When most people are invited to a party, group event, or other social event, it's because they are either wanted or at least tolerated by the one doing the inviting. However, there are some people whose reason for being invited is that the inviter wants to humiliate them in some way. Said humiliation might have a purpose in mind, such as making the inviter look good, while other times, said humiliation might be done out of sadism. Some typical reasons and culprits behind this trope include:
- Mean popular students inviting unpopular students in order to humiliate them in some way.
- Uncool people being invited to group dates to make the invitees look good.
- People being given fake invites to a party as a joke.
- Bully victims inviting their tormentors to parties to show off how successful they've become.
- Weddings:
- Homewreckers who stole someone's lover inviting the cuckolded person to rub their victory in the victim's face.
- People inviting their exes to a wedding to show off that they've moved on, or how much better their new partner is.
- People who were rejected romantically might sometimes invite the people who rejected them in order to make the rejector wish they had chosen them.
- The winner of a romantic rivalry inviting their rival to rub their success in the rival's face.
Generally speaking, whether or not the invitees attempt will backfire or not depends on the morality of the inviter and the invited; if the former is a jerk, bully, or otherwise unsympathetic, their plan will likely backfire in some way and end up being humiliated themselves. By contrast, a good guy who does this to a jerk will almost never have it backfire on them.
Whether or not the other guests will go along with the inviter's plot can vary; for jerks, the other guests might be either be in on it or not mind laughing at the invited, though it's also possible for the other guests to be disgusted with the host's cruelty, which will typically result in said host being chewed out or the guests leaving. If the host is a decent person getting revenge on a horrible invitee, guests will rarely mind unless the host goes too far in their revenge.
Supertrope to It's a Costume Party, I Swear!. Sister trope to Prank Date. See also Nasty Party, which is a more lethal variant of this trope. Compare Nominated as a Prank. Compare/Contrast Uninvited to the Party, which this trope could overlap with if a person is given a fake invitation.
Examples:
- Kaze no Shōjo Emily: Rhoda Stewart invites Emily to her birthday party, despite being nothing but a bully to her since her first day of school. On the day of the party, she demands Emily recite a poem for her, but she freezes on the spot — Rhoda is a Rich Bitch and most of her guests are similarly posh and upper-class — and Emily is too frightened to perform in front of them.
- Revolutionary Girl Utena: In ''On the Night of the Ball", popular girl Nanami invites Anthy to a dance party, claiming that she's been nominated for this year's dance queen, and sends her a dress to wear. It turns out that Nanami is jealous over the attention her brother pays to Anthy and has set up a cruel prank. At the party, someone "accidentally" sprays champagne all over Anthy, and the dress immediately begins to dissolve. Thankfully, Utena soon steps in, folding a tablecloth around Anthy into a surprisingly stylish replacement dress.
- Danny Phantom: Stranded:
- Discussed; Colette wants to steal her sister Star's boyfriend Danny and eventually marry him, planning on inviting Star to the wedding in order to rub it in her face.
- Danny Phantom: Costumed: Danny mentions while talking to Michelle that the reason why he didn't respond to her RSVP was because he was afraid that it could have been a joke invite like the ones Dash and Paulina like to send. Michelle assures Danny that she would not waste time doing something so petty.
- Dungeon Keeper Ami: In "Reluctant Overtures", Ami's invited to a gala because the hosts want to laugh at her, since they only have an uneasy peace:
"Wanting to laugh at her for being an ill-mannered peasant unfamiliar with the etiquette doesn't factor into it at all, I'm sure," Cathy commented.
- Monsters University: When Oozma Kappa are invited to a party held by rival frat Roar Omega Roar, they see it as a sign that they're finally being taken seriously and gaining respect. Instead, Roar Omega Roar take the opportunity to cruelly humiliate them that they then post all over the campus.
