♪ honey i'm taking no orders ♪ ♪ i'm gonna be nobody's soldier ♪ ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] this is nightline. >> tonight. killer mom susan smith has been arrested and will be charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of her children. once called the most hated mom in america, susan smith might soon walk free. claiming her two sons

were kidnaped at gunpoint. i love you so much. falsely alleging that it was an unknown black man sentenced to life behind bars but now up for parole. plus, ashley, that's your right. ashley park, do something spontaneous and reckless and emily just have an adventure. >> takes us behind the scenes of emily in paris, opening up about her recent health scare. i had several organs failing. >> channeling her inner britney. i'm not that innocent. and spilling a little tea on what might happen in season five. >> the end of the season. we go to rome. hopefully i'm in it. >> and eve, they want to know who's that girl? the grammy winning rapper, actress and now author telling all in who's that girl? opening up to michael strahan about the highs. >> i was still going to the club till four and having to get to table reads at nine and low's the only thing that i know i really had at the time was tons

of anxiety. >> of her 25 year career and her future chapters. future chapters. >> nightline will be right back oral-b's dentist inspired round brush head hugs em, cleans em, and gets in between em, for 100% cleaner teeth. your perfect clean starts with oral-b. (woman) purina one true instinct unlocked her true instincts. from day one, it's high-protein nutrition with real meat #1, for 100% cleaner teeth. supporting her healthy energy and strong muscles. and the life she was born to live. (vo) purina one true instinct. a difference from day one.

but do they really? do they see that crick in your neck? that ache in your heart? will they see that funny little thing that wasn't there last year? a new bounce in your step? the way your retinal scan connects to your blood sugar? at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. >> thanks for joining us. the woman once dubbed the most hated mom in america, susan smith, soon eligible for parole, the notorious mother of two was

convicted of killing her young sons by driving them into a lake 30 years ago and given a life sentence. those who say smith should remain in prison point out not only the horrific crimes she committed to get there, but her bad behavior since she did the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the unforgivable. >> i want to say it to my babies that your momma loves you so much. >> for a moment in time, susan smith had the entire nation hanging on her desperate pleas. but after days of television appearances, her deception revealed. >> susan smith has been arrested and will be charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of her children. >> now, 30 years after a jury convicted her and sent her to prison for life, the 52 year old convict is getting her first chance at parole. tonight, those who remember the case vividly, telling us why she should not go free. >> the jury truly believed and

chose to give her life, believing she would spend the rest of her life in prison being remorseful, thinking about michael and alex, even her ex-husband coming out in a rare television interview. >> she doesn't deserve to ever be free again >> on october 25th, 1994, susan reported what we now know was a fake story about how a black man with a gun her and drove off with her son, still strapped into their car seats. >> i've been on the highway in this same area with my children at that exact same time. it just is too close to your heart. >> the idea of a white woman accusing a black man of a crime where that man did not even exist. it's always the ability to kind of point to that boogeyman, point to that. that black man that committed the crime. >> susan and her husband appeared together as a united front. david believing susan's pleas, your mom and dad are

going to be right here waiting on you when you get home. >> i love you so much to the public. >> it was compelling stuff to the authorities. they had questions early on behind the scenes. >> law enforcement is focusing more on the discrepancies and little by little, her story was unraveling. >> on november 3rd, nine days after the boys went missing, investigators confronted susan and the 23 year old confessed, please. >> we're going to make a brief announcement. susan smith has been arrested and will be charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of her children. michael, three, and alexander, 14 months. >> i almost dropped to my knees. i mean, did he say kill? >> how could she have two children and do them like that?

