The Messed Up Part Of How I Met Your Mother’s Barney That Fans Are Happy To Ignore – Looper

In the “How I Met Your Mother” Season 3 episode “The Bracket,” Barney finds himself striking out with women because every time he hits on a woman, another woman waits until Barney walks away. She then goes up to the woman and warns them about Barney’s lying ways. When Barney finally finds the woman who he thinks is responsible for this act of humanitarianism, he doesn’t remember her and tries to apologize for all the terrible things he’s done over the years. 

While many of the things that Barney has done are pretty deplorable, one of the things he admits to in the midst of his apology is especially heinous. “At one point, I’m pretty sure I sold a woman,” Barney admits, shockingly. “I didn’t speak the language, but I shook a guy’s hand, he gave me the keys to a Mercedes, and I left her there.” Whoa, back up there, because that’s somehow even worse than everything else that Barney’s done. If it’s true, that means Barney participated in human trafficking, which is even more morally abhorrent than tricking women into sex.

Although most fans seem to have ignored this line as a throwaway, others noticed that the joke went a bit too far. In a 2016 thread in the r/HIMYM subreddit, u/ajstar1000 said that this one line totally changed how they perceive Barney. Redditor u/CuddlePirate420 agreed, saying that Barney belongs behind bars. u/DaddyCatALSO pointed out that Barney is unsure of what actually happened, and that the show is entirely told from the perspective of Ted, who himself is an unreliable narrator. Still, if there’s any chance that Barney did what he said he did, he’s pretty terrible for going along with it.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).