- Bridget Jones's Diary: Although not a deliberate example, Bridget feels this way about being invited to Magda and Cosmo's dinner, as it's the only thing worse than a smug married couple: lots of smug married couples. Indeed, she is the only single person present, and people tell her that time is running out for her. Bridget tries to offset this by asking, "Is is one in four marriages that ends in divorce now, or one in three?" Somebody then casually asks her, "why are there so many single women in their thirties?" Bridget looks up and sees that the entire group is staring at her.
- Played with in Clue. The guests are not sure why they have been invited to dinner, with no host, and only the butler Wadsworth. Naturally, they are suspicious. Wadsworth invited them himself, as part of an elaborate plan to frame Mr Boddy, who was blackmailing them all. Several other people appear during the evening, who were all accomplices of Mr Boddy, also invited by Wadsworth.
- In The Dinner Game and the U.S. remake Dinner for Schmucks, the wealthy regulars compete to bring the most stupid guest to their dinner parties.
- The Inbetweeners 2 begins with Will, Simon, and Neil turning up to a student party dressed as characters from the Harry Potter films. Turns out, though, it's not a fancy dress party — Will was invited (and told it would be a fancy dress party) as a joke. They are not allowed in, and instead go to a pub while still in their costumes.
- Kevin & Perry Go Large: DJ Eyeball Paul invites Kevin and Perry to his DJ set at a nightclub and offers to play the song they've written, while secretly planning to humiliate them by showing the crowd the Nonconsensual Pornography video of Kevin's parents having sex, shot by Perry earlier in the film, on a giant screen.
- A Knight's Tale: A case of being invited to a particular activity at an event rather than the event itself. At the ball following the Rouen tournament, Count Adhemar suggests that "Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein", i.e. protagonist William Thatcher, lead the partygoers in a dance from his purported home of Gelderland, clearly expecting to humiliate him further after defeating him in the joust. Thanks to William's Love Interest Lady Jocelyn helping cover for him, the hastily improvised dance is a success, and Adhemar leaves in embarrassment (a deleted scene reveals he himself can't dance at all).
- Never Back Down: Jake is invited to a party by Baja. When he arrives, he learns that the goal was to get him into a fight with Baja's boyfriend Ryan, who taunts him into participating by mocking his dead father. The brutal and humiliating beating Jake suffers spurs him to take up MMA training so he can beat Ryan in a rematch.
- In The Outcasts 2017: The Alpha Bitch Whitney invites Mindy and Jodi to her party specifically to play embarrassing video footage of Jodi in front of the laughing guests.
- Titanic: After Jack saves Rose from falling off the ship, Cal invites him to dinner with the rest of first-class, partly as a reward and partly because he believes that having a third-class passenger mingle with them will be amusing. Much to his surprise, Jack actually acquits himself well with the other patrons.
- Berlin: Done sympathetically with Jewish Berlin socialite Miriam Goldberg, who throws a going away party for herself in the early 1930s before leaving the country. While several guests are genuine friends she is happy to say goodbye to, others were invited solely so she can denounce them as anti-Semitic profiteers or particularly ungrateful and cowardly Fair Weather Friends in a bitter speech right before their departure. She also invites them to make free use of the toilets in her house, which she just had repainted with the face of Adolf Hitler so that anyone who wants can take a shit on him.
- Invoked in the P. G. Wodehouse novel A Damsel In Distress. Lord Belpher thinks his sister Maud is in love with George Bevan. The devious butler Keggs persuades him to invite George to dine at Belpher Castle, assuring him that George will be a fish out of water and Maud will cease to be infatuated with him. In fact, Keggs is trying to get them together.
- Dork Diaries: A variant. Mackenzie Hollister has always made fun of Nikki Maxwell for being poor and unpopular. When her birthday is coming up, she hands Nikki an invitation, knowing that it's a dream come true for an "loser" like her... before harshly screaming at her in front of the entire class for opening it, saying that she wanted her to give it to Jessica. Never mind the fact that Jessica is Mackenzie's best friend, so she already would have had an invite.
