Sharing is caring!

As far as rude responses go, there are few that rival “who asked?” or the similar “who asked you?”

If you are in the middle of telling a story or expressing an opinion, and someone interrupts to say, “Who asked?” you have every right to feel offended. 

And unfortunately, nothing can make us feel more uncomfortable or down than when we can’t find an appropriate response to someone being rude to us. 

So, to avoid having to sit there and accept someone’s petty behavior without being able to come up with an appropriate comeback, prepare yourself in advance by familiarizing yourself with this list of witty comebacks for “who asked?” 

Then, the next time someone gets snarky with you about a story you’re telling, you can feel confident in your ability to give as good as you got. 

18 ways to respond to “Who asked?” 

1. If you’d been listening, you would know. 
2. Who asked you to listen?
3. Are you still here?
4. If you aren’t interested in what we’re talking about, don’t be part of the conversation.
5. She did, actually. 
6. Someone who, unlike you, has enough intelligence to understand my response.
7. If you can’t keep up with the conversation, maybe don’t participate in it. 
8. Who asked you to spread your bad mood around?
9. That’s very rude. 
10. Excuse me? 
11. Are you being serious?
12. How old are you? 
13. Who speaks like that? 
14. Why are you trying to create a problem?
15. What’s your deal?
16. Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
17. Who taught you your manners?
18. Wtw

If somebody rudely interrupts you to say, “Who asked?” or “Who asked you?” it can be tempting to bite back immediately with a rude response. 

However, rudeness takes its toll, both on the person being rude and the person they are being rude too. So, as much as you can, try to avoid engaging in volatile behavior for your own good and the good of those around you.

However, there is a difference between a rude, insulting, and immature response and a clear, uncompromising response that establishes clear boundaries and asserts your right to your own space. 

Here is a helpful list of possible responses to “Who asked?” that will make the person you’re speaking to think twice before being snarky with you again. 

1. If you’d been listening, you would know. 

The most important thing to establish when you are responding to “Who asked?” is that you are not going to be messed with or pushed around. 

Often, the best response to an immature comment is a measured and calm response. The contrast between the other person’s petty question and your grounded answer will tell anyone listening all they need to know about what kind of people you both are. 

So, next time someone interrupts you when you’re recounting an anecdote or explaining something, you can take a deep breath and then calmly respond, “If you’d been listening, you would know.” 

Then, continue your story as though nothing happened. 

This way of dealing with someone else’s immaturity and rudeness will be sure to win you major respect from the people around you. 

2. Who asked you to listen?

Another response to “Who asked” that you can deliver in a calm tone is, “Who asked you to listen?” 

This reciprocal response, which pushes back hard against the suggestion that you owe it to the person you’re speaking to adjust your behavior based on what they want, conveys admirable self-assuredness. 

There are very few people who aren’t impressed by cool, calm, and collected confidence. 

And if you can demonstrate self-belief even when you’re being rudely questioned, you are sure to impress not only those around you, but probably also the person questioning you. 

This response to “Who asked?” will embarrass the person who has rudely interrupted you and cause them to reflect on their less-than-kind words.  

3. Are you still here?

If you’re so annoyed by the person who is being rude to you that you can’t quite get it together to respond in the most mature way possible, you don’t have to. 

After all, people who treat people badly often stand to learn the most by getting a taste of their own medicine. 

While you don’t want to come out all guns blazing and take things too far by being overly unkind, if someone interrupts a story to essentially ask you to stop talking, you’re allowed a bit of leeway to be snappy with your response. 

Saying, “Are you still here?” conveys that they are irritating you and are not, as far as you’re concerned, an important part of the social context you find yourself in. 

4. If you aren’t interested in what we’re talking about, don’t be part of the conversation.

While you are entitled to be a little rude back when someone is rude to you, you might also consider being interrupted by someone saying, “Who asked?” as an opportunity to showcase your maturity.  

Instead of responding in a reactive, hasty, and frustrated manner, simply look up at them for a second. Make them uncomfortable. 

Then, in as a calm a tone as you can, tell them that if they aren’t interested, they don’t have to be part of the conversation. 

In many ways, responding to someone being rude is like responding to negative feedback. Keep your wits about you and don’t hastily try to make it up to them. Instead, consider what would be most fair to say in the situation, and then to do that. 

5. She did, actually. 

On some occasions, when someone rudely interjects in the middle of something you are saying to say, “Who asked?” there will actually be someone else there who has asked you a question that you are now answering. 

In these cases, you have a ready-made response. Simply say, “She did” or “He did.” Then, leave it at that and continue your story where you left off. 

6. Someone who, unlike you, has enough intelligence to understand my response.

Again, rudeness is never the goal. But sometimes it is an inevitable byproduct of a clever response to an unkind comment. 

If you want to respond to someone rudely saying, “Who asked?” in a way that demonstrates that you have no time for their immature behavior, you can say that whoever it was that asked was smart enough to understand your answer. 

The implication here is that while they think you have said something uninteresting and stupid, you have said something that has gone way above their head.                                

