The meeting was not the place to start a fight. A private message would have protected the relationship and given the coworker a chance to fix the credit without embarrassment.
Judge it here
Was the public correction fair — or should it have stayed private?
The credit was taken in public, so a calm factual correction belonged in the same room. Naming the work is not an attack or an insult.
Pick once. Your call records immediately; the crowd stays hidden until then.
Editorial frame preview · work
Am I wrong for correcting my coworker in front of the boss after he took credit for my work?
I built the report that landed our team a new client. In the meeting my coworker presented it as 'what I put together' while I sat there. When the boss praised him, I said in front of everyone: 'Glad it landed — I built the model, happy to walk anyone through it.' My coworker went red. Later he said I made him look bad and should have talked to him privately. HR-adjacent people are now 'aware of friction.'
The question
Was the public correction fair — or should it have stayed private?
UR WRONG separates the two accounts from the crowd's judgment. Read the frame, make your call, then compare it with the live jury.
Three editorial voices
Same moment. Different rule.
The Blunt One · NOT WRONG
He stole credit in public; a public, factual correction is the proportional response. You didn't even insult him.
The Empath · NOT WRONG
Quietly letting it slide teaches him it works. You reclaimed your work without burning him down.
The Rule-Keeper · NOT WRONG
You stated a fact and offered to help. That's the textbook clean reclaim — the 'friction' is his to own.
Have a disagreement that needs a fair frame?
Invite the other side, keep each account separate, and let people who know neither of you decide.