The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 02.07 Andrew Tate's Ex Exposed How He Recruited Victims, Hogwarts Legacy Sparks Witch Hunt & Harassment, &

Starting point is 00:00:00 We've got Andrew Tate's ex exposing how he recruited victims and newly obtained messages and voice notes. Hogwarts Legacy has divided and set the internet on fire. While people are shouting scam as hundreds of thousands of dollars are being raised for turkey earthquake victims. We're going to talk about all of that and so much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show. So buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. Starting with this whole Harry Potter Hogwarts Legacy insanity. So if you don't know, Hogwarts Legacy is the newest addition to the Harry Potter franchise, and it is expected to be one of the biggest video game launches of the year,

Starting point is 00:00:28 as well as one of the most controversial ones. Because there are scores and scores of people on social media saying that if you buy this game, you are transphobic. Though not to put everyone into the most extreme basket, there are others pushing the more mild take that it's simply unethical to buy the game because it supports J.K. Rowling. And so some of the things we've seen in addition to viral Twitter and TikTok posts saying, you know, you're a transphobe if you buy this,

Starting point is 00:00:48 we also saw many streamers boycotting because Twitch is hosting an ad campaign for the game. This because even though the game's producer has said that Rowling had no input in the game, and actually people have noticed that there is a trans person in the game, there is an expectation that she's going to accept royalty payments. With trans streamer Nicotine tweeting, I call on every streamer to join me in taking a stance against bigotry, hatred, and those who support such views. But since then, a number of streamers have gotten early access to the game, and Twitch has become a fucking firestorm. Like there's this one clip that's gone absolutely viral of girlfriend reviews. You see

Starting point is 00:01:15 them getting bombarded by hate comments for playing Hogwarts Legacy, the girlfriend leaves the room in tears. And every time I look at chat, it's just, the conversation is just like, bothering me. Maybe we can do like a be right back, like a little break or something. And that notably happening on a stream where they were actually raising money for the Trevor project. Also, someone even created a website where you can see all the streamers who've played the game so you can unfollow or target them. Prompting some to call this a literal witch hunt, pun intended. You also had big names in the space weighing in on this, like Asmongold, who stated his position in stark terms. I don't give a f***. Yeah, if the game's fun to play, I'm going to play the game. If people get mad about something on Twitter, you just ignore it

Starting point is 00:01:53 for like three days and it goes away. Then pointing to exploitative labor practices in the third world and accusing the boycotters of hypocrisy. Like, is this really worse? worse like how are you boycotting harry potter but you're not boycotting apple and notably with this saying hey he is fine with people drawing their own line in the sand between which products they're willing to support but that he doesn't support people going after others for just enjoying the game and to that point i mean it's the first of two times he's mentioned here but hasan piker who's a massive streamer speaking on this the only reason why i'm not playing this game and i know a bunch of other people are not playing this game is because we know that it's not worth it to get bullied endlessly and called transphobic endlessly in in when we have massive uh queer communities and

Starting point is 00:02:38 audiences that's it everybody everybody knows everybody knows how much leftist love the chirp on the internet they got no power all they do is chirp chirp chirp and that's precisely why so many people that would otherwise like play it maybe even raise money for uh you know charities or whatever i got yelled at uh endlessly and relent relentlessly on my alt account. Like, they were making it seem like I was already transphobic for even thinking about this. And now, look at that. What he's referencing there is that earlier he tweeted, I was planning on playing Hogwarts Legacy and inviting every streamer friend who plans on playing it to a healthy competition to do a fundraiser for trans charities of our choosing.

Starting point is 00:03:21 Which is also something I've seen other creators like The Actman mention in the past, with the general idea being if the game itself is not transphobic and your issue is with the J.K. Rowling, why don't you negate that benefit by donating to trans charities? But whatever your opinion of this situation is, there's one thing that is undeniable, and that is that this game may actually be one of the most successful launches of the year. It's already topping bestseller lists for both PC and console. People are viewing it on Twitch like crazy. And here's the thing, the sales for this have probably been supercharged because of this controversy. Like half the shit I know about this game has been force fed to me because social media platforms love that algorithm.

