Woman’s Coworker Reported Her To HR For Eating “Sexy Potatoes”

Have you ever had a coworker who was so…unhinged…that they accused you of eating your lunch suggestively? What if your lunch was a potato?

In quite possibly one of the weirdest AITAs I’ve ever read, the OP’s coworker is taking her to HR to complain about the sexy way she eats baked potatoes.

I know, it’s bizarre. But the OP is honestly sick of the harassment and doesn’t know what to do. She just wants to eat her damn potatoes!

“My whole life, I’ve been eating potatoes by microwaving them, then biting into them, eating them hot dog style. This is the easiest, most convenient and intuitive way for me to eat potatoes (sweet potatoes or regular). I think this is how people in Japan eat them, or at least, this is how I was taught by my Japanese parents to eat them. Whenever I go to a grocery store, I always pick out the most easily bite-able potatoes, which are generally longer and thinner than most potatoes.”

The OP explains that she works in an office of about 30 people. Most everyone brings their own lunch and eats while doing work at their desk. No one has ever bothered the OP about how she eats potatoes, but recently a new coworker asked her to eat them in a “more normal way.”

“I asked her what she meant, and she I was eating potatoes too suggestively. I was a little shocked because I literally just have my eyes glued to my screen whenever I’m eating and barely pay attention to how I eat. I told her no one else seemed to have a problem with the way I eat potatoes, but she insisted others were just too polite to say anything. I figured no one else really had a problem with it. But this happened multiple times. She kept coming to me and asking me to tone down the way I eat, even accusing me of going out of my way to choose sexy potatoes (????).”

The OP said that she asked her coworkers, and they were all as perplexed as she was. However the coworker keeps asking her to “tone down the way I eat” and even accused her of going out of her way to choose “sexy potatoes.”

The OP asked her to not watch her eat, but “apparently that’s just not feasible.” To top off this weirdness, the coworker reported the OP to HR, and she has a meeting with them next week.

I’ve honestly never heard of “sexy potatoes” before, and I am gobsmacked that someone’s coworker could be so invested in how a person eats. What should the OP do?

“NTA but please tell me this is a joke cuz it’s freakin hilarious,” said spawberry.

“It’s probably worth turning it round and complaining that your co-worker is making you uncomfortable by making sexual comments about you eating your lunch,” said whyamiwastingmytime1.

“Please take bananas and popsicles to work next and report back 🙂 I can’t imagine that HR will take her seriously once they hear your explanation (I bet she exaggerated the hell out of what you were doing), but I’d point out to them that you now feel uncomfortable to learn that someone is watching you so closely while you work on a daily basis,” advised Nyankh.

“This chick should not be sexualizing your potatoes. Besides, anything between your potatoes and you is your own business and she should keep her nose out of it. Maybe she’s jealous of what you have and can’t make it work for herself. NTA. Don’t sweat the HR meeting, they’re just doing their job and hopefully find this as ridiculous as we do,” said fistbumpbroseph.

“Start turning your webcam on in the background while you eat so you can prove to HR you aren’t doing anything weird. I can guarantee you your coworker with the stick up her ass most likely lied to HR and probably said something like you simulate oral sex on the potatoes while moaning and making direct eye contact with her and only her while eating them. I’d also encourage you to get written statements from your coworkers stating you don’t eat potatoes in a creepy way and that is isn’t an office or you problem but a new coworker problem to bring to your HR meeting with you. Finally, I’d file a counter complaint against your coworker for harassment, creating a hostile work environment, and maybe even sexual harassment considering she’s sexualizing your eating habits in a way that makes you and others uncomfortable,” suggested MousseDisastrous.

What would you do if someone accused you of eating potatoes in a suggestive way?

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Patricia Grisafi

Patricia Grisafi, PhD, is a freelance writer and educator. Her work has appeared in Salon, Vice, Bitch, Bustle, Broadly, The Establishment, and elsewhere. She is passionate about pit bull rescue, cursed objects, and designer sunglasses.