20 Outrageous and Inappropriate Stunts People Pulled Just for Attention
As children, many of us believed the world revolved around us. Over time, most of us outgrow such self-centered thinking and immature habits. However, some people cling to the spotlight well into adulthood, seemingly convinced they’re the main character in everyone’s story. These attention-seekers often go to extreme lengths to ensure all eyes are on them.
Reddit user MelodicFishing8899 sparked a fascinating discussion by asking, “What is the worst thing your friend or relative has done to get attention?” The responses revealed a range of jaw-dropping behaviors—from exaggerating life events and fabricating medical emergencies to outright deceiving others just to stay the center of attention. These stories highlight how some individuals struggle to show up authentically, resorting instead to dramatic or manipulative tactics to keep the focus on themselves.
#1
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My ex-wife once staged a fake pregnancy as an April Fools’ prank. What started as a one-day joke turned into a week-long charade. She convinced her friends and family that she was expecting, and they responded with money, gifts, and heartfelt advice for the “baby.” I warned her not to go through with it, telling her it was cruel, but she brushed me off. She thought it was hilarious and saw it as a way to test how gullible people could be.
After a week, she finally revealed it was all a prank—and kept all the money and gifts. Unsurprisingly, her family didn’t speak to her for months, and her friends distanced themselves from her. It was one of the many reasons she’s now my ex.
#2
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My childhood best friend showed up to my father’s funeral wearing a white, backless sundress with a white flower in her hair. It was completely inappropriate for the occasion, and it left everyone stunned. Needless to say, it was a moment I’ll never forget—and not in a good way.
#3
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For context, my aunt has always been an attention seeker, constantly needing to be the center of everything. This particular incident happened at her own daughter’s wedding, where she wasn’t getting the spotlight she craved.
Out of nowhere, she dramatically announced, “I’m gonna k**l myself.”
Now, I’ve got a short temper, and I was beyond fed up with her antics. So, without hesitation, I grabbed the cake knife, handed it to her, and said, “Do it. I want to watch. Do it, right now. I dare you.”
She was stunned into silence. From that day on, she never pulled that kind of stunt in front of me again. Every time she even hinted at it, I’d call her bluff. Sure, I got in trouble for it, but honestly? It was worth it to finally shut her down.
#4
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At her own sister’s wedding, my cousin decided to steal the spotlight by pretending to have a seizure. The dramatic act completely derailed the celebration, leaving everyone in shock and ruining what was supposed to be a special day. It was just another example of her constant need for attention, no matter the cost to others.
#5
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A girl I went to high school with did something so disturbing it’s hard to forget. After our cheerleading coach tragically took her own life, this girl broke into the coach’s house, put on her clothes and jewelry, and took photos of herself posing as if she were the deceased. It was a horrifying and disrespectful act, all for what seemed like a twisted attempt at attention.
#6
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A cousin of my best friend back in 1999 or so got really close to me one summer. She knew all about the crush I’d had on a guy for years and kept pushing me to tell him how I felt and ask him out.
After months of encouragement, I finally worked up the courage to do it!
It turned out, though, that she had been secretly dating him the whole time.
To make things even crazier, she apparently told him she had cancer and only had a year to live.
It was a wild, mind-blowing experience that really left me shaken as I stepped into adulthood.
#7
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I’m really sorry you had to go through such a difficult experience. Here’s a possible rewrite to make it clearer:
When I was a freshman in high school, my friend and her two older brothers threw a house party. They dragged me into it, and things took a disturbing turn. They put her younger brother’s anti-seizure medication in my beer, intending for her second oldest brother to take advantage of me. Thankfully, one of their friends realized how messed up it was and stepped in before anything happened. Needless to say, I ended that friendship after that.
If you’d like, I can adjust the tone or make further changes for you.
#8
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My dad’s first cousin’s second wife (I’m giving you all that context to properly distance myself from this horrible woman—I share no blood or bond with her) lived in my hometown and worked as an aide at our elementary school. I was long out of school by then, but I knew her as a faculty member. A few years ago, it came out that she had been impersonating her 13-year-old daughter on Instagram to sext with boys in her daughter’s class.
It gets worse. She was taking explicit photos of her own daughter and sending them to these young boys, pretending to be her. The daughter had no idea until one of the boys approached her at school and showed her the conversations, along with her own photos. It was absolutely despicable.
