From the archives: This story was last updated in April 2019.
More than 9 million people have watched this episode of What Would You Do?, which depicts a slender young man introducing his plus-size girlfriend to his parents for the first time.And his parents can’t accept her.
Not only can’t they accept their son’s girlfriend, they make some pretty hurtful remarks about her weight and appearance.
Whilst the parents, the son, Anthony, and the girlfriend, Bethany, are all actors, the customers sitting nearby are not.
Before Bethany arrives, Anthony tells his parents, “I love her. She’s amazing and beautiful, and such a big difference from any other girl I’ve ever dated.”
As excitement brews, Bethany makes her appearance.
“Wow! I would never have put you two together,” chimes in his mother.
And the harsh comments keep coming—from life expectancy to “she’s fat,” to a comparison between Bethany and Anthony’s previous girlfriends, who were all much slimmer ... a point they raise on multiple occasions.
They don’t make it a pleasant first meeting at all.
It soon becomes apparent that the patrons seated nearby are utterly shocked to hear such callous statements being made.
When one guy interjects and tells Anthony’s mother to be quiet because “it’s embarrassing,” she tests him further by defending her statements.
He ends up telling her to get out, quite directly too.
The father had already left in protest; the mother soon follows.
After both Mom and Dad have left the table, a lady seated nearby consoles Bethany and tells her she’s beautiful.
The lady says, “You are a beautiful young lady.”
She further adds, “What they did was very out of line.”
One man sitting next to the couple offers advice by saying, “Be yourself. Be who you are.”
This sympathetic patron can’t believe that anyone could hurl such insensitive comments at another person.
When the cameras roll in again, one patron seems very uncomfortable by the parents’ hurtful comments and just decides to move away.
Meanwhile, another group of women sitting close to the table jumps in to offer comfort to the young lady, who is clearly offended by her boyfriend’s parents’ comments, and affirms that “she is beautiful.”
Witnessing this before their eyes, one couple decides to leave the young lady with an important life lesson. The elderly man says, “Don’t change for anybody. You got to make yourself happy.”
He further adds, “You’re number one. It’s your life. Nobody else’s life.”
His wife chimes in, saying, “And most likely they will get to like her.”
The parents continue to pass offensive comments, even adding that their son doesn’t “even know what love is.”
Hearing this, the couple storms away from the parents’ table.
All in all, the crew’s hidden cameras pick up some pretty interesting reactions, especially this young lady at the end. She not only calls out the parents’ rude behavior but also leaves a profound message.
