AITA for admitting I hadn't watched my friend's play and saying I wouldn't finish the recording?
AITA"What did you think of the final scene?" my friend Jules asked.
I had watched eleven minutes of the recording of his three-hour amateur play. A week earlier, I'd messaged him, "You were great!" He reasonably thought that meant I'd watched it.
Jules sent the recording after I missed the live performance because I was working. I said I'd watch it that weekend. I started, got distracted, and never returned to it. When he asked whether it had arrived, I sent the compliment instead of admitting that.
At coffee I finally told him how little I'd seen. He looked hurt and asked if I would watch the rest before we next met. I said I didn't want to promise another three hours when I already knew I was unlikely to do it.
He said he hadn't asked for an essay, just for a friend to care about something he'd spent months rehearsing. I said attending every performance or watching every recording couldn't be the test of our friendship.
That sounded firmer than I felt. The immediate problem wasn't every performance. It was one I had promised to watch, followed by praise I hadn't earned the information to give. AITA for refusing to finish it after finally telling the truth?
