The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Al Franken Covers Congress Grilling TikTok’s CEO | BenDeLaCreme

Episode Date: March 24, 2023

Al Franken tackles the latest news including Congress grilling TikTok’s CEO, Florida governor Ron DeSantis extending “Don’t Say Gay” to 12th grade, and Beethoven’s DNA being used to study his cause of death. BenDeLaCreme, star of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” discusses how limiting access to drag and LGBTQ+ spaces won’t limit queerness in childrenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to the Daily Show. I'm Al Franken and tonight is my last night hosting the Daily Show. Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome. Welcome. Welcome to The Daily Show. Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Al Franken and tonight is my last night hosting the Daily Show and I just want to say it's been an honor for everyone here to get to work with me. But we've got a great show for you tonight, so let's get into the headlines. Okay, let's kick things off with the big story on Capitol Hill today, where there was a

major hearing that could determine the future of Tick Tock. A rare display of bipartisanship today for the grilling of TickToc CEO on Capitol Hill. The executive of the controversial and incredibly popular app facing some tough questions about child safety, data collection, and its Chinese ownership. The chair of the committee today says that Tick Tock should be banned. We do not trust Tick talk will ever embrace American values. Values for freedom, human rights, and innovation. TickToc has repeatedly chosen the path for more control, more surveillance,

and more manipulation. Your platform should be banned. That's right, we don't need a Chinese company stealing our data and spying on us. That's a job for American companies. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! Of course, a ban will affect me personally because, as many of you know, I have a huge following on, Tick-Tock.

Thanks to my unboxing videos, my makeup tutorials, and of course my dance moves. I invented this one. Now aside from the hearing in the house today, there's another hearing in the house today there's another hearing in the Senate next week which I think might go a bit like this. When is Tick-Tock going to release an app for my footfall? That's what I want to know. Our fear is that your spine on American. And my question is whether you've been spying on Donald Trump and if so, would you please share that data with the prosecutors?

I want... I want your assurances that if Tick-Tock is banned, China won't retaliate by closing Hunan balcony, the restaurant near my house. Because that's where the Schumann's eat on Christmas. They make a wonderful Mujahu pork. I know it's our kosher. But it's, you know, it's Christmas. I'm worried about the use of artificial intelligence. Because I have seen a deep fake video out

there of me saying that I trust Brett Cabinol to uphold Roe v. Wade. Can you change that to me saying I don't trust him? Because that's what I said. Ha ha ha ha ha. Okay. Let's move to Florida, which I know is something. I know that's something a lot of old Jews say, but that's not what I'm talking about. We all know that's something that's tho'a'u sau- I know that's something a lot of old Jews say, but that's not what I'm talking about.

We all know that last year Governor DeSantis passed the so-called don't-say gay bill, which banned... It banned teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade. Well, guess what? The Sanchez is now announcing that he plans to expand the law to cover students all the way through high school. So this Don't Say Gay Law is terrible. Luckily, although it doesn't say you can't sing about being gay. Being gay.

Being gay, being gay, is an equally valid way to be a person today. Anyway, good luck in English class. Florida teens. I think you'll really. Anyway, good luck in English class. Florida Teens, I think you'll really enjoy reading classics like Moby Large Whale with no subtext whatsoever. And finally, here's some fascinating news from the worlds of science and music. And finally, here's some fascinating news from the worlds of science and music.

And the Associated Press says scientists analyzed DNA from Betho's hair nearly 200 years after his death. They're looking for clues about the celebrated composer's many health problems and his hearing loss. They found information about the liver disease that is widely believed to have killed him, according to a study. It includes a genetic risk for liver disease, plus a liver damaging hepatitis B infection in the last months of his life. I am so impressed by the science, but did we really need to know how Beethoven died? I feel like most people living in the 19th century died from living in the 19th century. Now, if you're wondering how someone was able to get Beethoven's hair, remember he was deaf. It's not, you know, it's not too hard to sneak up on a deaf person, playing piano and snip off a souvenir.

