History Main / CallingTheOldManOut

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's (not Lindsay's) real father is a distant alcoholic who never gave her any love. She gets him back by gushing over manly overprotective Disney fathers like [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing Mufasa]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Triton]].

* Reversed in Music/{{Genesis}}' "No Son of Mine". The song tells the story of a boy who runs away from home, and after some consideration attempts to return, only to be berated by his jerkass abusive father. [[note]]Phil Collins has said in interviews that the lyrics are deliberately vague as to whether the narrator or his mother is the victim of the abuse.[[/note]]

Did [[ParentalAbandonment Mom and/or Dad leave you without an explanation]], only to pop up years later expecting hugs and kisses? Are you tired of listening to the same FreudianExcuse for frequently [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents screwing up their lives and yours]]? Is endlessly sucking up to the WellDoneSonGuy for the tiniest crumb of respect really starting to get on your nerves? This is when [[GrewaSpine standing your own ground]] comes to play.

Bonus points are awarded if the child is able to (correctly) point out that [[BreakingtheCycleofBadParenting they have managed not to repeat the parental mistakes with their own offspring]]. Penalty points are awarded if they have tragically repeated exactly the same mistakes with their own offspring. Of course, the parent [[EvilParentsWantGoodKids may be happy]] [[DaddysLittleVillain either way]].

The results of Calling The Old Man Out can vary widely. Clearing the air might be a good thing, and result in some kind of parent-child reconciliation. (A common variant is when the parent can provide some kind of reasonable explanation for why bad things were allowed to happen that the child was not previously aware of.) It might result in a permanent break between parent and child. It might even provide a powerful catharsis for the child figure, allowing CharacterDevelopment to take place through resolving that FreudianExcuse, ParentalAbandonment issue, or WellDoneSonGuy obsession the character has been carrying around most of his or her life. If the parent being called out is a villain, it might result in that parent having a [[VillainousBreakdown breakdown]] (if the parent hasn't had one already) and going on the warpath against the child. In extreme cases, [[SelfMadeOrphan the parent]], [[OffingTheOffspring the child]], or both, might end up dead. [[HeelRealization Maybe the parent is touched by what the child said]] and [[LoveRedeems reconciles with the child]]. [[StatusQuoIsGod Maybe nothing at all changes]].

SubTrope of GrewASpine. Compare RageAgainstTheMentor and AntiSmotherLoveTalk. See also IHateYouVampireDad and HatesTheirParent. As noted, AbusiveParents will likely be on the receiving end, putting this on the far side of the SlidingScaleOfParentShamingInFiction. Often a subtrope of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Extreme cases may end in YouAreNotMyFather.

* ButtMonkey Syphile from ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' gets what possibly may be her one and only moment of awesome in her ''entire life'' when she finally tells Quain'tana what a [[MaternallyChallenged truly]] [[AbusiveParents godawful mother]] she is. [[spoiler: Then she gets killed.]] Ironically, her doing this is what finally earns her Quain'tana's respect.

* In ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', the first time Lindesfarne appears together with Angelique, her adoptive mother until she divorced Kevin, is when Angelique hires her as a babysitter. Lindesfarne starts out unsure of whether she should continue calling her "Mother" like she used to, and then lays into her over being distant while raising her (resulting in Lindesfarne becoming a [[WellDoneSonGuy "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal]]), and then abandoning her. Later on, Rudy gets this with the memory of his deceased father after he learns that [[spoiler:his rival Vin Vulpen is his half-brother on his father's side, meaning that his father had an affair]] ("[[BrokenPedestal So who do I turn to now for a moral, ethical male role model]]?").

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

Sometimes, the writer may not want the child figure to be the one doing the calling out. Maybe they want to keep the child figure Really Nice, [[LoveMartyr so nice they won't even yell at an abusive parent.]] Maybe they want to show that the child figure is still so thoroughly whipped by the abusive parent that they are still incapable of facing them. Maybe the child is hoping that Daddy may still turn out to be good after all, despite the abuse, and is therefore holding back on giving him the what-for. Maybe they feel that the accusation will seem less whiny if an outsider delivers it, thereby validating the abuse in the eyes of a third person. In such a case, someone who loves the child figure may step in and deliver the calling out vicariously -- "How dare you treat your child like that, you monster!" Spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, aunts/uncles, mentors, best friends, or possibly even older siblings may step in and take on this job for someone unwilling or unable to do it for themselves.

SubTrope of GrewASpine. Compare RageAgainstTheMentor and AntiSmotherLoveTalk. See also IHateYouVampireDad and HatesTheirParent. As noted, AbusiveParents will likely be on the receiving end, putting this on the far side of the SlidingScaleOfParentShamingInFiction. Often a subtrope of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.

* In Literature/TheBible, God actually [[InvokedTrope encourages]] His people to call Him out despite Him being an infallible deity. Mainly on the grounds that humans not be just mindless machines doing what they are told and to better understand their own faith by testing it and questioning it. God often praises those who question Him... If they have a good reason to that is. If they don't and are just complaining for some petty reason, He will call ''them'' out.

SubTrope of GrewASpine. Compare RageAgainstTheMentor and AntiSmotherLoveTalk. See also IHateYouVampireDad and HatesTheirParent. As noted, AbusiveParents will likely be on the receiving end, putting this on the far side of the SlidingScaleOfParentShamingInFiction. Often a subtrope of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Conflicts with HonorThyParent.

** In the Volume 4 episode "Punished", Weiss calls out her father [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jacques]], declaring that she'll leave and be a [[HunterOfMonsters Huntress]] no matter what he says. She even puts a stop on his rant about "the Schnee name" by reminding him he ''[[GoldDigger married into that name]]'', so it's not his to protect. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:Jacques disinherits her as a result. Eventually, in Volume 7, Weiss arrests Jacques for his involvement in rigging the council election.]]

** In the Volume 4 episode "Punished", Weiss calls out her father [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jacques]], declaring that she'll leave and be a [[HunterOfMonsters Huntress]] no matter what he says. She even puts a stop on his rant about "the Schnee name" by reminding him he ''[[GoldDigger married into that name]]'', so it's not his to protect. Unfortunately, he responds by [[spoiler:disinheriting and detaining her. Eventually, in Volume 7, Weiss arrests Jacques for his involvement in rigging the election and discrediting Ironwood.]]

** In the Volume 4 episode "Punished", Weiss calls out her [[TheSociopath father]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Jacques]], declaring that she'll leave and be a [[HunterOfMonsters Huntress]] no matter what he says. She even puts a stop on his rant about "the Schnee name" by reminding him he ''[[GoldDigger married into that name]]'', so it's not his to protect. Unfortunately, he responds by [[spoiler:disinheriting and detaining her]]. The next episode, [[spoiler:she responds by bailing out of Atlas.]]
** In the Volume 5 finale "Haven's Fate", Yang calls out her mother, Raven, for her cowardice: opting to [[spoiler:murder the last Spring Maiden and take her powers]] because she wouldn't get stronger, and preferring to hide away from Salem and her forces rather than actually fight them. Raven actually breaks down and leaves.

* In Literature/TheBible, God actually [[InvokedTrope encourages]] His people to call Him out despite Him being an infallible deity. Mainly on the grounds that humans not be just mindless machines doing what they are told and to better understanding their own faith by testing it and questioning it. God often praises those who question Him... If they have a good reason too that is. If they don't and are just complaining for some petty reason, He will call ''them'' out.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjHEHuNyvME This video]] shows what might have happened if Luke had turned out to be Rey's father in ''Film/TheLastJedi''(which ended up [[{{Jossed}} not being the case]]). Rey calls Luke out on leaving her behind on Jakku, where she lived in poverty and almost died multiple times, and complains about how Lor San Tekka was unable to do anything to help her.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjHEHuNyvME This video]] shows what might have happened if Luke had turned out to be Rey's father in ''Film/TheLastJedi''(which ended up not being the case). Rey calls Luke out on leaving her behind on Jakku, where she lived in poverty and almost died multiple times, and complains about how Lor San Tekka was unable to do anything to help her.

* ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'': Franz Joseph called his mother Sophie out - a little too late - for meddling in his marriage in the name of the throne.