When the daughter reported her to the school administration, the woman was arrested. Her excuse? She claimed she did it “to make her daughter more popular.” It’s hard to fathom the level of manipulation and cruelty involved in using your own child in such a twisted scheme for attention. As far as I know, she’s in prison now—and for obvious reasons, we no longer have any contact with that side of the family.
#9
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She created a fake Facebook account pretending to be me and sent messages to herself, saying I was using my boyfriend to get over an ex. She then took a screenshot of the conversation and sent it to him. He broke up with me because of it and didn’t tell me the real reason until a few months later when we became friends again.
#10
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It sounds like you’ve had quite a few unforgettable moments with your MIL! Here’s a rewritten version of your list to make it flow a bit better:
- During our wedding cake tasting, she vomited.
- She passed out while I was trying on wedding dresses.
- At our reception dinner, she suddenly decided she couldn’t walk up the stairs. She was put in a chair and carried up, despite having no issues with stairs before or since.
- On the day of our wedding, she insisted on being in a wheelchair, and the only person allowed to push it was the groom.
- During her speech at the wedding reception, she said her older son was “unfortunate” because he had just gotten divorced and wished he could be more like her younger son, who was getting married. She then added that if anyone in attendance was rich, she was single.
- When my husband and I bought our house, she came in and immediately criticized it, saying it was all wrong. Then she claimed to be having financial trouble with her house and left in an emotional state. Upon investigation, my husband found there were no issues.
- One night we were all having spaghetti, and she kept dropping it on her shirt, looking around to see if anyone would notice or comment. I just kept my mouth shut.
It’s been over a decade since those events, and thankfully, her behavior has improved since then.
Let me know if you’d like any tweaks!
#11
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My ex-mother-in-law had a habit of insinuating she had cancer every time she didn’t get her way. If you couldn’t make it to a family dinner, she’d suddenly have “news” from a hospital visit that she just had to share. It was her go-to manipulation tactic, and it was exhausting.
But the worst was at our wedding. Right in the middle of the ceremony, she faked a “medical emergency” so severe that an ambulance had to be called. It was a blatant attempt to stop the wedding and steal the spotlight.
Fk that b*h. I won’t lie—I sometimes Google her name, hoping to one day find her obituary. It’s petty, but after everything she put us through, it feels like the universe owes me that much.
#12
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She even told the newspapers that the people helping her on the emergency line were rude and putting her in danger. It ended up making its way into a national paper. But then the recordings surfaced, and guess who was actually rude, unhelpful, and, on top of that, drunk?
#13
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My friend staged a fake breakup on social media, posting dramatic screenshots and sob stories just to get sympathy likes.
#14
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A classmate in high school faked a bomb threat, which led to classes being canceled for the day while investigators raided every classroom, searching for explosives. No bombs were found, and the call was traced back to him. We didn’t see him the following semester, so he was presumably kicked out.
#15
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My cousin faked a proposal at my grandma’s 80th birthday party just to get Facebook likes. Real classy move.
#16
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She led a convoy to the nation’s capital. She’s a conspiracy enthusiast who craved attention. On Facebook, she would post a mix of conspiracy theories and cheesecake photos for her friends and family.
#17
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My brother pretended to have a back problem until the doctor pulled my mom aside and told her he was clearly faking. We were extremely poor and couldn’t afford doctors, so we probably spent our rent money just to get him seen. I’m sure it took years to pay off all those bills.
My sister’s situation might have been even worse. She called me crying, telling me that our mother had forced her to abort her baby. After an hour of comforting her, I called my mom, furious. My mom responded, “What the hell are you talking about? She’s sitting right here, big as a whale!” I told my mom to hand the phone to my sister, and when I spoke to her, I immediately said, “What the f**k?” She explained that she was just bored and wanted to see how I’d react if that had actually happened.
#18
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A friend of a friend during our senior year called in a bomb threat. He wanted to do something “epic” to be remembered. Almost 30 years later, I still remember him as the guy who ended up with a suspension and had to spend a fifth year in high school.
#19
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Pretended to lose their voice for three days just to seem mysterious. 🙄
#20
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This girl I used to be friends with faked multiple pregnancies during our senior year of high school. Luckily, I had mostly distanced myself from her by then, but it was infuriating to watch how she got people to fawn over her with every fake pregnancy and miscarriage story. She also got one of our mutual friends arrested and sent to juvenile hall by falsely accusing him of assault, just because she felt like it. She was a nightmare.