When 19-year-old Maddison Westcott was working out in a Las Vegas gym last week, she overheard an interaction that made her uncomfortable.
A girl working out next to her appeared to be getting hit on – rather aggressively – by a man. Seeing the girl’s reaction and thinking the man’s advances were unwanted, Maddison decided to act.
Maddison approached the girl and asked her if she was ready to leave, offering the unknown woman an escape from what appeared to be a rather uncomfortable situation.
But it was then Maddison discovered things were not at all they seemed. The woman informed her that the man was in fact her boyfriend and had been playing a joke while they were working out together.
The woman, Nicoletta, shared the tale on Twitter, and her tweet has since been shared over 124,000 times.
Soon, Maddison was alerted to her 'viral status', and shared the reasons behind her actions in a Twitter thread of her own.
LISTEN: The Mamamia Out Loud team explain what the Time's Up movement actually does. Post continues after audio...
"This was me and let me tell you why I thought I was OKAY to intervene," she wrote.
In reaction to Maddison's story, other women have started sharing their own tales of being 'rescued' by strangers who saw something inappropriate and refused to stand idly by.
"One time at a bar a guy had cornered me and I must have looked really uncomfortable, then a guy neither of us knew tapped him on the shoulder and said something like Hey, do I know you?' The guy turned away long enough for me to bolt. Extremely thankful," one woman shared.
"Was being stalked on a train before, and some random women helped me. Never been so appreciative in my life," wrote another.
Many wrote of the "unspoken sisterhood" between females and praised Maddison for her actions - even if, in the end, they weren't actually necessary.
"I think that what you did was great and brave," one women shared.
"Women every where should be aware of their surroundings and be willing to step in if needed. Protecting each other is important."
If we're ever in trouble, it's good to know people like Maddison may just be looking out for us.
On the latest episode of Mamamia Out Loud we discuss everything from Barnaby Joyce to why everyone is obsessed with skincare...