[trian1]

"What Would You Do?" tries to catch dudes being "assholes" by creating cute profile, putting landwhale in the actual meeting and shaming them. Little person dude with balls shows up, tells them to BTFO, writes story about it, bangs girl from Tinder.

I Was Catfished By ABC's What Would You Do?

[spokepoker]

Here's the article, it's quite a good read:

Quote:

I originally leveraged online dating to begin seeing average-sized women. Before moving back to New York a few years ago, I had only dated little women— i.e., women who were born with dwarfism. At bars or parties, my social anxiety, the kind that comes with being a little person myself, made it difficult to gauge an average-sized woman’s interest in me. Talking with women online made it easier to determine whether or not they were comfortable with my achondroplasia.

But the anxious anticipation that comes with texting prior to a date can be a slog, and not always wholly revealing: There’s always the chance that you’ll learn something unexpected about a person once meeting them for the first time. Hopefully that reveal is nothing more than a dimple, a cute personality quirk, or the type of nervous tic that comes out when you’re confronted with the unavoidable awkwardness of a first date.

Even while playing out all the fantasy scenarios that may come, you are probably not expecting your night to end with a person handing you a legal form to sign—a form that reads, “We hope you found your participation in this scenario interesting and thought-provoking.”
The Set-up

It had been months since I had last braved online dating before a close friend from work suggested that I dive back into it. I scrolled Tinder and Bumble, my swiping platforms of choice, with the sort of distant hope that comes with them. (I like Tinder for its ease of use, and Bumble because it requires women to make the first move, which often leads to more engaging conversation.) After a few weeks of staying at it, I matched on Bumble with a woman I’ll call Jess. She was tall, dark-haired, and slender, which is not typically my type, but she looked like someone who didn’t take herself too seriously. That was a big part of my initial attraction to her, to be honest. I value a sense of humor, and Jess was funny and down to joke around. We played a bit of “Would you rather?” back and forth. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck? Would you rather have a rich dad who is a porn star or a poor dad who is the school janitor?

By the time we exchanged numbers, we had broken the ice, were casually texting, and seemed to be hitting it off. But I still felt pretty confident that it wouldn’t lead to a meet-up; even a lively conversation rarely does for me. Finally, I made a move by suggesting we grab brunch. She seemed mildly interested, but neither of us followed up to set a date until a few days later, when she took me up on the offer and even did all the planning. When she replied, Jess had already picked a day, place, and time for us to meet: 2 p.m. on a Saturday at Pulperia, a Latin American restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, about 45 minutes from my apartment in Brooklyn. I had already made plans, but she was insistent on that specific time and her desire to meet me, adding that she wasn’t available the following day. It’s not often that I am pursued like this, and naturally I found it flattering. I relented, and we agreed to meet.

On the Saturday morning of our date, I woke up fairly hung over from the night before, and decided that I was in no shape to meet a stranger. When I messaged Jess to reschedule, she wasn’t having it. “A little hair of the dog will make you feel better,” she said. Her pursuit was endearing, and after she agreed to push back our date by an hour so I could get myself together a bit, I was excited enough to grab a cab and make the trek to the Upper East Side.
The Impostor

I arrived to the restaurant first, surprised to learn from the hostess that Jess had already reserved a table for us and that it was ready. She then led me to a setting for two, standing alone in the middle of the restaurant, and seated me with my back to the door. (In retrospect, I remember thinking that it was strange to be seated with my back to the entrance while waiting for a first date.) A few minutes later, a blonde woman in her mid-40s, who who was heavier than the woman whose pictures I had seen on Bumble, sat down and introduced herself as Jess.

“How was your friend’s show?” she asked, referring to my plans from the night before. While I’d like to say that my confusion was a result of the realization that I had been duped, shock was interfering with my normal thought processes. I was unable to come up with a response to her question.

She continued, nonchalantly, to ease the silence. “You’re super hungover, huh? Threw up everywhere?”

The word “No” came out of my mouth like a question, even though it wasn’t one.

“Oh,” she responded. “I threw up everywhere. All over myself.” (Looking back, this must have been an attempt at levity.)

As the initial stun dissipated a bit, I realized that I would have to be the one to address the very obvious cause for the awkwardness between us. Jess was not the woman pictured in her Bumble profile, and I said so. As she laughed nervously, she suggested that the photos of her were merely dated.

