AITAH for pretending I don't believe in Delaware?

So this is a long running joke that might have gone a little too far.

About six years ago I said in a group chat that I didn’t believe Delaware was a real place. I said it was one of those fake states the government invented to make the map look balanced. Kind of like the “Finland isn’t real” meme. Everyone laughed.

But then I just… kept doing the bit

Anytime Delaware came up I would double down. If someone said they went there I’d say something like “oh you mean the alleged Delaware.” If someone pointed to it on a map I’d say maps are edited. If someone said they knew someone from Delaware I’d say that person probably made it up because nobody is actually from Delaware.

Some examples: -A friend once said their cousin moved to Delaware and I said “people say that when they join witness protection.” -Someone showed me beach pictures and said they were from Delaware and I said it looked like New Jersey with a filter. -When Biden got elected I said it was impressive that the first president from a fictional state made it that far.

Most people just treated it as a running joke and would occasionally bring it up to mess with me. Fast forward to last weekend. We were hanging out and someone mentioned Delaware again and one of my friends said something like “one day we’re just going to drive you there so you stop saying it’s fake.”

I laughed and said something like “yeah I mean obviously I know Delaware is real, its just a bit.”

That’s when it got weird.

A couple people laughed but two of my friends got actually kind of annoyed. They said they thought I was serious, or at least partially serious, and that it was weird that I’ve been “lying” about it for years. One of them said it’s kind of unsettling that I kept the joke going that long without ever admitting it.

I said I thought it was obviously a joke the whole time because nobody actually thinks Delaware isn’t real. But they said since I never once broke character they assumed I might genuinely believe it a little bit. Now the group chat is kind of split. Some people think it’s hilarious and say the commitment to the bit is legendary. The annoyed friends think it’s weird to mislead people for years even if it’s supposed to be funny.

So… AITAH for pretending not to believe in Delaware for six years and only just admitting it was a joke?