Now, I'll admit I did the exact same thing multiple times, mainly to Ray Charles. Hey, look, if we have the guy's DNA, I can't be the only one thinking it, let's make a Beethoven Jurassic Park. I, for one, would love to see the brilliant composer of the fifth symphony, Eat Jeff Goldblum. Duh. Da da da da da. Dada.

Dah! For more on the scientific breakthrough, we turn to Michael Costa. Michael Costa. Michael, this is a pretty amazing discovery, isn't it? Michael, this is a pretty amazing discovery, isn't it? I guess so, you know, but when scientists dig someone up to study their DNA, it's an amazing discovery, but when I do it, it's a felony? I mean, yeah, but still, it is amazing that we can learn how Beethoven died just by analyzing his hair. Well, and it's

not just Beethoven now. Thanks to these cutting-edge discoveries, scientists can finally learn how all sorts of historical figures died. I mean, for example, after analyzing a DNA sample from Julius Caesar, we now know that he died from being stabbed to death. Right, of course. Shakespeare. Who? William Shakespeare, the legendary playwright. Al, I'm not a literature guy, I'm a scientist, okay? How about this little tidbit? President Abraham Lincoln? Shot in the head. By John, John Wilkes Booth.

I'm not a historian. I'm a scientist. You think they'd just give this lab coat to anyone? No. And that's why through empirical evidence but I'm not a historian, I'm a scientist. Al? You think they just give this lab coat to anyone? No. And that's why through empirical evidence, I now know that how JFK died also. Yes, we know he was shot in the hand. What the fuck? Al did someone leak this report to you? No, it's just that your science only seems to be confirming well-known historical facts.

Okay, well, I bet you didn't know how Queen Elizabeth died. Well, she was 96, so I'm guessing natural, natural causes. No, meth overdose. Okay? Yes. Turns out the old girl couldn't handle a little Kensington crank at her age. Look, and that's a lesson for all you kids out there. Don't wait too long to try meth. That is a terrible lesson, Michael. Michael Costa, everyone.

Thanks, Al. All right. When we come back, I'll tell you why taxes are good, so don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. Well, it's tax season, or as Donald Trump calls it, would you get off my back already? And the Biden administration, their tax season, or as Donald Trump calls it, would you get off my back already? And the Biden administration has been making a big effort to make tax season a bit less painful. The Inflation Reduction Act, which the president signed last August, includes 80 billion dollars in new funding for the IRS to

hire new employees and upgrade its technology and it's working. The IRS is doing much better at processing our returns and answering our questions about how to file correctly and that's great. Better enforcement of tax laws means more money for all the many many things the government does, social security, Medicare, infrastructure, not to mention scraping off the feces smeared on the capital walls by the proud boards. Clearly the new funding is long overd the Capitol walls by the crowd boys. Clearly, the new funding is long overdue.

In addition to paying for immensely popular programs, it will help reduce the deficit. So everybody's got to be happy about this. Everybody, right? Am I right? Democrats want to spend $80,000 to hire 87,000 more armed IRS agents to terrorize Americans. They want to add 87,000 IRS agents that can use deadly force to go after American families. They want to turn the IRS into the Gestapo. They are arming up the IRS like they're preparing to take Fallujah.

A little like James Bond, but instead of hunting down evil maniacs, these agents hunt down and kill middle class taxpayers that don't pay enough? What on earth are these people talking about if you forget to carry the one while you're calculating your return, will the IRS actually come to your home, break down the door, and gun down your entire family? In a word no, in six words, of course not you Republican idiots. So let's talk about what the IRS money is really going for and another installment of Long Story Short. The administration is trying to fix a whole host of problems that began back in 2011 after Republicans and Congress started cutting the IRS budget.

Since then, the IRS budget. Since then, the IRS's audit rate has dropped almost 60 percent and the number of IRS agents, the same number we had in 1954, when the country's population was half the size it is today, and pediatricians treated sick children by prescribing them menthol cigarettes. And the combination of understaffing and stone age technology has resulted in a very weird situation. You are more likely to be audited in the United States if you make $20,000 a year than if you make $500,000 a year. The less money you have, the easier it is for the IRS if you make $20,000 a year than if you make $500,000 a year. The less money you have, the easier it is for the IRS to come after you.

