The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.15 The MASSIVE Austin McBroom Allegations, Counterclaims Of Extortion, & Lebron China Backla

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you've had a fantastic Tuesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. And a quick note before we get started, I missed you guys yesterday. Obviously there wasn't a show like I talked about on Thursday, I had surgery over the weekend. Also, since I've seen a number of people still asking,

Starting point is 00:00:12 why did you have to have surgery? I've actually talked about this on my podcast a little bit. I decided to get a vasectomy. I already have two fantastic boys, I love them so much. We do not want a third child. And honestly, if we ever did change our minds, we would likely just adopt. And also for those that are maybe thinking about it,

Starting point is 00:00:25 it's actually a very easy, painless, basic procedure. You can actually do it in an office. And as far as the reason I was set up like this, I was in no way comfortable with being awake while it happened. So I was like, put my ass to sleep. And also, yes, thanks to you beautiful bastards clowning on me because we have that relationship.

Starting point is 00:00:39 I am aware that I look like the live action version of Blue Toad. Thank you for pointing that out. Transparently, I am still a little sore and nauseous, but I wanted to make sure that I came back as fast as possible, especially with the holiday breaks coming up. But with that said, buckle up,

Starting point is 00:00:51 definitely hit that like button and let's just jump into it. The first thing we're gonna talk about today is more news around China, which I will say, I knew that there was going to be more news around China, but I personally expected the larger focus to be on other Chinese investments in US companies, or at the very least foreign owned companies that largely service Americans.

Starting point is 00:01:07 But a lot of the focus ended up being solely on the NBA again, thanks to LeBron James. And for those unfamiliar with this situation, one, how dare you not watch my shows last week? But two, to oversimplify and get you up to speed, a couple of weeks ago, you had Rockets GM, Daryl Morey, tweeting a photo saying, "'Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.'"

Starting point is 00:01:23 Right, a photo that seemed to express support for pro-democracy protestors that have been marching in the streets since March. Now, that said, even though Morey tweeting a photo saying, "'Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.'" Right, a photo that seemed to express support for pro-democracy protestors that have been marching in the streets since March. Now, that said, even though Morey ended up deleting that tweet soon after posting it, right, and following this, it was a massive reaction. You had things like China cutting ties from the Houston Rockets, although that was just kind of

Starting point is 00:01:35 one of many things we saw from China. Two, you had the NBA kind of distancing itself from Morey, but doing it in a certain way with Adam Silver walking a weird line trying to appease both sides. You also had other players getting in the mix like that of James Harden, who I'm not even gonna cover again. And you also had American politicians criticizing the NBA

Starting point is 00:01:51 for bowing to China. And you know, like I said, I thought the focus on the NBA, it was kind of died down. But then yesterday we saw LeBron James say this to the media. We all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others.

Starting point is 00:02:06 You know, you only think about yourself. So I don't believe I don't want to get into a word or sentence feud with Darryl, with Darryl Morey. But I believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand. And he spoke. And so many people could have been harmed, not only financially, but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and we say and what we do, even though, yes, we do have freedom of speech,

Starting point is 00:02:37 but there can be a lot of negative that comes with it. It appears that he is not aware that everything he just said pertains also to him saying this. But also, that's not the end of the story yet. I'll kind of reserve my opinion till the end. You know, following this, there were a lot of opinions. Notably, you had Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley saying, Having just been in Hong Kong, on the streets, and with the protesters, this kind of garbage is hard to take. LeBron, are you educated on the situation?

Starting point is 00:02:58 Why don't you go to Hong Kong? Why don't you meet the people there risking their lives for their most basic liberties? This statement is unbelievable. So many people could have been harmed? By Daryl Morey daring to express sympathy for democracy? Newsflash, people are being harmed, shot, beaten, gassed right now in Hong Kong. By China, by the Communist Party the NBA is so eager to appease. Yes, we also saw reports of protesters in Hong Kong trampling on and burning James's jersey.

Starting point is 00:03:21 Now later on Twitter, James attempted to clarify his comments, tweeting, Let me clear up the confusion. "'I do not believe there was any consideration "'for the consequences and ramifications of the tweet. "'I'm not discussing the substance. "'Others can talk about that. "'My team and this league just went "'through a difficult week.