[[quoteright:250:[[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/betty_general_ross.png]]]]

'''Orion:''' Restoring--? You mean desecrating me, do you not, father? You stole those cells from me in life-- and warped them to make a shambling mockery of me in death. No more, father... Your cursed voice will be still!\\

->'''Fire Lord Ozai:''' ''GET OUT!'' Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!\\
'''Prince Zuko:''' That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore.\\
'''Ozai:''' You ''will'' obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last! ''[steps towards Zuko]''\\
'''Zuko:''' ''[draws swords]'' ''Think again!'' I am going to speak my mind... and you are going to listen.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''

->'''Shadow Weaver:''' Adora, you made the right choice. Don't let Catra convince you otherwise. She's never understood.
->'''Adora:''' '''''STOP!''''' I will '''never''' forgive you. You '''ruin''' people. You ruin any chance they could ever be happy. Haven’t you done enough?
->'''Shadow Weaver:''' [[IDidWhatIHadToDo I did what I had to do.]]
->'''Adora:''' Keep telling yourself that. I'm going to take the Failsafe to the Heart, and I'm going to save Etheria. But I am not doing it for you. I'll do everything I can to make sure you never get your hands on the magic.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', "Failsafe"

** In an unrelated story arc, Penny Feldspar (part-[[TheResenter Resenter]], part-PerpetualFrowner was on her way to quietly go back to the car after a sermon from a HolierThanThou ReligiousStereotype named [[PunnyName H. Lee Roller.]] Reverend Roller decides to [[TheGadfly single Penny out]], [[http://www.rhjunior.com/GH/00347.html sniping at her]]. Penny not only points out to the pompous priest that he '''CLEARLY''' [[http://www.rhjunior.com/GH/00348.html did not do the research]], and points him out as a Jerkass for it.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Jude in ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki2'' does this to his father Jainus calling him on his ChronicHeroSyndrome when he offers to help Yumil. While Jude says he has no problem helping Yumil, he tells his dad that they can't go risking their necks for a job (they're mercenaries) that either doesn't pay or pays little as they are working to support Chloe (Jainus' wife) and can't afford to play hero.
* Not necessarily calling the Old Man out, but the Old Woman. In ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', [[spoiler: Eleanor Lamb is being turned into a one-person hive mind by her mother, and is terrified of what she sees as a plot as mad as Andrew Ryan's. With her "Father"'s help (IE: You, her former Big Daddy), she frees herself. The kind of person she becomes depends largely on your moral choices concerning Little Sister disposal and a few Kill/Spare choices along the way.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', [[spoiler:Angel]] has spent her entire life as essentially a slave to her father, [[spoiler:Handsome Jack]]. At the end of her final mission, where she [[spoiler: has the player [[MercyKill destroy her life support system so she can die]]]] her final act is to call him "an asshole." Since her father apparently [[spoiler: kept constantly chiding her for using "bad language", and ordered the ''death penalty'' for anyone else who used profanity, this is one of the deeper insults she could offer him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', if he's present, [[spoiler:Magus]] tells [[spoiler:Queen Zeal]] how pathetic she really is, and that killing her would be the merciful thing to do. [[spoiler:She doesn't know he's her son, though.]] To emphasize how personal the battle is for him, the boss music is replaced by [[spoiler:Magus' battle theme.]]
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'':
*** Dorian's entire personal quest revolves around confronting his father for [[spoiler:trying to change his sexuality with blood magic,]] in order to better fit with the Tevinter idea of perfection. It's up to the player if Dorian leaves it at that after his callout, or if he decides to try and reconcile with his father. This quest is a complete tearjerker and nightmare fuel in a way that Dorian reveals to the Inquisitor (and to the player) that his father who always espoused against using blood magic ''ends up'' using it and considers his son being reduced to a vegatable rather than being himself as a worthy risk to take:
---->'''Halward:''' I only wanted what was best for you!\\
'''Dorian:''' You wanted the best for you! For your [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] legacy! Anything for that.
*** [[spoiler:Morrigan]] of all people gets one, provided that you [[spoiler: imported a world state where Kierran has the Old God Soul. When Flemeth leads Kierran into the Fade, Morrigan is more [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness fearful and desperate than at any other point in the series]], but that doesn't stop her from trying to defend herself and her son or calling her mother out on her horrible parenting and body-snatching tendencies. The player gets to see that she truly does care about her son, beyond whatever ambiguous power he is said to have. And for the first time too, the player will see Flemeth visibly being taken aback by Morrigan's words.]]
----> '''[[spoiler:Morrigan:''' [[CharacterDevelopment I am many things, but I will not be the mother you were to me. / Take over my body now if you must. Just let Kierran go. He will be better off without me... just I was better off without you.]]]]
* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'', WingedHumanoid Pendragon gets called out by his [[NeverMessWithGranny elderly mother]] on behalf of his adopted daughter, [[LoveMartyr Firia]]. [[spoiler: She ''isn't adopted'', mind - she was just born without wings, and he pretended she was just an abandoned orphan because he was too scared to admit his 'flesh and blood was flawed'. This included standing by while his other daughter treated Firia like a slave, and while the other kids in Gorges [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer mocked and abused her]] -- at one point their 'pranks' almost cause her to ''fall to her death''.]]
* {{Inverted}} in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' by King Clavius and [[PrinceCharmless Prince Charmles]]. Having given his son every opportunity to grow into a good heir, only to watch the EntitledBastard [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney screw the rules]], he ''finally'' calls him out by publicly revealing [[spoiler: he knew all along that Charmles had ''bought'' his Argon Heart instead of finishing his RiteOfPassage, and had kept silent as a SecretTestOfCharacter]] and declaring he had proven himself incapable of serving as heir.
* Nero in the final mission of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' gloriously gets to call out both [[spoiler: his uncle and father Dante and Vergil, for pointlessly trying to kill each other, saying he’ll forcefully put an end to their SiblingRivalry once and for all. Dante concedes to his nephew’s wishes (after getting a OffhandBackhand) but Vergil being Vergil is just annoyed at his son interrupting the DuelToTheDeath and only begrudgingly gives in once Nero kicks his ass]].
** [[spoiler: The clashes between Nero and Vergil in-game are certainly this, with the dialogue of Nero rightfully calling Vergil out for being a callous bastard]].
--->'''[[spoiler: Nero]]''': Feeling accepting yet?\\
'''[[spoiler: Vergil]]''': Of your existence or strength?\\
'''[[spoiler: Nero]]''': Both, you [[PrecisionFStrike fucking asshole!]]
** Lady back in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3'' calls out her father [[spoiler: Arkham]] multiple times for being a complete monster who killed her mother to gain power, [[spoiler: Arkham]] believes she doesn’t have the strength to kill her “dear papa” and even emotionally manipulates her into attacking Vergil by making it seem like he was brainwashed. At the end [[spoiler: Arkham]] during his VillainousBreakdown pitifully tries to justify his actions to his daughter, [[{{Patricide}} who in response shoots him in the head]] though she does [[BleedEmAndWeep burst into tears shortly after.]]
* In the ''Dawnguard'' [=DLC=] for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', Serana calls out both of her parents for treating her as a pawn rather than a daughter. She is actually more vicious towards her mother Valerica because she had already given up on her father, the evil Lord Harkon, a long time ago. If the player has been supportive towards Serana in dialogue and kept her as a Follower for a long time, she will mention that the Dragonborn has done more for her in the short time they've known each other than her mother has done in the last few ''millennia''. Later she'll comment that her mother was, in a way, just as bad as her father. Valerica, to her credit, is sane enough to apologize to Serana and admit her mistakes. Lord Harkon is too far gone to care.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'':
** You have exactly one chance to do this after rescuing your father from Tranquility lane, but it changes nothing. This is chiefly due to the small range of dialogue options that would allow you to truly Call The Old Man Out. You're never able to mention that his leaving created too much turmoil and danger for you to remain in Vault 101 as he intended and the option that comes closest requires you to have performed one of the game's more evil acts [[spoiler:(blowing up Megaton)]], which allows your father to maintain the moral high ground. Similarly, you're unable to explain to Doctor Li why you left the Vault against James' wishes, except with a childish "I do what I want" kind of answer.
** You can do this when talking to Sentinel Cross. She calls you an UngratefulBastard and is so offended she will not be your companion.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** The father and son of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' set up a Calling The Old Man Out throughout the entire game (case in point: in a {{Flashback}} where a young Tidus doesn't show any grief for his missing father and [[IWishedYouWereDead wishes that he'll never come back]], his mother asks him if he won't wish for his return so that he can tell him how much he hates him). Near the end of the game [[spoiler:they subvert it when Tidus, who has sympathized too much with his father to resent him anymore, tries to call out Jecht despite the tears from his eyes and the knot in his throat. He's barely able to say that he hates Jecht, but does choke it out, only to immediately follow it up by saying that he doesn't mean it, but doesn't know what else to feel. To his credit, Jecht had already acknowledged what a horrible father he had been, and that Tidus was justified in his hate]].
*** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' changes their dynamic a bit; Jecht is more or less something of a PosthumousCharacter (kind of, it's complicated) in ''Final Fantasy X'', but in ''Dissidia'', he's fully alive and his normal self. Tidus's showdown with Jecht has Jecht initially beating the tar out of Tidus, only for Tidus to recover and yell, "There's no tomorrow for me until I beat you today!" Before the fight, he did get the chance to call him a "no good, self-centered old bastard." And his antagonistic relationship with his father is never actually explained in ''Dissidia'', beyond the need to settle things with Jecht. It's unclear if it's a case of hatred and loathing or anger at living in the old man's shadow and disgust at his father's being manipulated.
** Balthier tries to call out his father in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', but [[spoiler:Cid]] just ignores it.
---> "How could you do this? How could you fall so far?"
* This pops up several times in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series:
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'':