>> this was a stunning moment. the woman who's on tv calling for help. she's the one who did this. >> in her handwritten confession, smith wrote that on the night of october 25th, she didn't want to live anymore. she detailed how she was in love with someone very much, but he didn't love her and never would. she says she decided to kill herself and her sons because she didn't want them to grow up without a mom. she drove to john day long lake, got out of the car, put it in neutral, and let it roll down the boat ramp into the water with her boys inside. tommy pope is now a state representative in south carolina. back then, he was the lead prosecutor in the case. >> i tried a lot of horrible cases, but the media component just took everything you would normally have in a case and put it on steroids for months. >> the focus of the nation was on this tiny town hitting a

fever pitch just days before the trial, when investigators reenacted the crime. at trial, prosecutors played that reenactment and heard testimony from one of the divers, who described seeing a small hand against the car window at the bottom of the lake. the jury also heard from her ex-lover, tom findlay. >> you have someone saying, yeah, i was in this relationship with her and broke it off because i didn't want the responsibility of children. now the fingers pointed directly at her. i think it gives her the intent of susan smith's main defense, her mental health. >> they focused a lot on her background, on what had happened to her as a child. being molested, being troubled and tried to portray her as something other than a monster.

>> the jury found susan guilty after just two hours of deliberation. >> there was a tough psychological component going here. people didn't want to believe that a mother could do that. it made it tougher with the jury in that regard, because you want to at least find a mental health reason. fortunately, the jury came back with murder when the sentencing decision came down in late july 1995, just moments ago, the jury of nine men and three women decided that susan smith should spend the rest of her natural life in prison. >> now 52, susan has been behind bars for more than half her life. her records show details of misbehavior, including at least three instances of drug use. she was also sanctioned for mutilation in 2015, 20 years after her sons murders, susan wrote a letter to a local newspaper. she said, i am not the monster society thinks i am.

i am far from it. something went very wrong that night. i was not myself. i was a good mother and i loved my boys. she maintains that she had no motive and she was not in her right mind. that's an argument she can try with the parole board and hope that with today's better understanding of mental health and the impacts of sexual trauma, they may listen. >> from what we see of south carolina so far in the year of 2024, only 5% of people have been released on parole. so the chances of susan smith being released are that much smaller. >> we reached out to susan smith for comment and she has yet to respond. she has reportedly been calling family and male friends, saying she is convinced she will be let out. her ex-husband disagrees. recently, speaking in a rare interview with court tv. >> i'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you stay behind bars. >> for more on this shocking story, watch impact by nightline. killer mom the case

of susan smith, now streaming on hulu. and when we come back, i'm with ashley park of emily in paris, sharing the health scare that landed her in intensive care and the major move in store care and the major move in store for emily and mindy good to go unscripted. good to go on a whim. with cabenuva, there's no pausing for daily hiv pills. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider. just 6 times a year. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients, or if you're taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems, mental health concerns and if you are pregnant,

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>> and welcome back. we are joined now by actress, singer and fashionista ashley park from broadway fame and film and tv fame, earning a number of nominations including a tony and a grammy and others as well. welcome to nightline. >> thank you for the intro, i know. well, now, of course,

season four of emily in paris. >> bravo. but i want to start before we get to the new season with your health scare, because it was serious. you wound up in the icu earlier in the year for a while. >> yeah, i had sepsis and i had several organs failing, and it was a wild. it was a very challenging time, and i wasn't able to fly home before starting to film season four. you would never know when you're watching the season that i missed a whole month of filming, but yeah, it was. it was a pretty challenging way to start the season, but you look really healthy through the season, and now i'm glad to know. thank you. >> but also this isn't your first health battle. you beat leukemia as a teenager, and i read that your make-a-wish trip was to here to new york city. >> yes it was. and you saw a bunch of broadway shows and that inspired you? >> yeah, it's a reason i work with and love the make-a-wish foundation so much. my wish was i had never been to new york city, and i loved musical theater. i'd never seen a