“The pictures I have on there are old,” she said apologetically. “I look a little different now.” Blown away by the suggestion that I simply had not recognized her, I pulled out my phone and brought up her profile page.

“I’m sorry, can we just forget about it?” she asked, the embarrassment of her lie now clear in her voice. “Let’s just forget about it. What do you want to drink?” But I wasn’t having it—it was too uncomfortable to me to pretend like I hadn’t been purposefully deceived, and I said as much.

This made her upset.

“So you don’t like me because I’m not as pretty as you thought? Because I’m older? Because I’m heavier?”

I told her I didn’t want to continue our date because she had been dishonest, and given that honesty is the foundation of any meaningful relationship, this was clearly not a good start. After a pause, thick with the tension between us, I took some of the hostility out of my voice. “Look, humor is really important to me, and you’re funny,” I told her. “Be honest next time, and you will find you the right guy. It’s not me.” I told her I was going to leave and got up from the table.

That’s when the cameras came out. In front of them, a shiny-faced man dressed in a suit approached me with an extended microphone. It was John Quiñones, and he told me that I was on ABC’s What Would You Do?
The Bait

I don’t remember much of what Quiñones asked me after he approached me, nor do I remember what I said. I was in the middle of a panic attack. I was shaking, and I couldn’t stop cursing. The entire restaurant was silent, eyes on me. Growing up a little person, I’m familiar with unwanted attention from strangers. Twenty-seven years later, and I’m still not comfortable with it. I felt like I was dropped into Sara Goldfarb’s amphetamine-fueled game-show fantasy in Requiem for a Dream. John Quiñones was my Shooter McGavin.

As my thoughts began to solidify through the rush of my pulse and the haze of my anxiety, Quiñones told me that Jess, the woman portrayed in the Bumble profile, the one who I had been speaking to, was also at the restaurant, and that I could still have the date with her, at another table and without cameras. When I met her—the person I had actually chatted with, who had helped set me up for this very public scene—she was as bubbly and carefree as I imagined in our first conversation. She apologized for duping me, but wanted my confirmation that the whole thing was hilarious. I couldn’t tell if she was villainous or ignorant.

Still in shock, I sucked down the free margaritas provided by ABC News, as Jess began to reveal more about why she did what she’d done. She was an aspiring celebrity, you see, and needed a bigger buzz than her YouTube channel was providing. (That evening I found a video on Jess’s page where she prank-calls a strip club and pretends to be a “midget” stripper looking for work. When I called her out on it via text, she said she understood but the video was meant to be a joke. She later apologized—calling it “super gross content”—and took it down.)

At the restaurant, Jess was joined by her friend, a producer on the show, who brought the release forms, and handed me a pen and asked me to sign. When I shared my hesitation with her, she delivered a sales pitch on why I should sign them. I had done such a great job, she said, and told me that I should be proud of my intelligent, thoughtful response to the situation. I told them I had agreed to go on a date, not to participate in a spectacle, and that I still felt physically uncomfortable, the aftereffects of my panic attack lingering. I couldn’t justify signing my rights away in such a state.

Jess suggested that if I didn’t feel comfortable, I should sign the release form anyway, and could tell them I “changed my mind” after the fact.

(Note: The ABC News release form states that “bystanders” can opt out of having their face shown, but should they not sign the consent forms, the show will “blur or otherwise obscure” their face.)

It’s easy to look back and say that I instinctively made the right decision, but the truth is that I was so mentally disheveled at the time, I wasn’t sure what to do. I called my friend Matéo, the same friend who had suggested that I get back into online dating, and asked for his advice. He asked me how it had made me feel, and when I said that I felt like absolute shit, he told me not to sign. I am eternally grateful for that.

After more discussion over signing the forms, I refused and called an Uber back to Brooklyn. On my ride home, I called my brother, my roommates, anyone who was willing to hear my story. This allowed the shock to settle a bit, but Jess continued to text me. I blocked her shortly after.

Thankfully, a few days prior to my encounter with Jess, I had gone on a great first date with another woman. On our second date, I told her about the incident, and she joked that at least I didn’t have to deal with a flood of unsolicited dick pics from the dudes she matched with on her dating apps.

She and I have been dating for about two months now.

We met on Tinder.

[Ed note: We reached out to ABC News, and a spokesperson told us that the “scenario” described in this story will not be airing. When asked about their casting procedures for What Would You Do?, she said they had no further comments.]