Starting point is 00:03:54 Engagement, engagement, engagement. Especially because the only people that are gonna be hurt in this situation are content creators. Like how many times have we seen backlash on social media about a thing and then it just not in any way affect how many people actually played the thing? Especially because everything about this ends up promoting the game. Even inaction or the absence of it becomes a news story. For example, several gaming outlets have declined to review the game. An IGN that did tackle it added this caveat where it said, quote, whether it's ethical to play is a separate but still very important question. But then Hogwarts Legacy gets that much more attention because everyone else starts talking and reporting on that. And this is outlets like Rock Paper Shotgun are also going as

Starting point is 00:04:27 far as to publish articles about other magic-based games made by trans developers. Also, if you're one of the people that's like, I'm gonna play this game to own the libs, or you have negative feelings about trans people, you might actually not even be happy with the game. Because as I briefly touched on, thanks to this game, the Harry Potter franchise now has its first trans character. Serona Ryan, with the developer, explaining they wanted to represent the rich and diverse world of both Harry Potter and the franchise's LGBTQ fans. But then even there, critics have skewered that character for having a name that sounds like, and this is what they're saying, Sir Ryan, which they say sounds very masculine. With people comparing this to other tone-deaf names Rowling is known for, most famously

Starting point is 00:04:58 Cho Chang, which apart from being kind of stereotypical in general, also mixes Asian surnames. Though to be clear here, Rowling doesn't appear to have actually had any input with Serona Ryan. But hey, ultimately, that is the story. That is where we are. I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below, because this whole situation is just a nasty, ugly mess, and there's so many different opinions on it, and I'd love to hear from you.

Starting point is 00:05:17 And for better and worse, we're going to be diving into those comments, whether it be for later this week or specifically the Sunday show. And then, so y'all know when you go to concerts, Broadway show, you go to watch some sports, there are different prices for different seats. Well now, AMC, the largest chain of movie theaters in the country is planning to do the same. Right, depending on the seats that you choose, you might be paying more or less for admission.

Starting point is 00:05:35 They call it sightline, where preferred seats cost a little more than a standard ticket and the value seats cost a little less. Right, with value, you're watching the movie like this. And then you have preferred sightline, being centered, middle seats, yeah, you cast your gaze above the pores, and you enjoy your movie. With the average seats are what they're deeming the standard sightline being the normal price of admission. With AMC's VP saying, while every seat at an AMC delivers an amazing movie-going experience, it doesn't.

Starting point is 00:05:57 We know there are some moviegoers who prioritize their specific seat, and others who prioritize value moviegoing. And saying this helps and gives guests more control over their experience. Also notably with these changes a number of things are not changing. The price of concessions for example a small popcorn small coke still going to cost you a kidney and AMC's discount Tuesday will stay the same where every ticket's just five bucks and in fact sightline will only apply to evening shows after 4 p.m. And so far this news in general has not been received well including by names like Seth Green and Elijah Woods saying this is absurdly stupid it only creates unnecessary classism. AMC theaters clearly focused on squeezing new profits anywhere possible. Trying to get people back into theaters don't

Starting point is 00:06:31 penalize folks with less to spend. And saying this new initiative essentially penalizes people for lower income. And as far as when you can expect these changes, it depends on where you live. Starting Friday, this is going to go live in their locations in New York, Chicago, and Kansas City. And for me, I'm not a fan of this change. It's for a number of reasons. The first is that I actually worked at a movie theater for a while, and literally one of the first thoughts that popped into my head is, who the fuck do they expect to enforce this? Like, at many theaters, you can already select your seats, but by pricing them differently, you're going to see an increase in a number of people, like as groups, buying the front and second rows. And then when they get there, if the movie theater is not sold out,

Starting point is 00:07:01 they're just going to spread around. As a broke-ass college kid, that's exactly something I would have done. So we're going to see an increase of these workers having to get into disputes with customers. I also agree with the sentiment that this penalizes people for not making as much money. Because let's be honest, this is just the first step. They can say they're increasing affordability, but they're just going to end up raising prices. But also with all that, I will say, I say this as an outsider that's not a part of their industry, and I don't know how much they're struggling, but I know that there's a lot of struggle when it goes to movie theaters.

Starting point is 00:07:26 Like there used to be a theater next to me called Arclight. It was my favorite theater. During the pandemic, they went bankrupt. Regal ended up buying the place, but now they have declared bankruptcy. And I think they're shutting down this place as well. So I understand movie theaters are struggling and they're fighting to survive.

Starting point is 00:07:39 And so if this helps, and so there are movie theaters near me, great, but it's still, it sounds like a bad idea. But hey, what are your thoughts on this? Do you have any feelings in general? And do you think it'll be successful or not? Is this a thing that it's gonna be like, fuck around and find out for AMC?