*** First Generation: Lex calls out his father, Langobalt, if you make them fight.
*** Second Generation: If Levin is the father of [[spoiler: Phee and Sety]], they call him out for abandoning their mother [[spoiler: Ferry]]. If Nanna's father is [[spoiler: Fin]], she will also call him out on [[spoiler: letting her mother Lachesis leave Lester and try crossing for the Yied Desert in search of her eldest son Delmud.]] And last, Altena calls out her adoptive father Travant [[spoiler: and mixes it with [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Parents]].]]
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'': [[spoiler: Averted, as Mareeta isn't upset with her father Galzus, and in fact, she's overjoyed to see him and manages to recruit him for the group. Justified as Galzus had saved her life before and tried to hide it, but she could see through him anyway.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', Severa didn't take kindly to how her mother Cordelia held an UndyingLoyalty to Prince Chrom, the guy whom she once held an UnrequitedLove for. At some point, she was both so upset at what she saw as a borderline betrayal to her dad (whoever he is) ''and'' so scared about Cordelia possibly dying in the war, that she yelled at her mother for it. The result? Cordelia ''[[SelfFulfillingProphecy went out to fight, died in battle and never returned home]]'', and Severa was [[MyGreatestFailure totally traumatized]] by it. When Severa returns to the past with her friends and she's recruited by the Shepherds, she ''again'' questions Cordelia and her thoughts on Chrom... but this time it's more of a desperate facade where she [[JerkassFacade pretends to be a jerk]], as she's very aware that this Cordelia isn't the same mother she lost (TimeyWimeyBall and all) and doesn't want to emotionally connect to her only to probably lose her again.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', some of the kids end up doing this to their parents.
*** The main one is the Avatar towards his/her supposed father, King Garon. At the end of ''Birthright'', the Avatar confronts Garon over his crimes, particularly causing the deaths of the Avatar's mother, Queen Mikoto. The Avatar is especially furious that Garon [[spoiler:doesn't care that Elise and Xander just died]] and in the ensuing battle, [[SelfMadeOrphan ends up killing Garon]].
*** Shiro disappears from his Deeprealm to seek out answers about himself in the real world, thus forcing his father Ryoma and the rest of the army to save him from some thugs. Ryoma lectures Shiro for his reckless behavior, but when he protests that he didn't raise him to be so irresponsible, Shiro turns it back on him and criticizes Ryoma for how much he kept from him.
---->'''Shiro:''' Dad, want a reality check? You didn't raise me at all.
*** When Saizo finds his son Asugi, he's not happy about his son casting aside the family name and working with thieves. Asugi, however, calls Saizo out on caring more for the Saizo family name than for raising his son.
*** Nina, Niles' daughter, is quick to criticize her father for not doing more to raise her, and that she thinks Niles criticizing her [[JustLikeRobinHood thieving for justice]] despite having been a thief himself when he was younger is [[ParentalHypocrisy incredibly hypocritical]]. As a result, they have one of the more strained parent-child relationships in the game.
*** Leo's son Forrest is upset enough with his father's harsh attitude toward Forrest's crossdressing that he storms off, and is still a bit bitter toward him for some time afterward.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', if you complete Felix's prologue, he will chastise his father Rodrigue for putting his obligations to the late King Lambert over those of the people of his kingdom, and for saying that Felix's older brother Glenn (who, like Lambert, was killed in the Tragedy of Duscur) died a hero's death. While Rodrigue takes issue with Felix's tone, he soon admits that [[JerkassHasAPoint Felix may not be entirely wrong]] about his beliefs.
* At the beginning of the mission "Reuniting the Family" in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Jimmy goes on a rant saying he's tired of Michael's shortcomings and refusal to acknowledge them, wrapping it up by saying that he misses him. Interestingly, Michael doesn't argue with him.
-->'''Jimmy:''' You are just a lame and angry psycho sometimes. You do bad shit and things, and I don't know if I love you and I'm pretty sure I hate you a little bit, but I'm just so fucking upset that we can't even see each other. You're just a drunk, lame dad.\\
'''Michael:''' You know what? That just might be the nicest thing anybody's ever said to me.
* Two of the "messenger quests" on ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' have this trope, and a third has an arguable variant on it. The most literal one is Carth's [[spoiler: seems the son he thought dead has actually joined the Sith. Cue one awkward moment in the Korriban academy with two hot-headed Onasis]]. Bastila's is a female version [[spoiler: her terminally-ill and rather ill-tempered mother on Tatooine needs help retrieving a data holocron made by Bastila's late father]]. The arguable one is Mission's, [[spoiler: as her deadbeat brother was the one who more or less raised her. She finds out it was ''his idea'' to abandon her at the age of twelve. Cue a lot of players wanting to kick the guy's blue butt into orbit!]]
* Raziel from ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' has this trope as one of his primary motivations throughout Soul Reaver, the first half of Soul Reaver 2, and continues as a lingering issue right up until the end of Defiance in regards to Kain, his vampiric "father".
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Jacob's personal mission has him learning that [[spoiler:after being promoted to acting captain and crash landing on a planet where the local flora leads to mental decay, his father eventually set up a ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''-esque "paradise" for himself, killed off his fellow officers, made the women his personal harem and sabotaged attempts at outside contact.]] Jacob for his part is absolutely disgusted, no longer accepting the man before him as his father and depending on what Shepard recommends him will either [[spoiler:have him arrested by the Alliance, leave him to the survivors, or force him to commit suicide.]]
* In the last chapter of ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2'':, checking Senator Woden's phone messages will reveal a recent one where Vlad, who saw Woden as a father figure, rants about having never received a word of thanks from him. [[spoiler:This is a rather extreme example of the trope, as Vlad was planning to kill Woden.]] Vlad is also pretty egotistical about it. "Would it have killed you to say 'thank you' for once in your life? 'Vlad, my son--can I call you my son, because I sure do love you like one. Vlad, my son, you are a true prodigy. Everything you touch turns to gold!'"
* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'':
** Oswald does this to Odin at the end of the first episode.
** Velvet and Ingway had a few moments of chewing out their [[spoiler:illegitimate daddy Odin]] as well, although they went about it in entirely different ways: [[spoiler:Velvet outright rejected him; Ingway whipped up an army of Netherworld denizens, learned a secret transformation, and then stormed his kingdom and tried to kill him]].
** Cornelius has a moment like this with his dad: [[spoiler:After one royal blunder too many, King Edmund tries to abdicate the throne and give the crown to his son. Cornelius tells him that he can't - the people will never accept a cursed Pooka as their king - and while Edmund never deserved the crown in the first place, now is the time for him to stop being a coward and act like a true ruler.]]
* The penultimate mission in ''VideoGame/{{Oni}}'' is something like this: Konoko raids the TCTF headquarters in an attempt to call out Griffin (her nearest thing to a father figure, save her [[spoiler: dead uncle]], after years of systematically lying to her and using her, and ultimately trying to have her killed. Once he is cornered, the player is given a choice: [[spoiler: you can kill Griffin or let him live. If you choose the latter option, the final boss is much easier as a consequence, and Griffin redeems himself at the very end.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Persona2: Innocent Sin'' (and seen in a flashback in ''Eternal Punishment''), you discover that Philemon [[spoiler: helped orchestrate the events of the series up to this point to test whether he or Nyarlathotep was truly the more powerful aspect of humanity. Events that involved creating an ill girl, the deaths of numerous people -- both innocent and not-so-innocent -- and an EarthShatteringKaboom before he offered the opportunity to perform a CosmicRetcon that made that an alternate timeline. The game gives you the option of '''punching''' him for what he's helped put everyone through.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', Dojima gets this at a few points from his daughter Nanako, and the PlayerCharacter(his nephew).
** Midway through Nanako's Social Link, she has to give her father a form for when he can come in for parent-teacher meetings. Noticing that Dojima is too busy to take a serious look a the sheet, Nanako accuses him of caring more about hunting down bad guys than for spending time with his family, says he's not her "real" dad and runs off to the Samegawa Flood Plain, where she used to go with her parents while her mother was alive. Dojima searches for her, and after finding her, lets the protagonist talk to her and convince her to come home.
** Near the end of Dojima's [[RelationshipUpgrade Social Link]], you, as the PlayerCharacter and provided your courage parameters are high enough, have a dialogue option to call him a coward for his inability to interact with his daughter Nanako, following her mother's death. He calls you a punk for doing so but nonetheless agrees with you.
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'', Zenkichi, like Dojima before him, has a strained relationship with his daughter Akane. Akane, who's more outspoken and moody than Nanako, is a lot more forthcoming when calling Zenkichi out on not being there for her, especially when he's late for the annual visit to Akane's mother's grave. [[spoiler:Akane's Shadow accuses Zenkichi of knowing who was responsible for her mother's death and not acting on the information, (since she doesn't realize that he abandoned the investigation to protect her) and is furious that he didn't try to get justice for the innocent man who was made into a scapegoat for the real killer.]]
* Silver essentially does this in ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'', in the Celebi time travel scene. It's not quite as obvious he's [[spoiler:Giovanni's son]] in the English version as in the original Japanese, but the trope is still in evidence.
* [[spoiler:Lillie]] to [[spoiler:her and Gladion's mother, Lusamine]] late in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', laying out every horrible thing the character in question has done.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' Claire does this on behalf of Sherry (who is too docile to complain herself) calling out her mother Annette for her disregard towards her daughter’s life. Seen when Sherry gets infected and Annette watching from a security camera initially writes her off as dead, Claire enraged scolds “Are you [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] kidding me? You’re her mother. Get in here.” [[spoiler: Annette does ultimately redeem herself curing Sherry and apologizing for being a terrible mother before succumbing to her injuries and dying]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Struggling}}'': Troy's speech [[spoiler: to the scientists who created them at the Galaxy Brain Summit]] is a variation of this, calling out the pain and suffering that their audience's prior actions ended up leading to. Hopefully, the standing ovation they received in a response implies that they took it to heart and will be more careful and responsible in the future.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' there's an example that teeters right on the level of NarmCharm. You'd think Lloyd would [[spoiler: want to call Kratos out for not admitting he was Lloyd's father, or for betraying Lloyd to Cruxius, or any number of things.]] But no, Lloyd's tirade of choice is after the DuelBoss encounter, when he lectures [[spoiler: Kratos for being a DeathSeeker.]]
