads Reddit Stories. 

Segments

Defining Cringe and Authenticity
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(00:01:31)
  • Key Takeaway: The cultural pendulum is swinging away from the need for perfect online images toward embracing imperfections and authenticity.
  • Summary: The hosts suggest that modern fear of being cringe is receding as people lean into authenticity online. They differentiate between cringe related to earnest fun and cringe related to selfish or mean behavior. Truly cringe actions include TikTokers making unwilling people their content.
Husband Flirting in Group Chat
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(00:04:25)
  • Key Takeaway: A husband repeatedly sent flirty emojis and direct compliments to his wife’s cousin in a joint family group chat, leading to suspicion of infidelity.
  • Summary: The husband’s dismissive reaction to his wife’s concern, saying, “you’re jealous of emojis now?” signaled a history of similar issues. Sending a message like “you looked amazing last night” in a group chat, followed by claiming it was a misclick, was seen as a blatant attempt to test boundaries.
Family Plays Slip It In Game
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(00:14:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Family members played the inside card game ‘Slip It In’ during wedding speeches, making the event about themselves instead of the couple.
  • Summary: The game involves inserting secret, often nonsensical, phrases into conversation without being called out. Specific phrases mentioned as being used included “Sasquatch” and “grandfather invented Skittles.” The consensus was that the OP was justified in being upset because the family treated the wedding as a playground for their game.
Coworker Fills Work Chat GPT with Porn
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(00:27:24)
  • Key Takeaway: A coworker filled a shared, company-paid ChatGPT account’s memory with explicit BDSM roleplay, creating a hostile work environment.
  • Summary: The coworker created an ‘AI boyfriend’ named Huror, a nine-foot-tall, blood-red deity, and programmed the AI with strict guidelines for explicit, uncensored content generation. The OP reported the coworker under India’s POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) framework, leading to the coworker’s suspension without pay.
Girlfriend’s Public Self-Centered Acts
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(00:42:21)
  • Key Takeaway: A 26-year-old girlfriend exhibits consistent, dangerous, and inconsiderate public behavior, including texting while driving and blocking elevator exits.
  • Summary: Specific examples of her behavior included rushing into elevators before people exited, slowing to 15 mph while texting and driving, and ruining the OP’s laundry with a new purple shirt. When confronted, she became defensive, citing excuses like her feet hurting or the importance of a text, leading the OP to end the relationship.
Rocket Money Ad Read
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(00:53:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Rocket Money members save an average of $740 annually using premium features.
  • Summary: The app analyzes income and expenses to calculate safe daily spending limits. It also identifies and cancels unwanted subscriptions. Users have rated the app highly, with over 186,000 five-star ratings.
Nyman Ranch Ad Read
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(00:53:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Nyman Ranch sources pork, beef, and lamb from small, independent U.S. family farms.
  • Summary: Award-winning chefs choose Nyman Ranch for its commitment to humane animal care and sustainable practices. Their meat is raised without antibiotics, delivering richer flavor. Consumers should look for Nyman Ranch on local menus.
Reaction to Self-Absorbed Person
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(00:54:14)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts express disbelief at the level of self-absorption exhibited by a character in a previous story.
  • Summary: The speakers describe the mindset as dazzling and indicative of someone who believes the universe was made for them. This perspective is characterized as a painful burden of perceived goodness.
Final Story Introduction
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(00:54:48)
  • Key Takeaway: The final story concerns a musician using his girlfriend’s private high school poetry to write a song.
  • Summary: The story, originally posted on r/AmItheAsshole in 2020, involves the boyfriend disregarding his girlfriend’s strong desire for privacy regarding her old writings. The hosts immediately identify the act as pure cringe.
Plagiarism Story Details
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(00:55:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The boyfriend waited until his girlfriend was working to secretly go through her private shoebox of poetry.
  • Summary: He posted the resulting song publicly on SoundCloud, leading his girlfriend to threaten legal action for plagiarism. She subsequently demanded he remove the two other songs she had helped write.
Host Reaction to Plagiarism
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(00:58:35)
  • Key Takeaway: The boyfriend’s actions are framed as a pattern of not accepting ’no’ and disregarding boundaries.
  • Summary: The hosts emphasize that the girlfriend explicitly asked him not to use the material, yet he proceeded, motivated by seeking validation from his fans. This behavior is compared to dating one’s parents due to the need for external approval.
Girlfriend’s Update and Verdict
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(01:02:19)
  • Key Takeaway: The girlfriend’s update confirmed she broke up with the boyfriend, calling him a selfish narcissist mirroring her parents.
  • Summary: She stated his song ‘sucked,’ specifically criticizing a bongo drum solo, and confirmed she was leaving with friends. The Reddit community verdict was unanimous: he was the asshole for stealing her words.
Cringe Comparison and Wrap-up
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(01:06:17)
  • Key Takeaway: The boyfriend’s actions were deemed the most cringe-inducing moment of the episode, surpassing the dollar store story.
  • Summary: The hosts conclude that the ceiling for artistic cringe is very high, and this individual reached it, earning the title of ‘Michael Jordan of cringe.’ They invite listeners to suggest themes for future episodes.
Sponsor Reads Outro
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(01:07:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Mohonk Mountain House is offering 40% off select spring sale dates for stays including elevated cuisine and activities.
  • Summary: Short codes are highlighted as highly effective for customer communication, achieving a 98% open rate for text messages. Businesses like banks and airlines rely on short codes for fast customer reach.