The Philip DeFranco Show - It's time to say Goodbye... Ryan Reynolds, Johnny Depp Amber Heard Emails, & Today's News

Episode Date: May 27, 2021

Go to https://NordVPN.com/phil and use code PHIL to get a 2-year plan plus 1 additional month free! It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter!  http://www.DeFrancoDailyDownload.com -- WATCH Troy Hunt Podcast: https://youtu.be/XVd8mRErzcE  WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/ACW   LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com  WATCH the ACW Clips channel!: https://youtube.com/ACWClips  -- 00:00 - Saying Goodbye. 00:45 - Central Park Karen Suing Former Employer 03:19 - Celebrities Open Up About Mental Health 06:04 - Emily Wilder vs AP Update 07:36 - Sponsor 08:28 - Vaccine Incentives Are Actually Working 10:54 - Amber Heard Sued For $50mil by Johnny Depp 13:16 - Biden’s Infrastructure Plan -- ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com  ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com  ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩  Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer: https://roguerocket.com/2021/05/27/central-park-karen-sues-former-employer/ Celebrities Speak About Mental Health: https://roguerocket.com/2021/05/27/celebrities-open-up-mental-health/ AP Admits to Making Mistakes in Firing of Emily Wilder: https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/05/26/ap-wilder-firing/ Incentive Programs Encourage Vaccinations: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-admin-pledges-help-fund-covid-19-shots-incentive-programs-n1268547 Daily Mail Obtains Emails in Johnny Depp Amber HEard Case https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9618547/Johnny-Depp-sue-ACLU-defamation-Amber-Heards-op-ed.html Senate GOP Rolls Out Infrastructure Counterproposal: https://roguerocket.com/2021/05/27/gop-infrastructure-counteroffer/ ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩ Facebook Will Stop Removing Posts That Claim COVID-19 Is Human-Made https://roguerocket.com/2021/05/27/fb-lab-posts/ Hong Kong To Be Run by "Patriots" Only Under Government Reforms https://roguerocket.com/2021/05/27/hong-kong-to-be-run-by-patriots-only/ ——————————     Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxx Enright Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst  Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda, Brian Espinoza Production Team: Zack Taylor ———————————— #DeFranco #RyanReynolds #JohnnyDepp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So I've known for a while now that this day would come and I came to a decision fully Three months ago, but it is time to finally say goodbye To the set. I just oh my god. I worded that horribly I'm just moving to a new studio my three-year lease just ended. I bought another building There's been a bunch of construction over there. And yeah, so with that there's gonna be a new set What did you think that I was leaving you with my literally no other life skills and inability to work with other people or a boss?

We're in this thing for life, baby. Though I don't really take great care of myself, so I don't know how long that's gonna be. But anyway, welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Hit that like button to support the video. Hit that subscribe button for your chance to win $5,000 at the end of the month. And let's just jump into it.

And first up today, we had Central Park Karen, AKA Amy Cooper, AKA the white woman in Central Park who saw a black man birdwatching and was like, ah, 911, I'm being threatened. And this seemingly because that black man in the park, Christian Cooper, had the audacity to ask Amy Cooper to just leash her dog in an area that she was actually required to do so.

The audacity and dangerous man. And with that confrontation, of course, escalating with her calling 911, claiming that he was threatening her, but the video that Christian recorded himself showed otherwise. Please don't come close to me. And I'm taking pictures, calling the cops.

Please, please call the cops. Please call the cops. I'm gonna tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life. Please tell them whatever you like. I'm sorry, I can't hear you either. I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble. Please send the cops immediately.

I'm in Central Park in the Ramble. I don't know. Thank you. So that of course went viral among other things. She lost her job and that's actually why she's back in the news. She's now suing her former employer saying that they terminated her based on race and gender

while also failing to properly investigate the incident. With a lawsuit essentially arguing that the company did not thoroughly investigate by interviewing her or Christian or obtaining her full 911 call because she is a white woman. And adding, even a perfunctory investigation would have shown she did not shout at him because she was a racist but because she was alone in the park and frightened to death. With a lawsuit going on to describe Amy as the target of Christian, who they referred to as an overzealous birdwatcher engaged in Central Park's ongoing feud between birdwatchers and dog owners. With it going on to allege that the decision to fire her effectively labeled her a racist with quote,

"'reckless disregard for the destruction "'of her life in the process.'" So with this, Amy is requesting a jury trial and is seeking compensation for lost wages, emotional distress, attorney's fees and more. Though on the other side of this, the investment firm that fired her responded, Franklin Templeton saying,

"'It responded appropriately,' and adding, "'We believe the circumstances of the situation "'speak for themselves. "'We will defend against these baseless claims.'" And in general, as far as the response that we're seeing from the public so far, it appears that most people are just like, "'Oh, she didn't learn anything.'"