-->'''Lloyd:''' What will you accomplish by [[spoiler: dying? Nothing! There is no meaning in dying!]]\\
'''[[spoiler: Kratos]]:''' You're... right... to think, I had to have my son teach me such an obvious lesson...
* Kazuya Mishima from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'', after being thrown to a ravine by his father Heihachi, when at the tender age of 5 nonetheless, made a DealWithTheDevil to get back up, build up his strength, topple his father, and then throw him back to the same ravine he was thrown.
--> '''Kazuya:''' [[GonnaNeedMoreX Should've found a steeper cliff]].
** There's also his son, Jin Kazama, to both of his father and paternal grandfather.
* Krista Sparks has this in her ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Head-On'' ending to her father, Calypso.
-->'''Krista:''' What's the problem? You didn't want to help me! You just want another contestant to kill all those innocent people! You destroy everything and run around like you own the world!
** [[spoiler: The tragic irony is that he did want to help her more than anything, but is unable to do anything unless someone wishes for it and could only wish if she won the contest. You can clearly see how utterly heartbroken he is by having to put her through this]].
* This occurs in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', specifically The War Within. After escaping the Kuva Fortress, the Operator gets into an argument with the Lotus regarding the truth behind Margulis and the Zaramin children.
-->'''Lotus:''' A mother wants to shield her child from the evils of the world. Margulis didn't lie to you. She protected you.\\
'''Operator:''' But isn't it better I know the truth? Wouldn't ''you'' want to know? Teshin said--\\
'''Lotus:''' Teshin thinks he knows better. Maybe he does. Maybe you needed to know to survive the Queens. But you are changed now.\\
'''Operator:''' That's what you have to say? That I'm 'changed'?\\
'''Lotus:''' What you did, you didn't have a choice. Tenno, you were only just a--\\
'''Operator:''' Don't. Don't do that. Don't... make excuses for me.
* ''Matryona's Last Night'' provides a fatal example of this. Before he kills them, Matryona calls out both of his parents for forcing him to act like a girl since birth and throwing him away once they get the daughter they always wanted. He decided to save his mother for last because she was the primary source of his rage and misery.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the short story "On Stage" from the North Korean anthology ''Literature/TheAccusation'', Kyeong-hun lashes out at his father for not realizing the nation's mourning for Kim Il-Sung comes from fear rather than sorrow. [[spoiler: The realization ultimately drives the latter to suicide.]]
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': In book #41, Jake meets what he thinks is Elfangor, and calls him out for putting the fate of the planet on the shoulders of five teenagers. "Elfangor" turns out to be [[spoiler:Tobias in an aged-up Ax morph, and the whole book ends up being AllJustADream in the end]].
* Happens at the end of ''Gifts'', the first book in ''Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore''. Orrec confronts his father on [[spoiler:faking Orrec's supposed "wild gift" to give Caspromant a fearsome reputation when Orrec really has no gift at all. His father can't even answer, having convinced himself that Orrec really ''did'' have a wild gift]].
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** The [[ButtMonkey unfairly despised]] but worthy youngest son Tyrion Lannister finally tells off his father, Lord Tywin Lannister. And then [[spoiler:kills him. Tywin deserved it]].
** After his father slaps him and goes on a rant about now being the King of the Iron Islands with a crown of iron and so on, Theon angrily reminds him that he's just a joke to his enemies, who will clean him up shortly after the true threats are dealt with. Balon admits that it's a bold move on Theon's part, but beyond that dismisses him. Ultimately Theon is proven correct: the only real blow the Iron Islands deal out has nothing to do with Balon, and only after [[spoiler: Balon has been killed in a gloriously anticlimactic way do the islands begin to rise as a credible threat under Euron.]]
** Princess Arianne Martell calls out on her father for being unresponsive [[spoiler:to her Uncle Oberyn's death]], for locking up her cousins, the Sand Snakes and for passing off her rights to her younger brother, Quentyn. [[spoiler:She got the third one wrong when Doran revealed that she's supposed to marry Viserys Targaryen which was one of his plans to return the Targaryens to power and to destroy the Lannisters.]].
* In ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'', Dmitri Karamazov calls his father out and ends up beating ''the everliving crap'' out of him in a fit of rage. It's part [[MacGuffin inheritance money]] and part LoveTriangle which spurs him.
* In ''Literature/TheCanaryPrince'', an Italian FairyTale, the heroine calls out her father for his neglect of her, locking her in a [[GirlInTheTower tower]] for years. Somehow, the fact that she wasn't happy cut off from all society is new information to him, After asking for forgiveness, he punishes the [[WickedStepmother queen]], but he himself is not held accountable for his mistreatment of his daughter.
* ''[[Literature/AssassinFantastic Coin of the Realm]]'': Rosalind calls out her father, The Ruling Monarch and The Man Who Thought He Knew More About Everything Than Anyone Else, upon [[spoiler: assassinating her newly-wed husband ''at the wedding itself'', in front of everyone, and boldly claiming her prize as his new royal assassin.]]
* In ''Literature/TheCorrections'', all three of Alfred and Enid's children try to call them out on their various issues and problems. It does not take.
* ''Literature/CountAndCountess'' tells the story of Vlad Tepes and Elizabeth Bathory, who, though living 100+ years apart, start writing to each other in childhood. At the start of the story, Vlad's father, Vlad II Drakul, has surrendered his three sons to the Ottoman Empire as war hostages. Vlad and his brothers endure unspeakable cruelty while there, and only Vlad survives it [[spoiler: seemingly]]. When Vlad escapes life as a [[ChildSoldiers Janissary]] and walks all the way home to Wallachia, he calls the old man out by [[spoiler: [[{{Patricide}} murdering him]]]].
* [[Literature/{{Everworld}} Senna Wales]], when she finally meets up with her mother during her VillainEpisode book, ''Inside the Illusion.'' Apparently, she's been imagining the moment since she was a small child.
-->'''Senna:''' How have I been? For the last ten years [[ParentalAbandonment after you dumped me off?]] How have I been, the only one like me stuck in a world full of [[{{Muggles}} deaf, dumb, and blind fools?]] Fine, Mom. Fine. How have you been?!
%%* William de Worde does this to his father at the end of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/TheTruth''.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** In ''Proven Guilty'', Carlos Ramirez confirms his brass-balls-itude by calling out the Merlin himself -- the single most powerful wizard in the world -- on how much of a hypocritical {{Jerkass}} of a bastard he's being. It's also done movingly by Molly, to her mother Charity, pointing out that Harry has been bending over backwards to help them, risking his life, giving up powerful assets, and the like, and Charity is still acting like Harry is some kind of craven, self-serving bastard. Charity [[JerkassRealisation detectably warms up to Harry]] in the aftermath, even referring to him as part of the family within a few books.
** Harry himself calls out his de facto father, Ebenezar [=McCoy=], several times in the series. [[spoiler: He later finds out that [=McCoy=] is his grandfather, making it "Calling the Even Older Man Out."]]
* Tash and Zak Arranda, in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Army of Terror'', finally tire enough of their uncle's standoffishness and stubborn secrecy to call him out. [[spoiler: Turns out he's TheAtoner.]] It works out well for them in the end.
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Golden Transcedence]]'', Ungannis declares that HumansAreBastards because her father didn't give her everything she wanted when she was a child. It does not go over well.
* In ''Literature/TheGunslinger'', Roland calls out Cort for the ritual coming-of-age challenge of every gunslinger. Due to a plot by Walter, Roland is only 14 when he issues the challenge. Walter expects Roland to be disgraced and exiled. Some creative thinking on Roland's part plays a key role in the outcome of the challenge.
* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series:
** Percy had himself a distinctly unheroic version between [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet]] and [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order]] when Perc got into a shouting match with his father during the hiatus between the books. During the fight, Percy blames his father for their family's poverty and a lousy reputation he's had to fight against since joining the Ministry. He vows to end his association with their family in order to protect himself from what he views as their foolish support of Dumbledore.
** Harry himself throws a Grand Mal fit in Dumbledore's office at the end of ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order Of The Phoenix]]'' over a combination of the shock of [[spoiler:Sirius']] death, Dumbledore's misguided avoidance of him for the entire book, and the revelation that Dumbledore had been hiding even more information from him than he suspected (information that might have helped avert the aforementioned death). To his credit, Dumbledore ''does'' let him vent his rage before apologizing and promising to tell Harry the whole truth. ([[TheChessmaster It still wasn't ''the whole'' truth]], but still things he admits he should've told Harry from the start.) In fact, he thinks Harry deserved to be even angrier than he was at the time.
** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'':
*** Harry gets to confront [[spoiler:Lupin, who just abandoned his wife and unborn child.]] To his credit, [[spoiler: Lupin realises he's being an idiot and, next time he sees Harry, asks him to be godfather to his newly born son.]]
*** Harry gets to call out [[spoiler:Dumbledore again, when they meet in Harry's [[ItMakesSenseInContext dreamworld limbo train station]]]], towards the end of the book.
* Dee of ''Literature/TheHeartsWeSold'' puts up with a lot of her dad's crap, but after years of abuse and negligence, the discovery that he [[spoiler:stole her inheritance from behind her back]] proves to be the straw that broke the camel's back. She finally calls him out and only returns home one more time after that: to get everything she needs to get a job, meaning she can move out for good.
* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series, Honor makes an enemy of industrialist Klaus Hauptman when she confiscates one of his freighters with contraband aboard. He continues to sabotage her career for several books, and when [[spoiler:Honor saves his life and that of his only daughter, Stacey,]] in ''Honor Among Enemies'', he still won't bury the hatchet. At that point, his daughter calls him out, threatening to never speak to him again unless he makes peace. He does, [[spoiler:and the Hauptmans go on to become two of Honor's most powerful allies on Manticore.]]