- The Last Binding: Edwin's least favourite relatives — a pack of vapid Idle Rich wizards — mention that they make a game of inviting Muggles to their country estate, flaunting all the magic they enjoy behind the Masquerade, and then wiping their guests' memories and dumping them off. Their kindness to the protagonist and his sister was all done with that end in mind, to Edwin's utter disgust.
- My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!: It's mentioned in the original novel that multiple girls had invited Sophia (who's been a social pariah due to her albinism) to their homes, only for them to turn it into a cruel joke by refusing her entry at the front gates. Both she and her older brother are spending pretty much the entirety of their first trip to the Claes household waiting for the other shoe to drop, only to be taken aback when Catarina expresses a genuine desire for Sophia to be her friend.
- The Wish Giver: Polly, a sharp-tongued girl, has always wanted to be friends with Rich Bitch Agatha and her best friend Eunice. When Polly is cursed to begin croaking like a bullfrog whenever she starts to say something nasty, Agatha invites Polly to her house for tea, then keeps insulting her in hopes that Polly will make a snarky retort and start croaking.
- Al-Rawabi School for Girls: Sarah was formerly an unpopular kid until a TikTok she made went viral over social media. Alpha Bitch Tasneem invites her to her sleepover, and the whole time her friends laugh at Sarah for having no sense of style and being poorer than the rest of them.
- Blackadder: Discussed in "Beer" in the second series of Blackadder II, when Edmund invites Percy to share his breakfast.
Blackadder: Well, it is said, Percy, that civilised man seeks out good and intelligent company, so that through learned discourse he may rise above the savage and closer to God.
Percy: Yes, I heard that.
Blackadder: Personally, however, I like to start the day with a total dickhead to remind me I'm best. - Cold Case: Played for Horror in "The Promise," where fraternity leader Manny Jones invites overweight girls to what he and his frat brothers call "pig parties" in order to publicly fat-shame them by force-feeding them beer until they're drunk, taking embarrassing pictures of them, and often sexually assaulting them
- Once Upon a Time (2011): In season 7, episode 19 "Flower Child", this is part of the backstory of Mother Gothel. Gothel is a nature nymph/dryad who can assume human form, and is invited by human girl Isla to a ball with other humans. Isla's intention is to humiliate Gothel in front of the other guests, to hammer the point down she does not belong among them.
- The Twilight Zone (1959): "One More Pallbearer" sees millionaire Paul Radin invite three people from his past: a teacher, a former military commander, and a Reverend. Radin has arranged for all of them to join him in an elaborate bomb shelter deep beneath the Earth, then tells them that war has begun and soon the surface will be a wasteland, but they are free to stay in his shelter if they will apologize to him for ruining his life. It's a ruse. There is no war coming. He just wants to see them all humiliated. However, each of them points out that they didn't ruin his life, he was making excuses for his own bad behavior; the teacher had caught him cheating and attempting to frame an innocent party, the military superior had courtmartialed him after he refused orders, endangering several people in the process, and the Reverend had made him the subject of a public scandal after Radin had driven a woman to suicide. They each refuse to kowtow to him, and leave the bomb shelter to what they believe will be their doom, but they choose to Face Death with Dignity. Their refusal to cower before him even in the face of seeming apocalypse breaks him, and he compensates with a complete break from reality, believing that a bomb really has hit the city and that he's now the only man left and all alone.
- Wizards of Waverly Place: In "Alex's Choice", Gigi starts to act really nice to Harper, and even invites her to her famous fancy tea party. However, Alex is aware that Gigi is just looking to crown Harper as "the biggest loser" and attempts to stop her from going; she eventually tags along and uses a truth spell to force Gigi to admit it — along with other embarrassing truths, such as that she considers her own Girl Posse to be bigger losers than Harper. Gigi is given the loser crown as a result, and Harper is spared.