broadway show, so it was to come and watch my first broadway show here. and years later, i think around with mean girls and a couple other shows. i helped grant wishes. it was a very full circle kind of thing. that's amazing. >> you've had much success on broadway and in film and streaming, but let's take a look at some of your work on emily in paris season four. oh, baby, baby, oops. >> you think i'm in love that i'm sent from above. i'm not that innocent. you see, my problem is this i'm dreaming away. wishing that heroes, they truly exist. >> first of all, that voice is fabulous. that was. oops, i did it again at the crazy horse, right? >> yes, the absolute best. i went to go watch the show seven times before as just a pure fan, it's true performance art and those are real crazy horse dancers dancing with me. >> your character, mindy, is known for her fashion plate ness and your fashion. the character's fashion has evolved over the seasons. how do you

think it reflects your character? and by the way, you look fabulous in your. >> oh, thank you, prabal gurung. yes, i think that what i love so much about the show is it doesn't really tell you what fashion has to be, but just kind of the limitless possibilities in terms of expressing yourself through fashion. and so i feel like all of the characters really have their own fashion rhetoric and mindy's language. i love it, i think i say like mindy marches to the beat of her own fashion drum and the art really imitates life. >> your on screen bff is your best friend. lily collins, and your on screen love is your off screen love as well. >> i think those are probably the two biggest blessings that this show has afforded us. so many wonderful things and a beautiful connection with people all over the world. but i gained my best friend for life and lily, she's like a true sister to me. i don't think this experience would have been anything that it is without her, especially for me personally. and paul forman too. you know, i met him through the show and you had a beautiful post, which i

teared up about, about how he stood by you through your health challenges. >> yes. >> i mean, you know, it's wild to watch this season back and know so often. there are so many ways in which i wouldn't have been able to be a part of this season. and the only reason is because paul forman was with me, and i'm so proud of our relationship and how supportive and unconditional we are with each other and same goes for lily. and so those are two pillars of my life for sure. >> that's lovely. you've had a number of screen credits, including joy ride, which had a lot of asian americans on screen and off screen, but you also had representation in the form of your tony nominated performance in mean girls, which you played a role which was originally played by a white actor. what's it like showing up in both types of representation? >> i understand the responsibility and being a face that represents people, but i think for me, what i, what i appreciate so much about, whether it be emily in paris and mean girls, when people would come to watch that, is that, to

have people watching and viewers all over the world or in the audience or anything associated asian face with warmth, friendship, music, the person you can count on, a safe place, laughter to be associated with that. i feel like that's how change really happens, it really moves the needle forward a bit and i know that the next season takes place in rome, >> give us a little preview of that. but also, what's next for you beyond all of it? >> oh my gosh. well, i yes, the end of the season we go to rome. i don't know what's going to happen. hopefully i'm in it. i suspect. yes. but right now i'm just i we're really just celebrating and getting to share this season. i do have i'll tease just to you. i do have a song of my own coming out soon. >> we heard it here first. thank you so much, ashley park, for joining us. thank you. and congratulations on all of it. >> thanks. >> and of course, emily in paris season four is now streaming on netflix. when we come back,

grammy winning who's that girl? rapper, actress and author eve opens up to our michael strahan. the 56 days, she says, changed her life forever. >> come on, what's my name, thing about life? >> come on, what's my name, y'all? what's myknow the most eg ♪ it's how you can change it. ♪ how you can reinvent yourself? ♪ take on new challenges. so go ahead. reimagine yourself. [car accelerates] ♪ we did. ♪ introducing the all-new, reimagined nissan kicks. ♪ my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back... now with skyrizi, i'm all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer ♪ (♪) ♪ yeah i feel free ♪ (♪) ♪ to bare my skin yeah that's all me ♪

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what's the definition of character to you? umm... would you be a superhero or a supervillain? if you could say one thing to big tobacco, what would it be? it's so important in this time of change that we reclaim our sacred ways. i had to open my eyes. you can't continue to do this. deep breath. i'd want to ask them “why?” (♪) welp the gang's all here, let's hit the road. it's the disney+ blockbuster offer! [gasp] — that's right. — [gasp] $1.99 a month for 3 months of disney+. ♪ that's a great idea. get the hottest shows. — great... — you can say that again. biggest movies. ready?! hit it! and most epic events.