7. If you can’t keep up with the conversation, maybe don’t participate in it. 

This is another response that makes a little dig at the intelligence of the person you are speaking to. 

By saying that they cannot keep up with the conversation, you are suggesting that they are too slow to understand what is really being talked about. 

You’re letting them know that you won’t tolerate speaking to them unless they adjust their attitude.  

Unlike responding to compliments, responding to petty comments can be tiring. Make sure you don’t take the other person’s rudeness to heart or let it ruin your day. 

8. Who asked you to spread your bad mood around?

When someone says something cutting or unkind, many of us feel a strong desire to bite back with a question or statement that reciprocates the tone of the other person’s comment. 

One way to do this is to use similar language in your response. 

So, if someone imposes themselves on a situation by interrupting you and saying, “Who asked?” you can begin your response with “Who asked” too. 

Telling someone not to spread their bad mood around is doing them a kindness, because the implication is that the reason they are being immature is not because they are a bad or rude person, but rather because they are not in a good headspace. 

This response strikes the perfect balance between being assertive and protective of your own space and still saying on the safe side of mean. 

In many ways, it generously gives the person you’re speaking to the benefit of the doubt that they are actually a sound person and lets them know that you are willing to give them a second chance. 

9. That’s very rude. 

The best response to someone being rude may often be the simplest and most straightforward. 

If someone is not being kind, simply respond to “Who asked?” by saying, “That’s very rude.” 

There will be no doubt in anyone’s mind not only about how you feel but also that you are not someone to be trifled with.  

If you want to convey that you are the definition of “at wit’s end” with the person you’re speaking to, this is a great way to respond to “Who asked?” 

10. Excuse me? 

Another great response to “Who asked?” that allows you to clearly assert your boundaries while remaining appropriately mature and respectful, is “Excuse me?”

What you’re saying when you say, “Excuse me?” is that the person’s response was so unnecessary and rude as to be shocking. 

What you’re saying is essentially, “I’m so shocked by the rudeness of that response that I can only imagine I must have misheard or misunderstood you.”

11. Are you being serious?

This response conveys a similar message to “Excuse me?” 

Even though the person you’re speaking to is in fact being serious and did seriously just say, “Who asked?” the question “Are you being serious?” is a highly appropriate one under the circumstances. 

The meaning of this response is essentially, “Are you seriously being that rude right now?” or, “Are you seriously speaking to me like that right now?”

It is really just another way of saying, “What’s good?” or “What’s your problem?”

12.How old are you? 

If the point you most want to call attention to is the immaturity of saying, “Who asked?”, you can snap back to the rude interjection with “How old are you?”

The implication is of course that “Who asked?” is the kind of thing a twelve-year-old would say, and that the person you’re speaking to should be ashamed to behave so immaturely. 

13. Who speaks like that? 

This response takes a similar approach to the previous one. 

By saying, “Who speaks like that?” you’re suggesting that the way the person who has interrupted you is speaking is so out of the ordinary as to be ridiculous. 

This response will hopefully make them feel a little bit ashamed and prompt them to apologize.

14. Why are you trying to create a problem?

If you feel that someone has said “Who asked?” as a way of starting a fight, ask them why they are trying to create a problem. 

If you’re the kind of person who prefers to exist in harmony with the people you’re around and avoids conflict at all costs, you can ask the person you’re speaking to why they are trying to make things difficult. 

15. What’s your deal?

This is an absolutely classic comeback in any situation where someone is making unnecessary and rude comments. 

Asking someone what their deal is, is essentially a way of saying, “Your behavior is causing problems. Why are you behaving the way you are?”

While it is not a rude thing to say, this response clearly sends the message that you are not to be messed with. 

It lets the person you’re speaking to know that if they have something to say to you, it’s best to just come out and say it and not to beat around the bush and make passive aggressive comments. 

16. Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

If you feel that someone interrupting you by saying “Who asked?” is just so stupid as to be ridiculous, you can choose not to engage with it. 

Simply say that person who said, “Who asked?” must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and then continue your conversation as you normally would. 

17. Who taught you your manners?

This is a slightly sarcastic quip that plays on the unspoken answer to the rude interjection “Who asked?” 

When someone says, “Who asked?” what they’re implying is that no one asked, and that no one would ask because what you’re saying is boring. 

So, the unspoken answer is “no one.” 

You can cleverly respond by also asking a question to which the implied answer is also “no one.” 

By saying, “Who taught you your manners” in response to someone saying, “Who asked?” you are essentially saying, “No one, just like no one taught you how to be polite.”  

The secret to a quick-witted comeback is that it has to play on the language and implications of the original statement, which this response definitely does. 

18. Wtw

If someone writes “Who asked?” to you in a text, you can respond with “wtw.” 

In text lingo, “wtw” means “what the what,” and is a way of expressing disbelief––in this case, at the rudenss of the person you’re talking to.

You’ll leave them struggling with how to respond to “wtw” in text. 

Wtw is the perfect response to any kind of rudeness, because it conveys disbelief without saying much at all.