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Posted by Dan Leveille at 5:15pm

Teen comes out to anti-gay parents on hidden camera show, public reacts

ABC’s hidden camera show What Would You Do? staged a scene where a teen came out to his anti-gay parents. They captured bystanders’ reactions.

In the middle of a cafe, a son comes out to his dad who reacts by saying things like “my son is not gay!” and “this is a mistake—turn your life around.”

Some bystanders stepped in to defend the teen while others stayed out of it or even left. Some stated that they didn’t want to get involved. One man told them they should take the argument elsewhere.

After a few reactions are captured, they switch the dad out for anti-gay mom, who received similar reactions.

One woman interrupts the dad and voices her opinion:

“I understand completely because it wasn’t my dream to have two autistic children either, but you know what? I’m going to fight for them and I’m going to love them. I’m going to do what I have to do for them. You should do the same for your son, because what you’re doing to him involving everyone around here, is wrong.”

Coincidentally, one bystander was the parent of a student at Rutgers University, where a gay student committed suicide earlier this year.

Previously, What Would You Do? covered anti-gay bullying and gay public displays of affection.

(via Towleroad)

Posted by Dan Leveille at 7:02pm

ABC stages gay bullying to see how bystanders react

ABC News staged a gay bullying scene with hidden cameras on a busy boardwalk of Long Beach, New York to see how people would react.

Their show, “What Would You Do?” is a hidden camera show that captures people’s reactions to everyday scenarios. In this segment, they hired teenage actors to play bullies picking on another teen for being gay.

In 2008, ABC News did a similar segment on public displays of affection in Birmingham, Alabama and compared people’s reactions to straight couples and gay couples.

The 2008 experiment didn’t have such a positive reaction, causing a few people to make some inappropriate remarks. One woman even called 911 to report that two men were kissing each other.

UPDATE: The video has been updated. Thanks to sun_wyvern for providing a link to the full length segment.

Posted by Dan Leveille at 11:06pm