- Dogfight: The titular "dogfight" refers to the cruel contest at the center of the plot: three Marines each put $50 in a pot, and the one who brings the ugliest date to a party wins all the money. The lead, Eddie Birdlace, invites a shy waitress named Rose; another Marine lets a prostitute in on the scheme, planning to split the prize money with her.
- Heathers: The Musical: Heather Chandler makes Veronica forge an invite to Ram's party to give to Martha Dumptruck. During "Big Fun", Martha turns up at the party and thanks Ram for his sweet note, only for Ram to insult and humiliate her in front of everyone.
- In November, President Charles Smith invites Dwight Grackle, the garrulous head of a Native American tribe, to the White House as a joke. Much to his shock, Dwight actually shows up and demands an audience with him, on a day when he's already launching a scheme to save his sagging poll numbers, thus throwing a wrench into his already-shaky plans.
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: The song "Poor Thing
" tells how Lucy Barker, whom Judge Turpin had lusted after for years to the point he had her husband transported for life, is lured to the judge's house for what she thinks is going to be an apology, but it turns out to be a masquerade party, where she wanders around as the party-goers laugh at her and then stand by as the judge corners and rapes her. Her humiliation is such that she goes and drinks poison afterwards.
- Wicked: Galinda, during her Alpha Bitch phase, invites Elphaba to the school dance, clearly intending to humiliate her before their mutual Love Interest Fiyero with her cheap dress and poor dancing. During the event, Galinda has a Heel Realization when Elphaba arrives, and dances along with her to humiliate herself right along with her.
- Ambition: A Minuet in Power: One of the nasty surprises from Yvette's first few days in Paris is that the first party she attends in her missing fiancé's place turns out to be organized by someone who dislikes her fiancé and was planning to use the occasion to humiliate him. In the fiancé's absence, Yvette is the one who gets humiliated, instead.
- AoHaru Manga Library: Episodes involving mixer parties typically have the antagonist inviting the protagonist to the party for the purpose of making themselves look good by using the protagonist as a foil. Said antagonist's plan is always foiled when the protagonist gets along better with the other gender than the protagonist.
- Etra chan saw it!: Yuri
was invited to the wedding of Akamatsu, an old friend whom she rejected back in university. Unfortunately for Yuri, Akamatsu hasn't gotten over Yuri rejecting him, and decides to get his revenge by sending her an invitation without putting her on the guest list in order to humiliate her. Unfortunately for Akamatsu, everyone is disgusted with him for what he did, including his bride Akane, who ends up cancelling the wedding and getting divorced.
- Refreshing Stories: Yuuto
, who used to bully Hiroshi back in highschool, invites Hiroshi to his wedding under the premise that he wants to apologize for his bullying, but in actuality just wants to humiliate Hiroshi by bringing up old stories from highschool. Unfortunately for Yuuto, his wife Yuko ends up divorcing him for his bullying of Hiroshi, being a bully victim herself.
- Revenge Films: Britney's old coworker
sent her a wedding invitation without putting her on the list in order to humiliate her by kicking her out. His reason for doing this? He was envious of the fact that she got a license before he did (despite the fact that his inability to get his license was caused by his lack of studying). Unfortunately for the coworker, his petty behavior causes the wedding guests, his now ex-bride, and even his parents to get mad at him, with said ex-bride divorcing him for it.
- Sekai no Fushigi: In episodes where the main character is invited to matchmaking parties, the antagonist(s) reason for inviting the protagonist is typically because they want to make themselves look good by using the protagonist as a foil, typically by making fun of the protagonist's background or job. Said plan will always backfire when the girls are charmed by the protagonist and either ignored by or disgusted by the antagonist.
- SparkTales:
- He Used Me as a Foil at the Party Classmate Mocked My Income at Party, Then Women Flocked to Me!
: Kamiinuu invited Noah to a group date in order to use him as a foil, trying to make himself look good by bragging about his money and insulting Noah by calling him poor and mentioning that he's a high school dropout. Unfortunately for Kaminuu, the girls are disgusted by his bullying of Noah, and to add to the humiliation, Noah is a rich and successful businessman despite his low education, and even worse for Kaminuu, Noah is aware that Kaminuu has been selling company secrets to rivals and exposes him in front of everybody.