Right, based off of this document, it seems like she still sees herself as the victim. This, even though previously she was able to get the Manhattan district attorney's office to drop the misdemeanor charge against her for filing a false report. That being partly attributed to her at that time, completing a therapeutic educational program

that covered racial biases. Right with her therapist at that time saying that from the five sessions together, it was a moving experience where Amy learned a lot. And yeah, ultimately this is the least surprising story of the day. Like all this is, is a confirmation of her being exactly who she showed herself to be in the first video.

But you know, that's the story. Then of course, just my opinion. And now I pass the question off to you actually, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think Amy is in the right here? She got done dirty or no, this is kind of a sad little pathetic attempt from Amy. Then in case you didn't know,

May is mental health awareness month. I personally celebrated last week by having an unscheduled 36 hour breakdown. It was pretty, pretty great. Nothing like everything in my life being pretty dope and my brain being like, but we're sad though. But one of the good things about this month, and also I feel like this has been a drastic change,

especially over the last 10 years and even more so just the years previous, we've been seeing more and more people, whether it be everyday people or people with large audiences, and I think it's a good thing so that people don't feel alone, opening up about their mental health struggles.

This month, we've had the likes of Ariana Grande sharing mental health resources, Selena Gomez launching Mental Health 101. Guys aimed at supporting mental health education and services, also matching $200,000 in donations throughout the month of May. Oprah and Prince Harry releasing their docuseries called The Me You Can't See,

which explores mental health struggles. And then finally, the man that everyone has a crush on, Ryan Reynolds, writing on Instagram, May is almost over, it's also Mental Health Awareness Month, which brings me to this. One of the reasons I'm posting this so late is I overschedule myself and important things slip. One of the reasons I overschedule myself

is my lifelong pal anxiety. No, I'm not alone, and more importantly, to all those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, overworry, and over everything, please know you're not alone. We don't talk enough about mental health and don't do enough to destigmatize talking about it. Also yesterday you had the likes of tennis player,

Naomi Osaka posting about mental health. And while she didn't attribute it to mental health awareness month specifically, it was a very strong statement that resonated with many. Actually with this saying that she wouldn't be doing press conferences during the French Open. It's generally expected of all players, but with her writing on social media,

I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health, and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one. We're often sat there and ask questions that we've been asked multiple times before, or ask questions that bring doubt into our minds, and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.

I've watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room, and I know you have as well. I believe the whole situation is kicking a person while they're down. And this is actually also a little notable because while yes, she has a lot of money, she could actually be fined for this. According to ESPN, at a major like this,

the fine can be up to $20,000 for not participating in press conferences. Regarding that, she said, yeah, if I'm gonna be fined, she wants the money to go towards a mental health charity. Yeah, for me regarding all of this, I think it's great that the celebrities are speaking out. Because when you have these people that are essentially at the top of their world,

like life is dope for Ryan Reynolds, but even he's saying, I struggle with this. I think that can help everyday people go, oh, I'm not alone in this. And also I do credit the celebrities because while yes, it is not as bad as it was maybe 10, 20 years ago, now there's a lot of support when people are public with this,

you still get inundated with a bunch of fuck faces who are like, what do you actually have to be sad about? And it's like, no, that's exactly the point. It's not logical. It's not just some hole that you can fill with money or success. It's something that you have to actively work on for yourself.

Sometimes just dealing with being you is a job in itself. If a celebrity or whoever can be vulnerable and share their story and that can make other people feel like, hey, I'm not weird and broken. I, this is a shared struggle. That's ultimately a win. Then we had Emily Wilder and the Associated Press back in the news.

And to bring you up to speed, we talked about this Tuesday, but basically Wilder, who is Jewish, was accused by Stanford Republicans of being an anti-Israel agitator for her pro-Palestinian posts on social media while she was in college. And two days later, she was fired from her job at the AP, which claimed that she had violated the social media policies

against sharing political opinions and personal views on public issues. Wilder herself claimed that she wasn't even told which posts violated their policies and there was a ton of backlash. With tons of journalists, including many of their own, condemning the outlet for not standing by employees who were targeted by smear campaigns and online harassment.