This is because the IRS doesn't have enough money to hire the highly trained investigators needed to go head to head with the wealthy. Ultimately, it's easier for them to audit lower income people because it's cheap. Can be done by mail and doesn't take a lot of time. Can you believe that the IRS is so understaffed that they audit poor people more than the wealthy? Because they just don't have the experts to handle the most complex returns. They're going after poor people because it's easier. It's like a comic who only does your mama jokes. Sure, it's easy, but it's easy because it's easy because, it's easy. Because, because people, because, because people, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, the people, the people, the people people people, the people, because, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people people people people people people people people people people people people people, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their people, they're going after poor people because it's easier. It's like a comic who only does your mama jokes. Sure it's easy, but at what cost to my mama?

Her life is difficult enough. Do you know how hard it is to find a belt the size of the equator? So how much money in lost taxes are we talking about here? So how much money in lost taxes are we talking about here? According to the former head of the IRS, it could be as much as one trillion dollars a year. To put that in perspective, if you stacked a trillion one dollar bills on top of each other, it would blow away. It'd be ridiculous to even try that.

The solution is pretty simple and it's a bargain. Comparatively speaking, just adequately fund the IRS so it can improve its enforcement capabilities and collect that extra trillion dollars. Now... Now... its enforcement capabilities and collect that extra trillion dollars. Now, you would think Republicans would love an extra trillion dollars in revenue. They're the ones who are always complaining that America is spending money that we don't have. Politicians in Washington cannot stop spending money that we don't have. Let's live in reality. We have a spending problem. We have a dramatic spending problem.

If you had a child you gave them a credit card and they kept hitting the limit, you wouldn't just keep increasing it. You'd first see, what are you spending your money on? So we're going to look at every single dollar spent. We're going to audit it. If you're going to have a party, you have to pay the band. Come on, Senator, you don't have to have a band at a party. Just hire your nephew's roommate to be a DJ. Just think what we could do with an extra trillion dollars a year. We could begin to retire our national debt and balance our budget, or we could do some new things that would be worthy of a great nation. We could have universal pre-K.

Or subsidized child care like they do everywhere. We could eliminate federal income taxes completely for the bottom 90% of American household. And this isn't just lefty liberal pie in the sky stuff with a trillion dollars. We could do, we could fund an entirely new Iraq war. And why are we the only fucking developed country that doesn't have universal health care? And it doesn't have to be single payer. We can have a public option, which we should have done in the first place Feehleaverman.

The point is, polling shows that 93% of Americans' civic duty to pay their taxes. And I think you can guess who the other 7% are. So let's give the IRS the resources to make sure that everybody does what we all should do for the right of living in this great country, a nation, we can make even better if we do the fucking rational thing and collect the taxes that people actually owe. All right. All right. Stay tuned because when we come back, Ben de la Crem will be joining us so don't go.

All right. All right. Stay tune because when we come back, Ben de LaCram will be joining us, so don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is a writer, producer, and director, you know from Rupal's Drag Race. He's here to talk about the Drag Defense Fund, which benefits the ACLU's LGBTQ plus rights work. Please welcome Ben de la Cramp. I didn't know what would happen after Lindsay Graham.

I have no idea. This is so, this is so lovely. I didn't know the audience was going to go so crazy. I didn't know the audience was going to go so crazy. I didn't know what would happen after Lindsay Graham. Before we get into these anti-drag bills that are popping up around the country. I think there are a lot of people objecting to drag without even having any idea what it is. And I know I've never, I've ever gone to a drag show and can you explain Dret? Absolutely. Yeah, well somebody just was shocked that you've never been to a drag show. Have you?