Starting point is 00:07:52 Or is this something that the customers are just gonna get used to? And then for today, an awesome story that hopefully gives you a shred of hope in humanity. I wanna talk about Nate because Nate started life on hard mode. He's a seven-year-old boy. He was born with sickle cell anemia, which can cause other medical issues like infections and chronic pain.

Starting point is 00:08:07 And for him, those complications led to both his legs being amputated as well as his left arm and several fingers on his right hand. Also suffering from liver and kidney damage, among other ailments. And all of that was only the start of his problems because his overwhelming medical needs were too much for his birth family to handle. So after several missed appointments, he was removed by them by the government and placed into foster care. With him soon after having to go to the hospital for an emergency surgery, and right when it seemed like he was at the rock bottom, Jenna arrives. Jenna is his first grade teacher, and when she heard about the situation, she had to come visit him. Saying, just thinking about him being at a hospital without his family there, I was just sad

Starting point is 00:08:37 for him. I just wanted to be a familiar face. And there, she chats with a social worker who tells her how Nate's foster family lives an hour from his school, which isn't ideal. And so in this flash of pure humanity, she suddenly turns to the worker and asks, can I foster him? It's a totally spontaneous idea for her. It's one that obviously carries a life's worth of responsibility. But when she goes home, she tells her boyfriend, Tim, and he's all in too. And so for the next 10 days, they go through the whole thing, background checks, training programs, home inspections, and all that. That was over three years ago. And so now Jenna, the English teacher, and Tim, the art teacher, they're married and they're pouring all their love into their son

Starting point is 00:09:08 and former student Nate's life, who has never left, being there for their wedding, his sister's birth and Christmas mornings. He's now cared for, he's got prosthetic legs, dreams of becoming an actor. With Tim saying, when you're waking up with a kid in the middle of the night and helping him get dressed in the morning and giving him baths

Starting point is 00:09:22 and doing all the stuff that parents do, it was only a couple of months and we were a mom and dad. You know, that's a story that obviously warms my heart, but I think it also serves as a reminder that family is family. In my eyes, family is based on actions. You're not mom or dad because you made that kid. You're mom and dad because you loved and raised that kid. It's the story that warms my heart and I wish this little family nothing but the best.

Starting point is 00:09:42 And then, long-time viewers of the show know that I've owned a Ridge wallet for years. I feel the need to remind you about Ridge as a whole anytime there's a gift-giving opportunity. Which, hey, Valentine's Day is here, people, and thanks to the fantastic sponsor and long-time partner of today's show, Ridge, I got some things to share. Ridge has a minimalist design to all their products from their front pocket wallet that's slim, RFID blocking, and comes with a lifetime guarantee. As well as my new favorite item, their durable key case that holds up to six keys. This sucker takes a jingle out of the key ring experience and it's just cool. And it's a no-brainer shopping for gifts or for yourself when you go to Ridge.com slash DeFranco and find more Ridge products like weatherproof

Starting point is 00:10:15 backpacks, really cool rings, watches, pocket knives, and so much more. That sleek design is what I love most. There's over 30 colors and styles to choose from and many Ridges products go together. So make sure to check out their bundles. This Valentine's Day, Ridge products are where it's at, so go to ridge.com slash defranco to get 10% off right now. And then, so many people have been impacted by the horrible earthquakes we talked about yesterday in Turkey and Syria.

Starting point is 00:10:36 The death toll as of this afternoon is officially at 7,100 people, but that's expected to jump significantly. And while yesterday, like I often do, I linked down to resources and charities that people could donate to to help those on the ground, we also saw other creators in the space launching their own fundraisers, like Hasan Piker launching his own soft giving fundraiser link, with the money set to go to a variety of charities based in Turkey and Syria. But because, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:55 this took place on the internet, a good thing couldn't just be a good thing. And instead, we ended up seeing this generate a controversy and there were conspiracy theories, with a big chunk of that seeming to stem from a streamer by the name of iShowSpeed, donating some money to the fundraiser. He was also gonna give even more, but then we saw this happen. Hassan Piker is taking all the money for himself. He lives in a mansion.