The update we have today is that there was a town hall meeting yesterday where several senior managers said sorry, but also not sorry. With AP managing editor Brian Coravallano calling the company's handling of the situation, mistakes of process and not of outcome. With him reportedly insisting

that it was still the right decision. And arguing that Wilder had actually gotten plenty of guides about social media roles when she was first hired. With this reportedly including a special hour long tutorial with her manager because of pre-hiring social media posts that the company deemed borderline appropriate. With Julie Pace, the AP's Washington Bureau Chief and assistant managing editor adding, the company failed to initially see this as more than an, the AP's Washington Bureau Chief and Assistant Managing Editor adding,

"'The company failed to initially see this "'as more than an HR issue,' saying, "'We didn't see the connection between the attacks "'that Emily suffered online and the experiences "'that many of you have had. "'We didn't anticipate that our own handling "'of the situation would be seen as an indication "'that we don't have our staff's back.'"

The Deputy Managing Editor, Amanda Barrett, also echoing that and promising AP employees that the organization will stand by them. But, with all of that, reportedly some felt that those promises were empty, with multiple AP staffers at that meeting accusing senior staff of not backing them in the past and expressing concerns that they would not back them in the future.

With many saying this is just kind of empty damage control. But from that, I wanna take a second to pay some bills and thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show, NordVPN.com slash Phil. I've been a Nord customer and supporter for years, and if you still haven't checked them out by now, you are really missing out on peace of mind that you get from securing your personal data and internet activity.

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And when you use my code phil, you'll get an additional month for free and it's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee. So what are you waiting for? That's nordvpn.com slash phil and be sure to use code phil at checkout. Then let's talk about companies and states incentivizing people to get vaccinated.

One of the most notable events that we previously talked about was Ohio starting their lottery program, giving out a million dollars each week to adults who get vaccinated and full scholarships to state colleges for kids between 12 and 17 who get the shot. With in fact, the first winners of those programs

being announced yesterday. And as it turns out, it appears to actually be very effective. After the plan was announced, vaccination rates in the state reportedly saw a 45% jump compared to the previous week. And last week, Ohio's governor, Mike DeWine, even said that the campaign helped drive up vaccinations

among people over 16 by around 28%. And we've actually seen other states follow suit. New York, Maryland, and Oregon announcing similar lottery promotion. And while yes, there have been some concerns about these specific programs, many feeling that it was a misuse of federal COVID relief funds,

this week we saw the treasury department updating its guidance for how states and local governments can spend those funds, saying that lotteries, cash payments, and other incentive programs are allowed as long as they are quote, "'reasonably expected to increase vaccinations and the costs are reasonably proportional to the expected public health benefit. And in fact,

during a public health briefing this week, White House COVID advisor Andy Slavitt encouraged states to use the guidance to get creative. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has unlocked a secret. People do care about getting vaccinated, but it turns out they also have other things they care about. Some of those things might encourage people to think about what might otherwise be a lower priority. But I'm also welcoming the efforts that companies and other organizations have made to help boost vaccinations. So people may say all of this is frivolous.

I say anything that ends the pandemic, it's time for us to pull out now. When does fast grocery delivery through Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit, but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that, actually, they will stay for dinner.

Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer. So download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Groceries that over-deliver.

For those on the fence, find whatever reason you want to get vaccinated. For those not sure yet, do your homework. Talk to your doctor or your pharmacist. All concerns are reasonable, but do yourself a favor. Don't let some guy on Facebook answer your question when good answers are available. And actually with that, today you had CBS saying that people who plan to receive

or have received a COVID-19 vaccine at its pharmacies can enter its new one step closer sweepstakes and win one of more than a thousand prizes. And they're really just the latest here. You had United Airlines, for example, announcing free flight drawings for vaccinated travelers. Hell, even dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Match.com, and OkCupid have come up with varying perks

for vaccinated users. Personally, as I said then, and as I say now, I say good. Honestly, anything that helps us nudge this thing along, get those good numbers up, fantastic. I've been loving waking up and seeing the COVID numbers in the United States going down and down and down. And then let's talk about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard being back in the news. So there's this ongoing legal battle and there's a lot going on.

