This 30 Year Old Was Evicted By His Own Parents Then He Gave The World’s Cringiest Interview

In May of 2018, a Supreme Court judge ordered 30-year-old Michael Rotondo to vacate his parents’ home. But the fact that this seemingly straightforward case had gotten all the way to the court had not escaped the scrutiny of the world’s press.

After Michael was handed his verdict, he spoke to CNN in a seriously cringe-worthy interview. How did this all come about, you ask? Well, it seems that at some point around 2010, Michael found himself out of a job. As a result, he reportedly had to give up his apartment in Syracuse, New York, and was forced to move into his parents’ home.

According to ABC 7 in Los Angeles, Michael now runs a website business. But in February 2018, the situation with his parents, Mark and Christina Rotundo from Camillus, New York, seemingly came to a head. On February 2nd, Michael reportedly received a note that began, “After a discussion with your mother, we’ve decided that you must leave this house immediately.” The note continued, “You have 14 days to vacate. You will not be allowed to return. We will take whatever actions are necessary to enforce this decision.”

And as it turned out, the last line of the message was no joke. Because as promised, on February 13, 2018, Michael received another note from his parents. This time, it said in no uncertain terms that Michael was no longer welcome in the house and that he had one calendar month in which to leave.

Five days later, however, Michael’s parents allegedly gave him another note. This message contained some advice and an offer of assistance. Indeed, Christina and Mark appeared to offer Michael $1,100 so that he could find a place to stay. The note provided some additional handy life hacks too. Among other things, the note informed Michael that there are jobs available, even for those with a poor work history like him. It also told him to organize and sell his stuff in preparation for his new life in a different residence.

But the notes didn’t stop there. On March 5th, 2018, Michael and Christina allegedly gave their son a fourth note that reminded Michael of the looming deadline for eviction. It also read, “Be aware that we will take any appropriate actions necessary to make sure that you leave the house as demanded.”

The fifth and final note reportedly arrived on March 30th, 2018. In it, Michael’s parents suggested potential ways in which their son could deal with a problem with his car. Yes, it seems that the car too was now an unwelcome guest at the Rotundo household.

But when all of these attempts to remove Michael from the home failed, Mark and Christina filed a petition in May of 2018 to have him legally evicted. According to the document, the couple had been made to believe that obtaining an ejectment proceeding was the only way to rid themselves of a family member.

Michael naturally had something to say about these proceedings. Indeed, his responses show that he thought his parents had given him neither the common law requirement of six months’ notice nor any reason for him to be evicted. He further insisted that he had never been expected to contribute to household expenses.

The outcome of all this came in a court appearance on May 22nd, 2018. During the proceedings, State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood reportedly did his best to encourage Michael to leave the property of his own accord. And when even this failed, he simply ruled that Michael should be evicted. The judge also told Adult Protective Services to look further into the case. Apparently, the jurist was worried about all that had been happening within the family by this point.

Then, at least six cameras were on hand to record the widely publicized conclusion to the story.

All of which leads us to Michael’s excruciating performance on CNN. The interview, which took place on May 23, 2018, just one day after the court ruling, left an impression. The CNN anchor Brook Baldwin later confessed that it was one of the more surreal interviews she’s taken part in lately.

So what happened? Firstly, not long after the interview begins, Michael asks the question that was no doubt on everybody’s lips: “Why don’t you just move out of your parents’ house, like, tomorrow?” He says. Michael responds that he doesn’t currently have the means to do that but that he had an idea of how to make money. Michael also insists that he doesn’t believe he should have to provide for himself or move out right away. And about his parents’ actions, he said, “I would consider much of what they’re doing to try to get me out as a tax. I don’t like living here, but I need reasonable time.”

At another point in the interview, Michael practically halts proceedings to take a drink from a bottle. Baldwin makes a point of showing him up by saying, “Please take a sip of your water,” and the look that Michael gives her is perhaps the highlight of the entire segment.

Interestingly though, Michael does mention during the clip that he has previously lost the right to see his own son. Baldwin replies by saying her heart goes out to him. And it’s a quiet reminder that this is in fact more than just a funny story to this family. The events of this case are yet another example of broken relationships.

The interview ends after Baldwin asks Michael about the apparent public belief that he’s just another entitled millennial. But Michael says the label doesn’t apply to him. “The millennials that they’ve been speaking of are very liberal in their ideology,” he says. In contrast, he claims to be a very conservative person. And there the cringe-inducing interview comes to an end.

And not long afterwards, the story found a conclusion too. Because the following week, on June 1st, 2018, Michael claimed that he’d moved out of his parents’ home. He told reporters on the scene that he was taking up residence in an Airbnb and that he’d bid farewell to his family.