- "Wedding Day Drama: Bride's Colleague Insults Me → Her Boyfriend's Furious Reaction!"
— Audrey charms Mr. Nolan into marrying her, thinking he was Olivia's boyfriend, and invites her months later to her wedding, only to have her friend Ruby send her away when she came. Much to her dismay, Olivia turns out not to be engaged to Nolan, but to Liam, the CEO of KST Corporation, who promptly chews both friends out. As a result, Nolan calls off the engagement upon finding out her true colors.
- He Used Me as a Foil at the Party Classmate Mocked My Income at Party, Then Women Flocked to Me!
- Trouble Busters: Shiela
stole her best friend Lucy's boyfriend Aiden and later tricks Lucy into coming her and Aiden's wedding and giving the speech by lying that she's not getting married to Aiden as well as falsely claiming to feel remorse about stealing Aiden. During the wedding, Shiela shows her true colors and openly admits that she only wanted to see Lucy miserable. After Lucy insists on making the wedding speech, Shiela lets her do so, which gives Lucy the opportunity to expose the truth about how Shiela and Aiden got together to all of the wedding guests in addition to also revealing that Aiden is a Bad Boss.
- Dragon Ball Z Abridged: While raging about Goku's decision to substitute Gohan for the final battle, Cell claims that Gohan wasn't "even on the list" for the Cell Games, while resident Butt-Monkey Yamcha was. When Yamcha attempts to question it, Cell quickly specifies that he was going to be "half-time entertainment".
Yamcha: ...Frankly, I'm just happy to be included.
- Viral Texts: Homewreckers and cheaters will often invite the protagonist to their wedding in order to rub their happiness in the protagonist's face and see the protagonist be miserable.
- Batman: The Animated Series: The episode "Birds of a Feather" has the Rich Bitch Veronica Vreeland being stupid enough to invite the Penguin, an ex-con (albeit one who's trying to reform), as a Prank Date at a party so the guests can secretly mock him. When Penguin finds out, he's naturally infuriated and tries to murder her.
- The Boondocks: The episode "Wingmen" features a case of someone doing this posthumously; at Moe Jackson's funeral, Robert, who never got along with him, is assigned to read Moe's eulogy. Said eulogy consists of a bunch of Blatant Lies that make Moe look good at Robert's expense, causing Robert to snap and outright call Moe an asshole.
- Family Guy: In "And the Weiner is...", Meg is invited to a house party by Alpha Bitch Connie D'amico, and briefly convinces herself that she's finally become one of the popular kids... until Connie pranks her by tricking her into kissing a pig in a dark closet.
- The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe: In "The Prince and the Feast of the Fopdoodles", Prince Ivandoe is invited to the titular episode's feast by his Arch-Enemy, Prince Svan, only it turns out to be a sham, where the royal swan family compete over who brought the silliest guest. Among Ivandoe's fellow "fopdoodles" are a guinea pig who makes bad sculptures out of parsnips named Tatiana, a naked mole rat who thinks he's invisible named Raymond, and a goat who thinks he's the Eagle King.
- The Simpsons: In "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield", Marge is invited to a country club and even gets asked to join but skips her induction party in part because she comes to believe the wealthy Socialites are just keeping her around to make fun of her as a Penny Among Diamonds. Cut to the country club where everyone is sincerely disappointed that she didn't show.
- SpongeBob SquarePants: In "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic" SpongeBob is invited by Kevin and the other Jellyspotters to go jellyfishing under the assumption that Kevin will be testing SpongeBob to see if he's worthy of joining; in truth, Kevin just wants to to see SpongeBob get stung by jellyfish. Unfortunately for Kevin, despite all of his schemes, he's the only one who ends up getting stung.