Have you? But it's so... I'm embarrassed. No, no, no. It's not shocking that you've never been to a show that you would think of as a drag show, but you've probably seen Mrs. Doubtfire or Tutsi or any of those, you know, things that we have I didn't realize they were in drag. Well, that's some very convincing costuming. You know, so drag is something that's been part of the

culture for a very long time in a lot of different ways and so there's many types of it that we've sort of been accepting in contemporary culture like those examples, but you know it's something that harkens back to, we see it in Shakespeare, we see it in Kabuki the the it's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, thu cultures, that's, thu cultures, it's, thu cultures, it's, thu that's ca cu cu cu cu cu cu-cultu that's c-cultu that's cost, that's thu thu thu thu thucolucin, thu, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thu-a, thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, tharkens back to, we see it in Shakespeare, we see it in Kabuki Theater, across cultures, it's something that has just been innate and unquestioned for a long time, but within American history, I mean, drag is something that has uplifted and protected and fought for the queer community, pre-Stonewall. I mean, pre-Stonewall era, queer people had to congregate in clubs and bars.

That was the one place that they could sort of find community and find togetherness and feel safe, even though there were constantly police raids on those places. And drag queens, trans women, were the entertainers, were the matriarchs, were the people who fostered this community. And when Stonewall, which was the alleged beginning of the gay rights movement, when it rolled around, they were the folks who really started the riot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. On drag race, you sing. You work the runway.

You work the runway. Uh, you create and perform your own variety show. It's just all the things that I do, except the runway and the singing. Well, you're in good company with drag queens not being especially good singers, so that's fine. And you and I can work on your runway. So. Thank you. Thank you. And you direct and you write and produce a 70-minute show, drag shows, right? Yeah.

What are those shows about? Yeah. So I do a lot of different stuff that's more in the theatrical realm. So some of them are evening length plays, as you would more traditionally know. Some of them are cabarets with through lines. And that's another thing about drag is that it's so many things. A lot of people think of it as what we know it as from reality TV right now, which is largely lip-sinking and big dance movements, which is really exciting, but there's also a full history of theater and a lot of other disciplines.

So my shows are shows that are essentially a love letter to the queer community, to folks who need to feel a sense of hope and a sense of generosity. Specifically I do a holiday show with my good friend Jinks Monsoon and we've been touring that for this will be our sixth year I'm not announcing it but it's our sixth year coming up and and that show is very much rooted in the idea that... That's a Christmas show. It's a Christmas show, yes. So we do it every November and December. And that came about because of just really seeing the need among queer young people and queer

adults to feel a sense of family and homecoming at a time of year where it can have a lot of messaging that we don't feel included in. There's many people who have strained relationships with their families and so this show is a message of and you know and it's body and it's funny and there's big sparkly dances but it's at its heart about about coming together and making people realize that that your future can be whatever you want it to be your your traditions can be what they want what you want them to be and you can be who you want to be. Okay, speaking about being who you want to be, let's the first, I think, to explicitly ban. It's first place at a past.

Yes. Yeah. And in public places where minors are or something like that. What's your, but now it's happening all over the place right? This is some new thing they've invented. I'm sure that most of the Republicans who are, they find stuff every once in a while to go after. And so I bet you most of them don't know what this is about at all, have any idea. There's things I don't, I don't, you know, I don't actually, I've never idea. There's things I don't, you know, I don't actually, I've

never gone to NASCAR. I don't know, I know what it's about. There's a lot of stuff I don't go to. But what is this about? What is their thing about? Yeah, I mean, what is this about? What is the biggest question, because it's all so vague. These bills are terrifying because the language is so open-ended. And they are, and you're also exactly right, that a lot of these people don't really understand what drag shows are, and they don't have to, because this is all sort of coded language for an attack on the LGBTQIA plus community. And the wording of this bill talks about drag as adult entertainment, which is insidious within itself

to say that someone dressing this way is only appropriate for adults when they're not doing anything that's adult-oriented. And it also talks about them not being able to do it within range of where a minor could see, right? Which means no pride parades, no outdoor pride events. But it also means things like, what if the window is viewable from the sidewalk in a drag bar? I mean, it's all so subjective and it's all so open to interpretation that they can really kind of go wherever they want with it, not to mention the fact that the bill defines this as this adult entertainment or