[Benoit]

Even though it's posted on a Gawker site, this story has the ring of truth - mainly because the author hasn't written about himself as if he's perfect.

Too many typists edit reality by inserting the "righteous" response they came up with 3 days later.

I also enjoyed this from the comment section:

Quote:

I met my wife at a grocery store. We’ve been married for over 10 years. She’s a horrible cunt and we’re going through a divorce right now, so take that for what it’s worth.

[262]

My guess is this show will never flip the script.

They'd never have a guy fake his height to be 6'2 on Tinder, then show up on a date as 5'2. "It was a typo."

[Speculation]

The whole thing was pretty sickening, including the 'real date' with the girl which was just her trying to manipulate him into signing the release. I'm glad he told them to go fuck themselves.

[El Chinito loco]

Messing with a midget who has the balls to go on dates with normal women is low and shitty bottom of the barrel humiliation for laughs.

I'm guessing they wouldn't dare to fuck with catfishing someone based on race or religion if it didn't favor certain worldviews.

Like for example creating a fake profile on j-date then sending a muslim in full dishda on a date with a jewish princess who expected to be meeting up with Noah Goldman the rich lawyer from uptown Manhattan but instead got Mohammad the taxi driver from Syria instead.

Now I would definitely tune in to see what would happen there.

[Fortis]

I respect that dude for ending that date. FUCK. THAT. SHIT.

Let's reach out to him and get him on this forum.

[Space Cowboy]

Reality TV will be the spiritual and cultural death of us all.

[Clockwerk]

Imagine being employed for this show. You'd have to have a very flexible form of morality. Especially the one who actually corresponded with him.

"She apologized for duping me, but wanted my confirmation that the whole thing was hilarious. I couldn’t tell if she was villainous or ignorant."

So she wasn't getting enough views for her YouTube channel so she gets into showbiz where she needs to make questionable compromises in order to further her career. Rich!

How could anyone possibly continue the date at this point. To top it all off he's asked to sign a release form to publicize the humiliation even further. I believe they are counting on people to sign it to prove in their twisted way that they are "big enough" of a person. So it's in the greater good for him to allow for the episode to be revealed? You gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette? These people live in an inverted reality. He showed a lot of strength to not sign it.

[EvanWilson]

I would have been furious at all of them for wasting my time, refused to sign anything and thrown an absolute screaming mental fit at all of them. And by 'screaming mental fit', I do not mean a little yelling and curse words that are forgotten about in the next hour, I mean the kind of tirade that would have had all listeners wondering if they have made a 'terrible mistake' and awakened something of ancient, powerful and pure evil that they should have left alone, and have them praying to whatever gods they believe in that when they are finally out of your presence that somehow you will forget everything about them.

If they want a show, then by God, I would have given them something to film and left all of them worried for months afterwards that I was going to come looking for them from my reaction.

Plus I am at least 50% sure I might have even given John Quiñones an immediate 'beat down' for showing such disrespect to me. ('You want something to film, film this you MFer!')

Whatever happened to things like the old 'Candid Camera', where even though the person was unaware of the 'setup', they usually were happen to have been part of the joke and even would laugh along with everyone else afterwards?

Now we 'ambush' people and go out of our way to humiliate people and make people feel bad about the situation and that is exactly what was going on here. The guy is specifically being 'shamed' for wanting and expecting to be meeting a good looking woman, and is instead shown a fugly that lied to him, and this warrants a TV show because 'this' is entertainment now!

[trian1]

(05-05-2016 07:51 AM)Clockwerk Wrote:  

How could anyone possibly continue the date at this point.

To top it all off he's asked to sign a release form to publicize the humiliation even further.

He stayed for the free margaritas.

The margaritas were provided for free in the hopes that he would loosen up and sign the waiver.

[Valentine]

Why does the world think it's okay to waste the time of a total stranger?

Idiots trying to get viewers because they have no other value to offer.

A similar situation is how prank videos used to be specifically setup by people to prank their friends, not just engulfing any passer-by.

[cascadecombo]

I'm happy to see the dude refused to sign the forms.

I also hope he got them to pay for his transportation costs to that bogus date.

[General Stalin]

Good on the guy for telling them to piss off. Interesting to know these reality shows don't offer the "stars" (real people) any monetary compensation for their time and participation.

I'm curious if the "other woman" he is now dating is normal sized or also a dwarf.