* ''Literature/ILucifer'' has many instances of Lucifer calling out ''[[{{God}} "The Old Man"]]'' on a few of his perceived jerkass qualities and actions.
* While still a child, Literature/JaneEyre eventually calls out her aunt and caretaker for being abusive and unfair towards her, and it actually seems to have some effect.
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': [[spoiler: The Noble Family of Esrah is supposed to serve the Royal Family of Ataidar, but Duke Selen stages both a kidnapping of the princess and then a coup against the king in order place himself or his son, Siron, in charge. He tells Siron that he's doing this for his sake and so Siron goes along with it. Eventually, he's had enough and calls out his evil dad for his treachery.]]
* In the ''Literature/{{Jumper}}'' novel, the AbusiveParents subplot culminates in an epic Calling Out. [[spoiler:Davy jumps his father to his mother's grave and then subjects him to a BreakingSpeech. While using Daddy Dearest's whipping belt as a prop to emphasize just how horrific and wrong the abuse was]].
* In ''Kristy's Big News'', the title character -- founder of Literature/TheBabysittersClub -- and her older brothers get to finally do this to the father who walked out on them six years earlier, letting him know exactly how difficult he made life for them by abandoning the family.
* Inverted in ''Literature/LevenThumps'' when [[spoiler: Elton]] calls out his son [[spoiler: Leven]] for [[spoiler: killing his wife Maria in childbirth]]. Then they fight. Afterwards, it's played straight as [[spoiler:Leven]] gets to call [[spoiler: Elton]] out.
* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/LoveAndFreindship'', Edward does this in face of a marriage to a lovely and agreeable woman.
-->''"No, never," exclaimed I. "Lady Dorothea is lovely and Engaging; I prefer no woman to her; but know, Sir, that I scorn to marry her in compliance with your Wishes. No! Never shall it be said that I obliged my Father."''
* Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series:
** ''[[Literature/LastHeraldMageTrilogy Magic's Pawn]]'': After a series of traumatic experience that include the death of his first love, a failed attempt at suicide, and the sudden acquisition of a massive array of powers that he doesn't really want, Vanyel is drugged to the gills and barely conscious but still able to pull a mild Literature/{{Carrie}} on his abusive father for spending his entire childhood trying to have the "weakness" beaten out of him and make sure that he became a "real man." He repeatedly uses his new telekinetic powers to knock his father to the ground, demanding to know if he's finally "strong enough" and how his father likes being pushed around by someone bigger and stronger than he is. (His father gets the message, and by the third book of the trilogy, the two of them manage to reconcile.)
** The "calling the mentor out" version happens in ''Winds of Fate'', when Elspeth realizes that her companion Gwena is herding her, fat, dumb and happy, toward a [[BecauseDestinySaysSo Glorious Destiny]] while trying to foist Skif on her as an ideal mate. Her response, paraphrased: ScrewDestiny, stop manipulating me, and if you don't like it, you can go back to Haven without me! Gwena is so shocked at Elspeth's behavior that she actually acquiesces (more or less). It turns out pretty well for all involved.
** Bear calls his father out by proxy in ''Changes''. He goes all-out on the spy his father planted in Haven to keep an eye on him, knowing the spy will send a full report home. He gets to do it face to face in ''Redoubt''.
* In "Literature/TheManWhoCameEarly", Thorgunna calls her father Ospak a coward and a perjurer when their houseguest Gerald kills a man in self defense, and Ospak will not pay the weregild out of fear for a blood feud.
* ''Literature/MonsterOfTheMonthClub'': Woman, in this case, since Rilla has it out with her mother in book 2 when she finally gets tired and frustrated with her over a variety of things, including Sparrow embarrassing her in front of her friends. Sparrow is somewhat taken aback, but she and Rilla do sit down and talk over things as a result, including asking Rilla to ''tell'' her if Sparrow is embarrassing her so she'll stop doing it.
* ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'': For the entire duration of Jocelyn's kidnapping and subsequent coma, Clary is completely devoted to bringing her back. When Jocelyn finally is cured and returned, the very first thing Clary does is tear into her for depriving Clary of her Sight and not preparing her for the Shadowhunters' world.
%% ** [[spoiler:A difficult feat for Jace, even after years of having been abandoned by Valentine.]]
* In the second ''Literature/NightHuntress'' book, Cat tries to call her father out. Unfortunately, vampire politics get in the way.
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'':
** Luke is...very ticked with his father.
** And in ''The Last Olympian'', Percy does this to [[spoiler: all the gods, telling them they should accept all demigods (including checking in time and time on their children) and take responsibility for their actions. And he even extends it to telling them that even the minor gods and their children should have a place at the camp.]]
** Also in ''The Last Olympian'', [[spoiler: Hades]] calls out his father.
---> "And if there is one thing we agree on - it's that you were a TERRIBLE father."
*** Leo does this to his dad, Hephaestus, in the sequel series, ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', to a degree that not even Percy would have.
* In ''Literature/PrinceRoger'', near the end of ''March Upcountry'' Prince Roger is told that his father [[spoiler: tried to pull off a coup before Roger was born.]] Roger, unfortunately, looks [[GenerationXerox almost identical]] to the man. [[spoiler: Worse, ''no one'' ever told Roger what happened, or why his father was banished - or even why his mother seemed to hate and distrust him. The resulting spoiled-lonely-brat-who-wants-some-loving-attention behaviour did nothing to improve anyone's attitude towards him.]] And to top it all off, once he finally finds all this out...he can't even Call Out his mother for her actions, because she's several solar systems away -- so he has to settle for throwing a tantrum of epic proportions, ending up trashing his room and mistreating his sword badly.
* In ''Literature/RockOfAges'' by Creator/WalterJonWilliams, Drake tries this after discovering just how convoluted some of the plots his legally-dead father has gotten involved with are. Unfortunately, his father is not merely a BrainInAJar but is getting rather senile, and manages to completely miss the point of Drake's angry lecture.
* Not sure if this was included in ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', but Cao Pi (son of MagnificentBastard Cao Cao) ordered one of his concubines (Zhen Ji, for those of you familiar with VideoGame/DynastyWarriors) to commit suicide on the pretext that she was too jealous of his other wives. One day he takes his heir apparent (and Zhen Ji's son) out for a hunt and manages to bag himself a nice doe; in high spirits, he tells his son to capture the fawn as well, at which point the son answers: "You have already killed the mother; I see no need to murder its child as well".
* Jenna from ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' does this to Milo Banda, her father who's always absent, in ''Syren'':
-->'''Jenna Heap:''' And you are ''not'' my father. Dad is.
* Carmen in ''Literature/TheSisterhoodOfTheTravelingPants''. Her dad definitely deserved it, seeing as [[spoiler: he didn't tell her he was engaged, living with his fiancée and her two kids, and getting married that August]] before she came to spend the summer with him for the first time since the separation.
* Zacharias in ''Literature/SorcererToTheCrown'' finally is able to stand his ground against his adoptive father Stephen, after [[spoiler: Stephen is dead. And a ghost. Zacharias finds his appearing in the midst of conversations with living people most annoying, and says so.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', [[ChildMage Coin]] has spent his whole life as his [[AbusiveParents father Ipslore's]] mindslave, being forced to kill people and [[ElectricTorture magically tortured]] if he disobeys. At the end of the book, he finally calls Ipslore out. It's epic and involves a magical battle.
** To put things in perspective, Coin is ''nine''.
* The Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novel ''The Captain's Daughter'' has Admiral John "Blackjack" Harriman, father of ''Enterprise-B'' captain John Harriman, and heavily implied to be the reason such a young, inexperienced officer is in command of the ''Enterprise'', accompany his son's ship. He spends the entire time boasting about how he got his son such a prestigious command, complaining about James Kirk, and overriding the captain at critical moments. When Captain Harriman finally stands up to him, the admiral unloads on him, calling him names and saying he's worse than Kirk ever was, before sitting in the command chair. The captain's response is to beam him to the brig.
* In one of the ''Literature/TeenageWorrier'' books, Letty mistakenly believes her father is planning to leave his family for a male lover. She imagines confronting him in a humorous scenario, finishing with:
-->And the great noble Hand of God will wag its finger at Dad and say "Look after your kids, punk."
* Mark does this to the Emperor, his biological father, when he finally meets him in the ''Third Literature/BookOfSwords'' by Fred Saberhagen. Since the Emperor is really [[spoiler: God]], it is not very surprising that His response is, in effect, when you're as old as I am and know as much as I do, you can question what I do and why I do it.
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** Crookedstar eventually stands up to his abusive mother Rainflower, telling her that she'll never make him ashamed of who he is or what he looks like.
** Brambleclaw defies his father, [[BigBad Tigerstar]], in ''The Darkest Hour'' when Tigerstar invites him to join him.
* Both played straight and subverted by Zephyr in ''Literature/TheWindwaterPack'': His father Stone Voice is at the top of his list and he never hesitates to let him know it. However, when he has the chance to really put him in his place, he simply says “Good-bye” and walks away.
* In the third book of ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', Vivia finally gets angry at her father, a ManipulativeBastard who moulded her into a WellDoneSonGuy, calling him out on his megalomania, his lies and the way he constantly dismisses her and treats her like a child to prop himself up. Years of mental abuse being rather hard to cast off, she still feels horrid about it.
* ''Literature/WonderWomanWarbringer'': Jason is Alia's brother, not her father, but he's essentially raised her since their parent's death, and Alia delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to him after he reveals his true allegiances.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansTheSeries'' introduces Cruella de Vil's mother Malevola, the head of the de Vil family and a horrid woman who makes Cruella look like a saint in comparison. In "Coup de Vil" Cruella finally snaps at the years of constant disrespect Malevola's shown her and calls her out for the hateful, domineering bitch that she is. Interestingly, Malevola responds to this disrespect with ''pride'' and sheds TearsOfJoy because Cruella finally shows some spine and their relationship actually improves.
-->'''Cruella''': You're a ControlFreak! You're as cuddly as a gargoyle and you have the fashion sense ''of a DRUID!'' How do you like THAT?!
-->'''Malevola''': ...at last! [[SoProudOfYou The daughter I've always wanted! COME TO MAMA!]]
* Earl of Lemongrab does this to Princess Bubblegum in the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "You Made Me!", several times:
-->'''Lemongrab:''' No one... No one understands! I am alone! And you ''made'' me like this! [[TitleDrop YOU MADE ME!!!]] '''[[TitleDrop YOOOU MAAADE MEEE!!!]]''' You're... my... ''glob!'' You're my glob!\\
'''Lemongrab:''' It's ''gross!'' And ''who'' says your way's right, anyway? I look in the lemon heart you ''gave'' me and see ''my'' lemon way to act - and that ''must'' be right!\\
'''Lemongrab:''' NO! No more helping! You unload your punkest boys on me?! ''Tryyy'' to change my ways?! YOU'RE POISON! '''YOU'RE POISON!!!''' ''YOU'' NEED RECONDITIONING!!! '''REEECONDITIIION YOOOU!!!'''
* Several occasions in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', but a great example is in "Bully For Steve." Stan takes the role of a bully and makes Steve's life miserable to get him to toughen up and face his bully. Steve finally calls him out to a fight on the playground. When Stan arrives, Steve reveals that he hired ''Stan's'' old bully, Stelio Kontos, to beat him up. Stan gets pulverized, but afterwards, admits he's proud of Steve for handling his bully his way.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Jake gets fed up with his job as the American Dragon after a particularly stressful week, so after a local bully gets his own {{unishment}} for pranking the school principal, Jake pulls the same trick on the Dragon Council in order to get put on temporary suspension from the position. The reins get passed to [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Haley]] in the meantime, who goes from gloating she'll do a far better job to being a frazzled, gibbering mess within ''days''. So when Haley sees their grandfather Lao Shi start to criticize Jake for being irresponsible and not flawlessly rising to the job, she snaps and tongue-lashes him, declaring that while his actions might have been immature, him desiring to have a short break after years of thankless work is far from selfish.
-->'''Haley:''' HEY! When's the last time either of you were the American Dragon? Well, as the little troll girl currently filling the position, let me tell you it's stinkin' hard! I can't imagine doing it two more days let alone two more ''years''! And to think about everything Jake's gone through; he's had to save magical creatures on a daily basis, lie to his own dad about who he is, say good-bye to the girl he loved, all to protect a mystical world that nobody knows about. He may be the American Dragon but he is also a 14-year-old kid who just wanted a couple days off. If that makes him immature, fine, but self-serving? With all due respect to both of you, ''STEP OFF''!!
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Katara loudly vents her pain and frustration at her father for leaving her and her brother behind to fight in the war. Downplayed, as Katara also admits that she knows that he had no choice and didn't do anything wrong, but can't help but feel angry and hurt by it. Hakoda, loving father that he is, acknowledges her pain, expresses his regret and asks her forgiveness, which she does gives to him.
** Toph has a straight example later on, calling out both her parents in her debut episode. She tells them in what would become one of her few moments of politeness and emotional vulnerability that she likes being a fighter and is tired of them overprotecting her. Unfortunately, to her shock, her father decides that this just a sign that she needs to be protected even ''more'', leading to her running away with Team Avatar. And this is after seeing her in action and know she isn't as naïve and fragile as they thought. They don't make amends until "The Rift" story arc in the post-series comics.
** The most remembered instance of this in the series, which serves as the page quote, goes to Zuko confronting Ozai during the final season for [[AbusiveParents controlling him, making him feel worthless, burning his face, banishing him for three years]] and generally being an evil, contemptible douchebag. It pisses off Ozai so much that he [[spoiler:[[OffingTheOffspring tries to kill Zuko with lightning right then and there]]. It doesn't work, thanks to Zuko knowing the only [[HoistByHisOwnPetard counter]] to lightning-bending... [[LaserGuidedKarma which was taught to him by]] [[ParentalSubstitute Iroh, Ozai's brother (Zuko's uncle)]].]] This scene is not only epic for Zuko in general, but it also marks his [[spoiler:actual HeelFaceTurn, making up for his fake-out at the end of the previous season.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "Inqueling", it's revealed that before her mutation, Inque gave birth to a daughter named Deanna, [[GiveHerANormalLife whom she subsequently gave up for adoption]]. When the two reunite in the show Inque explains that she had grown up poor and let herself ''become'' Inque all for the money, and she wanted to give her daughter an easier life with normal parents and a large trust fund. When Inque reveals just how much money she has, however, [[EvilerThanThou her daughter tries to kill her in order to get control of her bank accounts]].
-->'''Deanna:''' You never gave me anything except ''money'', Mother. How did you ''expect'' me to turn out?
* In season four of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', Bojack learns his [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive mother, Beatrice]], has gone senile and now can't even recognize him, leaving him bummed out... because he never got around to personally telling her off and now, may never get the chance to let her know how much he truly hated her. [[spoiler: Later in penultimate episode of the season, he gets his chance when she's finally able to recognize him, right after she's done probably the worst thing she's ever done to him and he's ready to dump her off to die alone in the worst nursing home room he could find, no less. But, he ultimately decided to be the bigger horse and instead, tells her she's eating ice cream at the old family summer home by the lake.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "The Color Ruckus" at his grandmother's funeral, Uncle Ruckus finally tells off his father for abusing him as a child and using his own crappy life to justify it. The senior Ruckus responds by trying to hit Uncle with a beer bottle, only to fall backward into his mother's grave and break his neck when his back gives out.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}'', [[{{Dhampir}} Alucard]] multiple times calls out his father {{Dracula}} for being insane with grief over his mother Lisa’s death and even correctly claims that his father’s RoaringRampageOfRevenge is just “History‘s longest [[DeathSeeker suicide note]]”. [[spoiler: This gets subverted when Dracula does have a HeelRealization and lets his son stake him, Alucard himself deeply regrets having to commit {{Patricide}} even if it was to save world since he did genuinely love his father]].
* Late in ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', Ulrich's [[AbusiveParents emotionally and verbally abusive father]] shows up to talk to his son about his poor academic performance. Ulrich calmly tolerates his father's lecture until his father implies Ulrich's friends ([[TrueCompanions the only people who keep the poor boy sane]]) are behind his poor grades. Ulrich is visibly angry and snaps that his father doesn't know his friends... or him for that matter. Then when it's revealed the team needs him, Ulrich stands to leave and rebuts his father's command of "I'm not done talking to you!" with "Yeah? Well, I'm done listening.", slamming the door on his way out.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'', Remy calls out his parents in "Remy Rescue" for not letting him make his own decisions and trying to keep him from hanging out with Cricket and Tilly. Fortunately, his parents see the error of their ways and let the two be friends again.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Cosmo gets an awesome one against Mama Cosma in "Apartnership":
-->'''Cosmo:''' Let's get something straight! I'm not bright! Big words confuse me! I have the attention span of a rodent! But Wanda loves me anyway. She makes me happy, and that should be enough for you!
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "Seahorse Seashell Party", [[ButtMonkey Meg]] finally blows up at her family during a hurricane. While [[BitchInSheepsClothing Lois]] gets attacked pretty hard, [[PsychopathicManchild Peter]] gets the brunt of it. What she essentially says is that Lois is a callous bitch and Peter is a failure of a man.
** In "The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou", Peter spent a good deal of time trying to make Chris stand up to a bully... while becoming one himself. Chris responds by socking Peter and telling him what a dick he's been.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' episode "From Air to Eternity", [[AbusiveParents Pete]] lies and says he's not afraid of heights and then belittles PJ for his lack of accomplishments, makes him feel insecure and inadequate about his ''own'' fear of heights, [[FinancialAbuse coerces him into dangerous stunts for his own profits]], yells at him and insults him for doing them wrong, and shames and rejects him for "lying" because Pete made an incorrect assumption which PJ didn't know he needed to correct. Then PJ and Max discover that Pete is afraid of heights and lied to PJ, which meant what he did wasn't just [[{{Jerkass}} needlessly cruel]], it was also [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]]. PJ is a bit too meek to call Pete out directly, but with Max's help, he manages to call Pete out indirectly by tricking him into confessing to the original transgression. PJ pretends to be surprised and shames his father with all the "new information that comes to light."
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "King Tooten Pooten", Irwin's mom Judy calls her father Poppin Lockin out for his cruel ways in the past and trying to make Irwin the next Pharaoh in his family instead of letting him decide what he wants to do. [[spoiler: Irwin accepted being the Pharaoh when Poppin Lockin told him that Mandy would love him.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' has Jackie's Hyde side doing this in one episode.
-->'''Dark Jackie:''' Pull your tongue out of your mouth and wring out the spit.\\
'''Uncle:''' ''(gasps)'' You call Uncle an eel!
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'':
** Upon his resignation, Captain Marvel does this to his former idol Superman, citing how the man of steel and the team -- or rather organization -- as a whole have become infatuated with their power, distracted from their original purpose, and forgotten how to be heroes.
--->"You don't even act like [heroes] anymore."
** Invoked then derailed in Season 4's last episode, "Epilogue", which kept the title as [[spoiler:it also served as the series ending for Batman Beyond]]; A grown Terry imagines himself reaming Bruce on his control issues and emotional distance. In the end, he doesn't actually go through with this.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode "Death Picks Cotton", Peggy Hill finally gets to chew out her father-in-law, Cotton, for how much of a complete jerk he's been to his son (Hank) for all of his life. The kicker? She waits until he's on his deathbed to let him have it.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** When [[spoiler: Hiroshi Sato]] reveals that he's working for the Equalists, he spends quite a bit of time trying to get his daughter, [[spoiler:Asami]] to undergo a FaceHeelTurn and join him. She refuses, repeatedly, before saying that his wife would have ''hated'' him for what he's become and that he has no more room for love, he's so filled with hate. Even as he tries to kill his once-beloved daughter, and she strikes him down, she's crying.
---> [[spoiler: '''Asami''']]: You really are a horrible father.