But the main thing that we're going to talk about today is a $50 million lawsuit that Depp filed against Heard regarding an op-ed that she published in the Washington Post back in 2018. That op-ed was titled Amber Heard, I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath that has to change." The article identified her as a women's rights ambassador at the American Civil Liberties Union. And while it never specifically mentioned Depp by name, as she legally could not do so because of her ongoing divorce settlement, people still knew that she was referring

to the abuse allegations from their marriage. Depp then hit back with a defamation lawsuit. And now there are updates to this story that alleged Herd was not the one who wrote the op-ed and rather it came from the ACLU. And for some background here, in addition to Heard's label as an ambassador for the group, she previously said that she would be donating

her $7 million divorce settlement to the ACLU as well as Children's Hospital Los Angeles. With actually Depp last week ordering that the ACLU show proof that she actually donated the settlement to them. Which brings us to the allegations that the Washington Post op-ed actually came from the organization. And this is all coming from a report today

from the Daily Mail who claims to have obtained emails sent between ACLU staff and Heard and her team. With the Daily Mail saying that ACLU staff penned the piece with minimal input from Heard, who allegedly approved it after it was already written. And the Daily Mail sharing some of the alleged correspondence, including one where it appears that the ACLU

seems to be reaching out with the idea for the article, as well as one that seems to come from the alleged ghostwriter thanking Heard for speaking with them and saying that they were working on formatting her ideas and analysis and shape into an op-ed form. Allegedly, there were also a few rounds of legal edits and notes from Heard's lawyers and various mentions

of adding parts relevant to the era's political climate to the piece. And so with this, you have Depp's attorney, Adam Waldman, telling the Daily Mail, "'This new trove of emails finally proves "'one of the things the ACLU has fought for years to hide.'" They wrote Amber Heard's false op-ed for her and were co-conspirators with Ms. Heard from the start.

Those who scheme, write, and publish defamation, even purported free speech advocates, are not immune from the consequences. Though, here the Daily Mail also reported that in Heard's legal filing, she never said that she was the sole author and said she wrote it with, quote, "'the assistance and advice of others'

"'and adding that it speaks for itself "'and that the allegations of domestic violence are true." And it will be interesting to see what happens here. I mean, previously a court in London rejected a defamation claim that Depp made against the son over an article that labeled him as a wife beater. And that is very notable because Heard's legal team reportedly is trying to use that to get the judge here

to dismiss the case saying that the same concerns were already addressed in that London case and it was rejected. Though, of course, for now, we're just gonna have to wait and see what happens next. Then, in possibly the sexiest story of the day, you might need to cross your legs for this one. Let's talk about US infrastructure proposals.

So the way we got to where we are today, you had Biden coming out with a $2.3 trillion proposal, Republicans coming back with a $568 billion proposal, Biden then saying, okay, okay, 1.7 trillion. Now, this morning we have Senate Republicans unveiling a $928 billion counter proposal to Biden's infrastructure plan. A plan that they say would provide $506 billion

for roads, bridges, and other big infrastructure projects, including $4 billion for electric vehicles, 98 billion for public transit, 46 billion for passenger and freight rail, 21 billion for safety efforts, and you can read the rest, it's there, pause it. Okay, I'm done. And while the GOP's new plan does provide more funding

than their original plan for roads, bridges, and other major infrastructure areas like water and airports, it specifically focuses on a narrow definition of infrastructure as mostly just physical improvements. Whereas you had Biden's plan seeking to redefine the term infrastructure to include a much broader understanding of American workers

and their relationship to the economy. With Biden's plan, among other things the term infrastructure to include a much broader understanding of American workers and their relationship to the economy. With Biden's plan among other things, including measures to fight climate change with green energy, spending on childcare and early childhood education and more worker protection. But the Republicans' plan here scraps almost all of that, including some of the administration's major priorities like $400 billion for home healthcare,

$100 billion for electric vehicle rebates for consumers and additional spending to upgrade housing and schools. But regarding those things, in a letter to the White House, the GOP senators leading negotiations so that they believe that those issues should be addressed in separate legislation. So there's that, but then one of the other big issues is how the legislation will be financed.

The Republicans are only offering up to $257 billion in new spending with the rest being funded through the redirection of unspent COVID relief money that has already been authorized by Congress. But here Democrats have traditionally been very opposed to reallocating COVID funds for other projects. And that largely because they don't want the infrastructure bill funding to be dragged into partisan negotiations

about the pandemic response. With Republicans also rejecting Biden's proposal to fund his plan through tax increases on corporations and high earners. But that said for now, we're going to have to wait to see if any of this bipartisanship can actually happen. While I'm a cynic and I have very little faith in Congress actually coming together on almost anything,

you will have a better idea soon because you have the White House indicating that Memorial Day is the soft deadline for progress on bipartisan negotiation. But ultimately with that story, or honestly, anything else that stood out to you today, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below because this is the end of today's show.

As always, thank you for being a part of the family, watching the video, like and subscribe, and all the good stuff. Also, if you're looking for more to watch, I'll be covered right here with some more news or that brand new podcast I did with Rhett and Link. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco.

You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you next time.