Rant: My uncle's "harmless" joke about my wife's cooking backfired at Thanksgiving
He said her turkey was so dry it could absorb the whole gravy boat. She laughed. I laughed. Then she walked out for 20 minutes and came back with tear streaks. This was our first Thanksgiving in Austin, 14 people at the table. We got through it but he hasn't been invited back since. Am I overreacting or did he cross a line?
14 people at your table and your uncle picks that moment to make your wife feel small. That is not a joke, that is a man finding a soft spot in front of an audience. The fact that she laughed first does not mean it did not land hard. She probably held it together until she could not anymore, and 20 minutes in the bathroom on Thanksgiving says plenty. You are not overreacting by keeping him off the list. He had one job, eat the food and be nice, and he could not do it.