History Main / MistakenConfession

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "The Pink Perloiner", [=SpongeBob=] gives Patrick a teddy bear with a microphone taped to it called Confess-a-Bear, which he speaks through to get Patrick to admit he took his jellyfishing net. Patrick instead confesses an even nastier secret -- he accidentally knocked [=SpongeBob=]'s toothbrush in the toilet and put it back without telling him, and [=SpongeBob=] runs around in the background, disgusted and tryinf to rid his tongue of bacteria.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** "Party of One": Pinkie decides to interrogate Spike to find out why her friends are avoiding her, assuming he knows all about it, but he has no clue what she's after...
--->'''Pinkie Pie:''' NO! You're not understanding me! I want you to confess!\\
'''Spike:''' I'm the one who spilled juice all over Twilight's copy of Magical Mysteries and Practical Potions! ''[wince]''\\
'''Pinkie Pie:''' And?\\
'''Spike:''' And I'm the one who used up all the hot water in Ponyville yesterday when I took a seven-hour bubblebath! ''[harder wince]''\\
'''Pinkie Pie:''' AND?\\
'''Spike:''' ...And sometimes, when no one's around, I do this... ''[flexes arms in front of mirror]'' Lookin' good, Spike! Lookin' REAL good!\\
'''Pinkie Pie:''' ''[{{eye take}}]''
** Yet another example occurs in this show in which Zecora is trying to get Apple Bloom to confess to using some of her potion ingredients thereby coming down with an amusing disease. A confession is the only thing that will make the antidote (a flower) grow. Pinkie Pie was within earshot and inadvertently came to believe that she was the one who needed to confess to something. "I ate five corn cakes....SIX! I ate six corn cakes."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'':
** Doug once accidentally turns in a doodle he made of Mrs. Wingo along with his homework assignment, and is panicking as she begins grading each of the papers. Doug decides to try and act casual and maybe she will never find out he made the drawing. But as soon as she asks who turned in something, before she can finish the sentence, Doug confesses, only to find out she is asking who had turned in a paper titled "My First Pair of High Heels" (which is Bebe's paper, who forgot to write her name).
** Also happens when Doug tries to tell his friends he's not copying a teen star.
--->'''Doug:''' I suppose you're wondering why you're here? Certain accusations have been made recently.\\
'''Roger:''' [[NoodleIncident Alright, I did it! Big deal!]]\\
'''Doug:''' Did what, Roger?\\
'''Roger:''' Oh, you don't know? Never mind.\\
'''Bebe:''' Get to the point, Doug!
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse2013'' short "[[Recap/MickeyMouseS3E15SockBurglar Sock Burglar]]", Minnie interrogates Goofy as a suspect, believing him to be a serial sock thief. He confesses to drinking all the milk from Mickey's carton and backwashing it.
* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'': In "The Hansel and Gretel Witch Project", Suzy and Carl show up to Johnny's house to ask him to help them with a documentary they're making. Johnny sees Carl recording him and believes that the cops are on his tail.
-->'''Johnny:''' It not my fault! The neighbor's dog told me to steal cable!

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

* ''[[Creator/TimDorsey Serge A. Storms]]'':: In ''Torpedo Juice'', when two cops accost AntiHero vigilante/SerialKiller Serge, he wearily says that he bets they've come to talk about "all those murders" and, after a brief chat with them, confirms the death penalty looks likely. Then, it turns out that they aren't talking about, ''Serge's'' murders, but a crime spree committed by [[spoiler:Serge's new wife Molly]] (they approached him to check his car for booby traps). Unlike most examples of the trope, Serge manages to keep the cops from realizing that they were talking about two different sets of murders and avoids arrest.

* In the ''Literature/NurseryCrime'' novel ''The Fourth Bear'', Briggs tells Mary that he is disappointed in her conduct and must suspend her. Mary assumes that hehas learned that she has involved Jack, [[TurnInYourBadge who.is already suspended]] in the investigation and tries to explain. Briggs [[IllPretendIDidntHearThat Pretends He Didn't Hear That]] and informs her that she is being suspended for indecent exposure due to her behaviour on her recent date with Ashley.

* In the ''Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery'' '' Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles'', Jacqueline Rand confesses with such guilt to taking and eating the leftover fried chicken against her very strict diet that Mahalia initially mistakes her for confessing to the murder of her own brother Marcus.

** There's also "Bart Of Darkness", where Bart believes Flanders killed his wife, Maude, after overhearing him saying "I've killed her... I'm a mur-[[CatchPhrase diddly]]-urdler!" [[spoiler: It later turns out that Flanders had merely just overwatered Maude's favorite ficus plant]].

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' book ''Flight 714'', the millionaire Laszlo Carreidas is kidnapped and injected with a truth serum in an attempt to force him to reveal the details of his SwissBankAccount. But instead of revealing the relevant details, Carreidas engages in boastful rants about his underhanded exploits, much to the annoyance of his captors. HilarityEnsues when Rastapopoulos, the mastermind behind Carreidas' capture, is accidentally injected with the serum in a struggle.
* In the ''Teen Titans Go!'' comic based off the new show, Robin interrogates everyone regarding Cyborg's missing sandwich.

%%* Played straight on the ''Series/{{CSI}}''-''Series/WithoutATrace'' crossover, in a bit of an IdiotPlot moment.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]], Colonel Curbishley [[spoiler:confesses to having been faking his need for a wheelchair for nearly ten years when the pointing finger of accusations seems to be on him. Creator/AgathaChristie then goes on to say "Actually, I was going to say you were completely innocent..."]]

Compare SayingTooMuch, YouJustToldMe, SuspiciouslySpecificDenial, and OneDialogueTwoConversations. Subtrope of PoorCommunicationKills.

(''frantically presses a button, summoning the bodyguards to put folders through a shredder [[UpToEleven and put that shredder through another shredder]], [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere while he exits the room]]''.)

* In ''Film/MyCousinVinny'', the protagonists are arrested after realizing they accidentally took a can of tuna from a store without paying for it. In reality, the shopkeeper had been murdered shortly after they left, and witnesses reported seeing a car like theirs leaving the store. So, they confess to what think is just a shoplifting charge, and are shocked when they realize it's a murder charge. Part of the problem is that when one of the defendants realizes the charge against him, he incredulously repeats "I shot the clerk?" several times in an attempt to clarify.

* ''Literature/HolmesOnTheRange'': In ''A Crack in the Lens'' it turns out that the reason that Milford Bales hates Old Red is because he mistook Old Red's drunken ItsAllMyFault speech after Gertie was murdered as him confessing that he'd killed her.

* Appeared in a black-and-white SherlockHolmes film when Watson accused a man of murder only to find he'd stolen a teapot.

* One of the ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' web shorts centered around Mr. Rotter putting various ghouls in detention for a crime he doesn't specify until the end[[note]]Stealing his glasses...except [[FailedASpotCheck they're on his head.]][[/note]]. Each of the students confesses to something bad they did that doesn't relate to this crime – [[{{Mummy}} Cleo]] used a magical idol to [[MundaneUtility cut the lunch line]] (and got her food cursed as a result), Frankie [[PowerIncontinence accidentally blasted several students with electricity]], Lagoona decided to FreeTheFrogs, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Clawdeen]] claims that [[ADogAteMyHomework her brother ate her homework]], [[PlayingWithFire Heath]] confesses to setting several things [[BeyondTheImpossible (including the swimming pool)]] on fire, and Draculaura [[MotorMouth just relays the latest gossip.]]