** In [[spoiler: Amon/Noatak and Tarrlok's backstory]] ''both'' of them get a chance to do this. After being forced to [[spoiler:bloodbend]] innocent animals and then ''each other'' by their father, [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] refuses as says he doesn't want to do that to ''anyone''. When their father ([[spoiler:Yakkone]]) is about to attack him, [[spoiler:Noatak]] calls him out too, and stops him from hurting his little brother.
** During the final season, Lin finally meets up with her mother and is clearly working hard to keep from blowing up at her. When Toph prods her to just get on with it, Lin blows up at her mother for her [[MaternallyChallenged terrible parenting]]. While we've already heard part of Lin's issues and thus don't get a repeat of those, we also learn that Lin is both upset that she has no idea who her father is and, more importantly, that her mother doesn't even understand why she's mad. Whenever Lin tried to explain, her mother would just blow her off because she apparently couldn't understand why Lin would even care.
* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': Timber Wolf was calling out his [[EvilutionaryBiologist father]] twice in the series, the first time where he confronts him in the lab after the Legion helped restore his humanity, was when he points out that his father wasn't a [[AbusiveParents good parent]] to him and destroys his lab, the second time [[spoiler: he was BrainwashedAndCrazy]] and was confronting him at a science convention in front of a huge audience, where he accuses him of manipulating people around him and experimenting on sentient beings as well as destroying their lives and families. [[spoiler: This time he makes himself into a SelfMadeOrphan.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'':
** Played with in Season 1. The Bandmates are forced to deal with their overbearing parents/guardians who force them to spend quality time with them. When the band is confronted with the idea of a Family Album, they angrily state that they are the most brutal band in the world and that their parents know nothing about being brutal. Suddenly, the trope becomes an {{Inversion}} and all the parents berate their kids for taking them for granted.
--->'''Grandma Murderface:''' You little bastards think you know about brutal? Let me tell you something, there is nothing NOTHING in this world more brutal than raising a child!
** Also briefly parodied with an absurd non-sequitur (par for the course, really, considering what show this is) in Skwisklok:
--->'''Nathan Explosion:''' I guess I always hated my father. But then Explosion Sauce changed all that. ''[chugs barbecue sauce straight from the bottle]'' Explosion Sauce: It's good on its own.
** In "Motherklok," Pickles finally has enough of his mom's attitude and, after being told by just about everybody that he should tell her to go fuck herself, he finally does exactly that.
--->'''Pickles:''' Hey mom? GO FUCK YOURSELF!
* Clay Puppington, father of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel's'' title character, got double-whammied. Already a less-than-stellar father, in the second season's finale he sunk to new depths while on a hunting trip with Orel. He gets progressively drunk throughout the day, goes into a mad rant that night, accidentally shoots Orel, blames ''Orel'' for it, tears Orel's lucky shirt for a tourniquet, then ''drinks the rubbing alcohol Orel had brought for'' exactly ''that kind of emergency.'' The drinking alone had gotten Orel to anxiously tell his father he didn't like it when Clay drank, but all the other stuff forces CheerfulChild Orel to utter the three magic words: "I hate you." Clay's response: "Hate away, Sister. Hate away..." The second whammy comes at the end of the third season's premiere, when we learn he overheard the tail-end of a conversation between Orel and his mother, in which [[spoiler:Orel sincerely questioned ''why'' his mother married his father, and his wife dismiss Orel's claims that Clay became a different man when he drinks as "his true nature coming out." Clay got into bed soon after with an expression that leaves the impression he was thinking "MyGodWhatHaveIDone."]] Unfortunately, most of that third season shows Clay getting worse, up until finally the only man who cares for him decides to abandon him, forever dooming him to a miserable marriage. His kids, at least, do grow up and have relatively happy lives.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In the episode "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", Diamond Tiara cements her own HeelFaceTurn when she confronts her mother Spoiled Rich and reams her out for her controlling ways, going so far as to call the Cutie Mark Crusaders her friends.
** In the episode "Parental Glideance", Rainbow Dash tears into her parents for their oversupportiveness, telling them how embarrassing it was. Sadly, her outburst is caught by Scootaloo, who has a BrokenPedestal moment because of it.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ObanStarRacers'', after Don Wei tells Molly that he knows that she's really his daughter, Eva, she unloads on him for abandoning her at a boarding school for most of her childhood without so much as a letter and not even recognizing her when she first joined the team.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Ashi (after having undergone her HeelFaceTurn) battles her mother, the High Priestess of the Cult of Aku, and calls her out for raising her and her six sisters as ChildSoldiers to kill Jack and sending them on what was basically a SuicideMission.
-->'''High Priestess:''' How could you betray your family?! He killed your sisters, and you let him live!\\
'''Ashi:''' No, ''you'' killed them! We were made for one purpose; to kill! Our fate was sealed ''the day we were born''!
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Both Adora and Catra rip into [[AbusiveParent Shadow Weaver]] at different points, with Adora tearing through the "Golden Child" nonsense to point out that all Shadow Weaver ever did was manipulate and exploit her, and Catra not only [[KlingonPromotion outright overthrowing her and taking her job at Hordak's right hand]], but also yelling at her about how many of Catra's own issues are direct results of Shadow Weaver's parenting style.
-->'''Shadow Weaver:''' I've missed you, my child-\\
'''Adora:''' We're past that. Try again.\\
'''Shadow Weaver:''' Clever. You always were. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were different. You were-\\
'''Adora:''' Special? No. What you always told me was that ''I didn't matter.'' I was ''special'' only as long as I obeyed you.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' [[WellDoneSonGuy Harry]] actually throws [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn his father]] across the room in "The Uncertainty Principle," screaming that it was his fault that he took [[PsychoSerum Globulin Green]] and [[spoiler:became the Green Goblin]]. Harry doesn't go much farther with it, though, because Norman actually listens to him and starts acting like a decent father for once. [[spoiler:Or at least, [[TheChessmaster he seems to be]]]]...
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E14DefendersOfPeace "Defenders of Peace"]] Wag Too, before going to help the Jedi and clone troopers, chews out his father for his SuicidalPacifism and essentially points out that no matter how well they fight, their village is still being defended by a grand total of ''five'' people and that eventually the villagers might have to defend themselves.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** In the episode "Nightmare Hospital", Connie calls out her mother for her control-freak tendencies and her increasing denial about how little she knows about her daughter's life, revealing A) Connie no longer needs her glasses, B) she's been studying sword-fighting, and C) she's more than capable of helping Steven deal with any "weird gem stuff" (like [[spoiler: the two "Franken-gems" that had wound up in the hospital after being mistaken for horribly deformed car accident patients]]).
** In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E7DropBeatDad Drop Beat Dad]]," Sour Cream reunites with his absent father Marty, who offers to make up for lost time by upgrading his son's ramshackle rave into a full-blown concert. When it is revealed that [[ItsAllAboutMe Marty]] hijacked the show to shill disgusting soda, Sour Cream makes it known that he doesn't need Marty or his product endorsement to be a DJ -- in the same [[IntelligibleUnintelligible gibberish language]] his stepfather and half-brother speak.
** In season 3, Steven starts to learn that his mother, Rose Quartz, wasn't the saintly paragon he was always told she was, and that she had secrets she kept even from the other Crystal Gems. When Steven dreams of a palanquin he knows is connected to those secrets in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E10StevensDream Steven's Dream]]", he gets angry at Garnet and Pearl when they're clearly trying not to tell Steven something. He tells them that he, as Rose's son, deserves to know the truth if anyone does. A few episodes later in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E16StormInTheRoom Storm in the Room]]", Steven goes into Rose's room in the temple and uses its ability to conjure illusions from his mind to actually interact with his mother on some level, which eventually turns into calling her out on leaving Steven to deal with her messes.
** Sadie calls out her mother Barb in "Sadie's Song" for her suffocating and controlling nature.
** In the finale of season 5, "Change Your Mind", Steven calls out [[spoiler: [[BigBadDuumvirate the Diamonds]] on their abusive treatment towards his mother on her behalf, owing that Pink Diamond became Rose Quartz and betrayed them for always ignoring her in favor of their tyranny and her attempts to change them for the better]].
** In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E15MrUniverse Mr. Universe]]", Steven calls out his father for running away from home when he was a kid because his parents were ''too strict'' and leaving behind a normal life that Steven would have loved to have had.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' episode "The Night Before Cave Christmas", Oogtar takes a peek at one of the presents King Koopa wrapped for the Koopa Kids. Upon discovering Koopa is giving Bob-ombs to his children for Christmas, Oogtar calls him out and laughs when the Bob-omb [[LaserGuidedKarma explodes in his face.]]
* In the second episode of the original 1987 ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}'' series, Shredder says the Turtles should join his forces because their existence as mutant ninjas is all due to him framing their master Hamato Yoshi and getting him banished from the Foot Clan, then following him to America with the purpose of finishing him off for good, which he attempted to do with the mutagen that did at least turn Yoshi into a mutant rat while giving the turtles their humanoid form. All the Turtles need for a response is one line from Raphael to sum up their feelings toward that:
--> "Does the phrase 'go suck a lemon' hold any meaning for you?"
* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' features Will calling her mother out for lecturing her about being honest while keeping the fact that she was dating Will's teacher a secret. Said teacher ''agrees with Will'' while her mom can only gape in shock.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMen'':
** As mentioned above, the '90s animated series condensed and distilled Cyclops' resentment of Corsair (originally a 3-issue-long storyline) into one tearjerker of a rant about his pre-Xavier school DarkAndTroubledPast to a shamefaced Corsair, even as he helps him escape a crooked Shi'Ar cop so he can [[ClearMyName clear his name]].
** The time Magneto got called out by Wanda and Pietro, while they're kept as prisoners alongside Beast and Professor X. Up until then, neither the twins nor Magneto had an idea of this, and worse, the twins had ''just'' learned that the Maximoffs were only their adoptive parents.
[[/folder]]