[kaotic]

He did the absolute right thing, good on him.

10/10 WWW (Would Wingman With)

[germanico]

(05-05-2016 07:51 AM)Clockwerk Wrote:  

Imagine being employed for this show. You'd have to have a very flexible form of morality.

Moral prostitution. Me so righteous, me right you rong time.

[[email protected]]

I read this before going to work. Now im at work all angry for this guy. In a just world these fuckers would be litigated and owned accordingly.

[Thersites]

(05-05-2016 08:02 AM)EvanWilson Wrote:  

Whatever happened to things like the old 'Candid Camera', where even though the person was unaware of the 'setup', they usually were happen to have been part of the joke and even would laugh along with everyone else afterwards?

Now we 'ambush' people and go out of our way to humiliate people and make people feel bad about the situation and that is exactly what was going on here. The guy is specifically being 'shamed' for wanting and expecting to be meeting a good looking woman, and is instead shown a fugly that lied to him, and this warrants a TV show because 'this' is entertainment now!

Its cheaper and less work for the producers and writers. That why reality tv took off on the networks. People will do anything for 15 minutes of fame and its easy to edit footage to fit the narrative you want. What start out as novelty has become overuse and abused.

'Candid Camera' and similar shows would create scenarios that had person was involved in that would not hurt anyone and be good laugh. From the article, I did not get that vibe. This article show a reflect on lack of morality in the producers and management of the show.

[Chowder Head]

When will this episode air? I can't wait to see it.

[FireStarter]

(05-05-2016 08:15 PM)Chowder Head Wrote:  

When will this episode air? I can't wait to see it.

Never. He refused to sign the release forms.

Hopefully more people refuse to sign these forms. The average person gets very little value from appearing on TV like this. I'm not sure how much they pay their victims, I can't imagine that it would be enough. Not after allowing these leeches to take the out of context video footage, edit to make you seem worse than you are and destroy your reputation.

The less money these "moral" authorities can make, the better.

[Clockwerk]

(05-05-2016 08:15 AM)trian1 Wrote:  

He stayed for the free margaritas.

The margaritas were provided for free in the hopes that he would loosen up and sign the waiver.

Indeed. Above and beyond that "Jess" offered to continue the date.

[LeoneVolpe]

Good for him! I loved his response about wanting to end the date due to her dishonesty, as any meaningful relationship should be built upon the foundation of honesty. The producers would've gladly framed him as being "shallow" for wanting to end the date, but he re-framed it beautifully. "What Would You Do?" has become unwatchable for me. I could get through an episode featuring segments like how a wife would handle a server flirting with her husband or vice versa. But now most (if not all) setups seems to push a SJW agenda. No thanks.

[Kona]

So did the midget tell the woman on the dating site that he was a midget?

Did the show just plan on tricking some normal guy into showing up for a blind date and having a fat lady walk in, but then they get a hungover midget?

I really like the end of the article that says "Tom Cush is a Brooklyn-based little person who spends his days selling Grovo."

I can't figure out what Grovo is. Is it something that helps to make them grow?

Aloha!

[AneroidOcean]

(05-10-2016 12:10 AM)Kona Wrote:  

So did the midget tell the woman on the dating site that he was a midget?

Did the show just plan on tricking some normal guy into showing up for a blind date and having a fat lady walk in, but then they get a hungover midget?

I really like the end of the article that says "Tom Cush is a Brooklyn-based little person who spends his days selling Grovo."

I can't figure out what Grovo is. Is it something that helps to make them grow?

Aloha!

You're probably joking, but I looked it up and an article from TechCrunch had this to say about a company/product called "Grovo" and it's based in New York so I believe this is it:

Quote:

Grovo, a company offering “micro-learning” content and related technology/services to help businesses train their employees, has raised $40 million in Series C funding.

The round was led by Accel (which has been involved since Grovo’s seed round and led the Series B) with additional funding from previous backers Costanoa Venture Capital, SoftTech VC and Greg Waldorf, plus new investor Vayner Capital. Grovo has now raised a total of $65 million.

The New York City startup has continued to evolve since I wrote about the Series B nearly a year ago, though it still creates 60- to 90-second videos that deliver specific lessons on how to use online tools like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote and Dropbox. (CEO and co-founder Jeff Fernandez, pictured above, has said that creating videos that are brief but still valuable is “all about how you lay out and structure the information.”)