I recently received a conditional job offer from a company for a role that I was really excited about. They mentioned that everything was good to go as long as my references and background check came back clean. Feeling confident, I submitted my two weeks' notice at my current job and provided my references. One of my references is a close friend from a previous job, and he was more than happy to vouch for me. After a while of not hearing back from the new company, I decided to check in with him to see if he had been contacted. He casually mentioned that he had submitted his reference the day before and assured me that he gave me the "PERFECT review." Curious, I asked him what he had said, and I was taken aback by his response. He claimed that I singlehandedly saved our company from ruin, which is a total exaggeration. He also listed my biggest weakness as "being too kind and working too hard," and he fabricated stories about me volunteering in developing countries during my free time. To top it off, he mentioned that I "saved his life" by giving him hope, which is completely untrue. Now I'm in a panic. I can't believe he would say such things that are impossible to verify. I’ve already quit my job, and while my other references are solid, I'm worried that the recruiter won't take my friend's comments seriously. Should I reach out to the recruiter to apologize and clarify, or should I try to provide a different reference altogether? I'm really stressed about potentially being unemployed after spending six months searching for this opportunity.