Starting point is 00:11:13 All the money is going to him, so he can buy a new pool for his mansion. Yo, child, what is going on? Speed, it's a scam, I am being- It's a scam? Bro, I don't, oh my God. With Hassan's editor explaining on Twitter that iShowSpeed was actually going to donate

Starting point is 00:11:26 $50,000 to the effort until that text-to-speech user convinced him that Hasan was a fraud. Also adding that Hasan had donated $25,000 so far himself. With Hasan then watching that clip and saying, I just, I hate it. These people are so f***ing desperate to vilify me that they like, even when I'm trying to raise money for a cause actively, they go and harm the fundraising efforts. There are literally people under rubble right now. It's so crazy that this is how far go.

Starting point is 00:11:54 They stopped them from donating $50,000. And I will say it does suck. I Show Speed, absolutely massive streamer. So many people watch him. And with him, I think the nicest way to say it is like him not being super well-versed or having a breadth of knowledge on this topic or this situation, and that including the fundraising and charitable efforts, paired with him likely extra scared of being called a scammer

Starting point is 00:12:13 because that whole crypto thing where his own fans were calling him out, it gives air to unbacked claims that this is a scam. It ends up hurting people that need the help. But the good news is, in spite of all these people that are spreading misinformation or doubt about this fundraiser, as of this morning, over $670,000 has been donated. And honestly, to anyone

Starting point is 00:12:30 that's trying to dissuade people from donating or you're spreading misinformation or you're just believing something because you dislike Hassan, you can dislike someone and still be aware that they're raising money for a good cause and not try to kill it

Starting point is 00:12:41 because you're hurting other people. And to those people, I would ask, do you realize what a stupid, sick weirdo you are like if you feel conflicted about the source of something that's good just throw out uh the worst person you know just made a great point meme move on there's so much happening in this world sometimes we just got to focus on what is the net benefit and then one of andrew tate's exes is speaking out about how he tried to recruit her to his alleged sex ring speaking device where in the interest of anonymity they named her lisa to keep her real name private and they're detailing how Tate would use dating apps and Instagram to groom women as

Starting point is 00:13:07 cam girls. Explaining how initially they met back on Tinder in 2016. They have a first date at a London restaurant. They seem to hit it off. They continue seeing each other until Lisa says she feels something's a bit off about him. So she starts asking him more and more questions about the lifestyle he led. With Tate then offering Lisa an ultimatum. Saying if she wanted to be his girlfriend, she'd have to live with him and work for him. And after some more questioning, Lisa found out that Tate was running a webcam sex business from Romania. And the job that he was pressuring her to take involved performing sexually on camera, sexually chatting with men, as well as managing the other women who worked for him. Tate also allegedly pushing Lisa to sexually perform on camera for him, despite her

Starting point is 00:13:37 having no desire to do so. Also trying to set up a call with another woman to help sell the idea to her. And Lisa saying that when that kind of simple persuasion didn't work, Tate switched to a more domineering and demanding approach. But saying at this point, she had caught on to Tate's methodology and called him on it. Reportedly saying in a message, if this is how you recruit your staff, sleep with them, vet them, make sure they are tough enough to take shit, you need to stop using Tinder. Or with Tate, allegedly using what's called the lover boy method. A strategy used by men to make women fall in love with them for them to then exploit them. With it even being reported that Tate in his online courses reportedly showed men how to target women on social media and do this. And regarding Tinder,

Starting point is 00:14:07 it is important to note that Tate's alleged hunt wasn't just limited to apps like Tinder. Vice also talking to a young woman who said that Tate reached out to her on Instagram when she was just 16, with she and two other friends receiving similar messages from Tate around the time, following his exact opening line formula that he reportedly teaches in his course. Though luckily, none of those young women met up with him. With one of the women saying it felt like he targeted young girls because that's an age where girls feel the most insecure and they're getting the most excited to get any attention. The fact that he specifically stated that he manipulates young women into sex work, I think that's a problem. And reportedly, she's

Starting point is 00:14:33 received some hefty pushback from Tate's fans for speaking out publicly against him, saying, I get you're a liar or you're such a slut. You had Instagram at 16. It's your fault. So a lot of the news we're seeing, it's kind of further insight into the allegations against him. It's more of the specifics. And as far as the brothers, right, Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate, the next three weeks are going to be very interesting because right now they're being held until February 27th after losing their second appeal. But as always with this situation, we're going to keep our eyes on this to see what other updates we get. And in the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts. And that's where today's show ends. As always, thank you for being a part of my

Starting point is 00:15:00 daily dive into the news. My name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 02.07 Andrew Tate's Ex Exposed How He Recruited Victims, Hogwarts Legacy Sparks Witch Hunt & Harassment, &

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