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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/Mysterius-Mode69466 on 2023-10-01 17:52:37.

I’m going to remain kinda vague on the details here but I really need to know if I’m the asshole in this situation. So I, 20m, and my best friend 20m, go to the same college. Same degree, same department. Recently he got called in for an interview for what is essentially his dream internship. I was very happy for him, but that’s when it all started to go downhill. After scheduling the interview, he pulled me aside (we live together) and asked me if I could do him a favor.

He needed three references for the interview and was struggling to find a third. He wanted to put me down as one and wanted to lie saying I used to be a professor of his. I told him that was a bad idea, as they would probably check this and he said he highly doubts they will. I told him no, and he seemed shocked and asked me why I wouldn’t do it for him. He pointed out that he had done this for me in the past, but I countered by saying it was just some fast food job in the summer.

The reason why I was so nervous to do this for him is that the internship is involved with the graduate program we both want to attend, and I am scared that if I get caught impersonating a professor by the people in the department, I can kiss my chances of grad school and possibly even my undergrad degree goodbye. He said I was overreacting and being paranoid- I told him sorry but I wasn’t comfortable doing it. He just said that was really disappointing and I figured that was the end of it.

A week passes, and he says he killed it in the interviews and they loved him. I was happy for him. Then one day I was coming back from the gym and low and behold my phone rang. It’s one of the people from the department- they wanted me to describe my experience with my “previous student” and describe what type of person he was. I was honestly caught really off-guard and said I think they may have the wrong number as I’m a student at the university and not a professor. The lady seemed very surprised and apologized before hanging up.

When I got home I told my friend about it, asking why he would still put me down as a reference after saying I wasn’t comfortable lying for him. When I told him what I said and how I reacted he just sat on the couch with his head in his hands and said he couldn’t believe I wouldn’t just say a couple sentences to cover for him. He didn’t even get angry, he just seemed distraught. He didn’t get the internship and now he won’t really talk to me and it’s been very awkward. I hate this. We’ve been friends for 10+ years.

AITA for getting my best friend rejected from his dream internship?