what happens next? for a limited time, get 3 months of disney+ for $1.99 a month. join me... with the disney+ blockbuster offer. >> and finally, tonight, eve tells all. here's abc's michael strahan. yo, yo, they wanna know who's that girl? >> la la la la la la la la la. come on, come on. >> rapper eve has had hip hop

fans saying her name for 25 years. now she's opening up about her life in a new memoir. who's that girl? who's that girl? >> oh my goodness, who is that girl? she has lived many lives. that's what it feels like starting out. >> she was one of a few women in the rap world, and in 1999, she signed with the rough riders. stop! >> i always say it was my hip hop boot camp because it was like, okay, we're in the studio 24 hours, you're in the studio 24 hours. and i had to prove myself. but it developed me as an artist. >> after her debut album hit number one on the billboard charts, she went on to win a grammy for let me blow your mind featuring gwen stefani. i had to give you more. >> it's only been a year. >> you literally had to fight with the record label. yes. to have them let her be on the album. >> yeah. people were telling me like, nobody's going to believe this. and i'm like, well, why not? like, she's an amazing artist. i was a huge no doubt

fan. and thankfully i finally got them to believe in it. >> she began acting and was riding high. who drank my apple juice? but soon saw the warning signs of a drinking problem? >> i was the youngest person on set, and i was still going to the club until four and having to get to table reads at nine, or having after parties in my in my dressing room. but i just kind of was like, i can do both. the only thing that i know i really had at the time was tons of anxiety and tons of what i would say now is maybe depression, but we didn't use those words back then. >> do you think that the alcohol was a way for you to kind of mask it 100%? >> it was my it was my go to for my nerves. it was my go to for my sadness. it was a crutch and a way to numb myself. >> in 2007, she was charged with dui, ordered to wear an ankle monitor, and to quit drinking. >> thankfully, no one was hurt. thankfully, i wasn't hurt, but it was the first moment. after that i had to wear one of those ankle bracelets and i remember being so scared of not drinking

because i just wasn't comfortable with my feelings and i couldn't remember when i hadn't drank. and i had to wear it for 56 days. and it was the best thing that had ever happened. you said it. >> 56 days saved your life. >> it did 100%. 100%. >> in 2014, eve married british businessman maximillion cooper, becoming stepmother to his four children, but she struggled to conceive. you rebuild. in 2006, you experienced an ectopic pregnancy. you were diagnosed with endometriosis and fibroids. i did you have any idea how that would affect your fertility? no, no. >> back then, it's something nobody really talked about. doctors barely even talked about it. i mean, i always had had painful periods, but that's also something that they tell women. so i never thought anything of it. and i also never thought that i had to hurry up and have kids because i was like, i'm gonna fall in love. i'm gonna have kids. and it just didn't happen like that. and, i had to go to a specialist, and she was

the one that was like, yeah, you have like 14 fibroids. you have to have surgery to get rid of this. >> so but since then you've gone on to have a son. yes. >> through ivf, yes, through ivf, which you were reluctant to do at first. yeah. i was i mean, i come from a family that is we weren't religious, but we believed in god. and there's a whole element of that. and also, being a woman, we put so much pressure on ourselves and thinking that as a woman, it's just supposed to happen, and i think there was a level of me having to talk to myself about like, no, you know, you need a little help. and that's okay, because i would not have my little my little baby. i wouldn't have wild, i wouldn't. so i'm grateful. >> looking forward, what is the future chapter of your life look like? >> my future chapters are going to be seen through my son's eyes. i definitely want to produce some things. i love tv, i love acting, so yeah, we'll see more music. >> who's that girl? >> yes. >> is that girl? na na na na na na na na na na na. >> our thanks to