Tonight on “What Would You Do?” a man approaches a young woman outside of a bar, claiming to be her rideshare driver. She tells him that her car is on the way, according to her app’s notification, but he urges her to get in his car and ignore the app.
Earlier this year, Samantha Josephson, a University of South Carolina student, mistook a black four-door Chevy Impala as that of her Uber driver in the early hours of the morning. The driver who picked her up, Nathaniel David Rowland, was arrested and charged for her murder.
South Carolina lawmakers have introduced a proposed law, called the “Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Safety Act,” which would require ridesharing vehicles to have an illuminated sign of the company’s trademark or logo. Josephson’s father, Seymour, took that idea a step further, wanting to see ridesharing operators in South Carolina to have license plates on the front of their cars.
(MORE: University of South Carolina student murdered after mistaking car for Uber: Police)Seymour and his wife Marci launched the #WhatsMyName Foundation to help educate people about this tragedy and give safety tips about ridesharing. Samantha’s nickname, Sami, is seen in big capital letters on the foundation’s site, acting as an acronym for Stop Ask Match Inform.
In tonight’s episode, we see how people react when a woman looks to be in potential danger. The woman, played by our actress Paulina, has been drinking at the bar, which impairs her judgement when talking to the suspicious driver, played by Brian.
Paulina: It says you’re a black SUV. Brian: No, don’t worry about that. It’s always wrong. I got you. Come on, get in the car. Paulina: Why does it say you’re still one minute away? That’s strange. I wonder how the app messed that up…
When our shady driver tells Paulina he’ll take her home as they stand right outside of D & D’s Restaurant and Pub, customers going in and out take note. One woman, Tiffany, walks over to them and quizzes Brian with the question, “What’s her name?” Brian can’t answer, and Tiffany and her friends, Jerichko and Kristina, surround Paulina, forming a wall of support. Tiffany doesn’t miss a beat by grabbing our actress’s arm as Brian tries to pull her towards his car, and states, “Now you’re starting to piss me off. Back off!”
Jerichko calls our actor out for lying about his car too, saying, “You don’t drive a Tahoe,” which is what Paulina’s app displays. Brian blames it on the app’s technical issues, but Jerichko tells him he’s still being unprofessional in his handling of Paulina.
Some men watched the situation nervously and intervened. One man, Scott, stood his ground and waved for Paulina to come back from Brian’s car. “I wouldn’t do it. Let’s go!” he commands, before offering to get Paulina a water from the bar to help her sober up. An older man, John, stands between Brian and Paulina. After he hears Brian calling her “sweetie” multiple times, he calmly states, “If he calls you ‘sweetie’ again, I’m going to start taking swings at the man.”
The most intense reactions, however, came from groups of women. Nicole and Keeva, along with their male friends, come to Paulina’s aid by speaking to her clearly and motioning her back inside. “We’ll go inside,” Keeva tells our actress, adding, “He doesn’t even know where he’s supposed to take you.” Keeva and Nicole’s hands are on Paulina’s arms, gently pulling her towards the bar entrance, away from Brian. After host John Quinones breaks the scene, Paulina tells these focused young women that they were holding her “for dear life.”
Claire and Lucia are also forceful in this situation, using language to deter our suspicious man. Brian asks Claire if she knows Paulina, but she fires back, “I don’t need to [expletive] know her. I’m a girl, and I need to know that you’re an Uber driver. Right now.” She, like other passerby Tiffany, asks him, “What’s her name then?” Sharing the same opinion as other customer Jerichlso, Claire dislikes Brian’s physical aggression, stating, “You wouldn’t be putting your [expletive] hands on her!” She’s then relieved to see John come out to break the scene, and emotionally tells him, “Someone could take her home, and I don’t want that happening to anybody, even if I don’t know her.” Embracing this display of female empowerment, Lucia adds, “Be careful, and trust your home girls.”
To see how other people react to various scenarios, watch “What Would You Do?” tonight at 9/8c on ABC.