* CallingTheOldManOut/{{Film}}

SubTrope of GrewASpine. Compare RageAgainstTheMentor. See also IHateYouVampireDad and HatesTheirParent. As noted, AbusiveParents will likely be on the receiving end, putting this on the far side of the SlidingScaleOfParentShamingInFiction. Often a subtrope of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Conflicts with HonorThyParent.

->'''Fire Lord Ozai:''' ''GET OUT!'' Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!\\
'''Prince Zuko:''' That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore.\\
'''Ozai:''' You ''will'' obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last! ''[steps towards Zuko]''\\
'''Zuko:''' ''[draws swords]'' ''Think again!'' I am going to speak my mind... and you are going to listen.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''

* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Jake gets fed up with his job after two years of endless mind-numbing training and threats, repeatedly getting grounded by his father (who isn't in on TheMasquerade and thinks he's just been goofing off -- which, to be fair, sometimes he is), and ultimately losing his girlfriend ''twice'' while still being expected to face all the trouble of youth without any time to enjoy himself whatsoever and deliberately gets his responsibility removed so he can relax for the final week of middle school. The reins get passed to [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Haley]], who at first claims she will do a far better job than her brother, but goes from a calm collected child genius to a frazzled, gibbering mess within ''days''. When Haley overhears Lao Shi start to criticize Jake for being irresponsible and not flawlessly rising to the thankless job, she snaps and tongue-lashes him declaring that it might have been stupid, but it wasn't selfish for him to want to actually be a kid for a few days-- generally considered her finest moment in the series.
-->'''Haley:''' HEY! When's the last time either of you were the American Dragon? Well as the little troll girl currently filling the position, let me tell you it's stinkin' hard! I can't imagine doing it two more days let alone two more ''years''! And to think about everything Jake's gone through; he's had to save magical creatures on a daily basis, lie to his own dad about who he is, say good-bye to the girl he loved, all to protect a mystical world that nobody knows about. He may be the American Dragon but he is also a 14-year-old kid who just wanted a couple days off. If that makes him immature, fine, but self-serving? With all due respect to both of you, ''STEP OFF''!!

** Katara loudly vents her pain and frustration at her father for leaving her and her brother behind to fight in the war. In a twist, Katara admits that she knows that he had no choice and didn't do anything wrong, but can't help but feel angry and hurt by it. Hakoda, loving father that he is, takes it like a man, expresses his regret and asks her forgiveness, which she finally gives to him.
** Toph calls out ''both'' parents in her debut episode, telling them (politely) that she likes being a fighter and is tired of them overprotecting her. Unfortunately, her father decides this means she needs to be protected even ''more'', leading to her running away with Team Avatar. All the more frustrating because all of this takes place after both of Toph's parents have seen her in action and have seen how well she could handle herself.
** The most epic scene of Calling The Old Man Out in Avatar, however, has to go to Zuko confronting Ozai for [[spoiler: [[AbusiveParents controlling him, making him feel worthless, burning his face, banishing him for three years]] and generally being an evil, contemptible douchebag]]. It pisses off Ozai so much that he [[spoiler:[[OffingTheOffspring tries to kill Zuko with lightning]]. It doesn't work, thanks to Zuko knowing the only [[HoistByHisOwnPetard counter]] to lightning-bending... [[LaserGuidedKarma which was taught to him by]] [[ParentalSubstitute Iroh, Ozai's brother (Zuko's uncle)]].]] This scene is not only epic for Zuko in general, but it also marks his [[spoiler: actual HeelFaceTurn, making up for his fake-out at the end of the previous season.]]

* Music/DemiLovato's song "For The Love Of a Daughter" is about her biological father's drinking & abusiveness, directed at him. It includes lines like "Lied to your flesh & your blood, put your hands on the ones that you swore you loved," and says "You're hopeless" as part of the chorus.