adult cabaret as men or women dressing as the, doing male or female impersonation. And that within itself is thou-thau-thappe that, thoub that th male or female impersonation. And that within itself is also something that who is interpreting this, Bill Lee, who gets to decide whether he in a cheerleader skirt counts or not, you know? Is he, who's Bill Lee? So he is the, what, he's the one who, the governor who,

the photo surfaced of, no, he's the one who was passing all these laws. He's behind us. and he is. And he is th th th th th th th th th th, th th, th, th, th, th th th, th, the one who was passing all these laws, and the photo surfaced of him in high school dressed as a cheerleader at some sort of high school event and everyone started pointing this out and saying this is pretty hypocritical and he said no no no that that doesn't count that is not of a purrient nature that not lewd, this other, and so he has decided that he is the person who gets to decide these things. Oh, non-chieerlead outfits have never been considered like sexual at all. Wow.

But by that definition, even though most of us in 2023 understand that trans women are women and trans men are men, there, this bill can be interpreted any number of ways. And so if someone is enforcing this who doesn't believe that, who is to say that that trans person walking down the street in public, if I viewed them as a male or female impersonator and they're within the eyesight of a child, well then they're breaking the law by walking at the eyesight of a child, well, then they're breaking the law by walking to the grocery store.

That's terrifying. When I was, and we talked about this a little bit. When I was in the Senate, we were reforming no child left behind, which didn't work very well. And I had a piece in it called Student Non-Discrimination Act that would protect LGBT kids, Q plus kids, who would give them the same rights as were given to other kids, you know, but race and gender.

And I went to a colleague, a Republican colleague, who was a friend of mine, and asked him to sponsor this. And what you could do is if a kid was being bullied for being LGBTQ, they could go to the principal, go to supertennis schools, and if they didn't get any, that they could sue. They could sue, they could sue,to the principal, go to super tennis schools, and if they didn't get any, that they could sue. They could sue just like the other kids I was talking about. And this senator said to me, oh, if they could do that, they'll just act more gay. Oh! Well, first of all.

I mean, and I said, I said no, no, no, I don't want to say his name. I said no and he goes, oh, you watch. Well, I hope he's watching right now and knows that I am acting this gay no matter what happens around. But, well, kids in school, the ki, kids in school have great absentee, there's all kinds of bullying obviously, and this is, this would really have helped kids. No, absolutely, what have I mean? I can, from my personal experience, I grew up in a small town in Connecticut, I was very, very flamboyant and myself from a very young age and I was identified by other people as queer before I even understood how to do that myself and I was mercilessly bullied in school and I

went to my vice principal who told me that I should probably tone it down a little. So thank you for working on that. I mean it's... I mean it's... I uh... It's terribly frustrating. And the idea that children are somehow going to be made more queer by access to queer culture, I mean, I was very queer without any access. And when I, when I finally found drag, which is where it, you know, it was not like, oh, that's a cool job. I want to do that when I grow up. It was, there's a container for who I am. There's something out there for me. And that saved my life. I mean, suicide rates among queer kids and suicidal ideation is more

than half of trans and non-binary kids have suicidal ideation, which when I heard that statistic, I was like, that seems low because every queer person person person person person person person person person person person person person person person person person person person person that, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, which, that, that, that, that, th, th, th, th, th I was like, that seems low because every queer person I know has thought about suicide in their youth. And I barely made it out of my childhood, but I did because I had a little bit of access to this glimpse of a world outside that would accept me for who I am and not just in spite of who I am, but because of who I am. Thank you. just in spite of who I am but because of who I am.

Thank you. And I'm going to come. I'm going to start seeing some. You can support the ACLU's work by donating at the link below. Okay, we're going to take a quick break but we'll be right back after this. Well, that's our show for tonight and that's my time is your host, but stay tuned next week when your host will be John Leguezamo. And if you want to find more, may check out the Al Franken podcast, but let me, and they don't want me to do this. We're short on time. I can't tell you how great it's been being here working with these folks all week. They've just been great.

I'm just sorry Trump wasn't indicted. Now... Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcast. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmouth Plus.