Starting point is 00:03:34 "'I think people need to understand "'what a tweet or statement can do to others. "'And I believe nobody stopped "'and considered what would happen. "'Could have waited a week to send it.'" I know I said I was gonna wait till the end. Does he seriously not realize the things that he is saying pertains to what he is actually saying?

Starting point is 00:03:48 Regarding his issue about the timing and not the content, there is never truly going to be a convenient time to speak truth to power when that power is cracking down on human rights. You know who else probably had a rough week, James? The people in Hong Kong. And their problem around this situation likely isn't that they have enough zeros

Starting point is 00:04:03 in their bank account, it's more that their liberties could go down to zero. And understand, I say this as someone in the past and still believe now that it is disgusting when people have told you to shut up and dribble. But what I ask or rather hope to see is that you take a moment to not see any of kind of the backlash you're getting here as just hate,

Starting point is 00:04:17 but really just try and take a moment to examine if what you're saying here, it oozes of ignorance, it oozes of hypocrisy, because from the outside looking in, based off of what you and others have put out there, it very much appears that you are prioritizing your bag over the potential body bags we're gonna see coming out of Hong Kong.

Starting point is 00:04:31 Also, on the note of Hong Kong and China, what's happening, over the weekend, 201 people were arrested, some as young as 14 years old. This is as we enter the 19th week of protests, where we actually saw a noticeable ramp up in violence. This time, pro-democracy protesters pleading for American lawmakers to pass a law that would support Hong Kong's freedom and democracy.

Starting point is 00:04:47 And that law, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act actually has bipartisan support in Congress. And according to that bill, it would quote, "'Assess whether China has eroded Hong Kong's civil liberties "'and rule of law as protected by Hong Kong's basic law.'" Which would also allow the president to quote, "'Provide Congress an assessment as to whether to withdraw "'from the U.S. Hong Kong Extradition Treaty

Starting point is 00:05:03 "'and what actions are needed to protect U.S. citizens and national security interests if Hong Kong 1. amends its laws to allow the rendition of individuals to countries that lack defendants' rights protections or 2. passes a national security law. And actually one of the co-sponsors of that bill is Hawley, which is why he took that trip to Hong Kong, who, while there, actually criticized police for making the crisis worse and using unnecessary force. Also saying that the city is in danger of sliding into a police state. Which on that note, we saw Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam respond to Hawley's criticism. In a press conference, she said that Hong Kong police are civilized and professional. And on the note of Hawley's comment, she said, quote, "- I thought their visit to Hong Kong

Starting point is 00:05:35 would enable them to see the actual situation in a comprehensive and objective manner. But unfortunately, the feedback that I've got is most of them, or several of them, coming here, they have very preconceived views about Hong Kong situation. And that's why for this particular senator to describe Hong Kong as becoming a police state is totally irresponsible and unfounded.

Starting point is 00:06:06 Then asking US lawmakers how they would respond to large scale violent acts if it were in their own country. And around this, we saw Holly swing back on Twitter saying, I chose the words police state purposely because that is exactly what Hong Kong is becoming. I saw it myself, if Carrie Lam wants to demonstrate otherwise, here's an idea, resign. Now, as far as where things go from here,

Starting point is 00:06:21 Lam is expected to give her annual policy address tomorrow. In that, she's expected to address her plans to solve the protest. And as far as China things go from here, Lam is expected to give her annual policy address tomorrow. In that, she's expected to address her plans to solve the protest. And as far as China's response to this whole situation, President Xi said, and honestly, this could have been because he was hangry, he didn't get that morning honey. He said Sunday night that any attempts to split China

Starting point is 00:06:35 would result in, quote, "'Bodies smashed and bones ground to powder.'" But hey, ultimately, that's where we are with the situation. And as far as my opinion around this, one, to kind of just start with LeBron James, I will say I'm disappointed for someone that usually speaks their values. You know, we've seen stories about the domestic good

Starting point is 00:06:50 that he has provided. I personally find this to be a sad and disgraceful moment. Right, I'd like to see LeBron James come with that same energy when he called Donald Trump a bum to talk about she. Also seemingly making yourself and the NBA the victim in this situation, that doesn't feel great with me.

Starting point is 00:07:03 It really makes me think back to the stuff that you said in the past 24 to 36 hours, right? Did you think about the ramifications of your comments? Did you think about actually being educated on this topic? Because China, they love the propaganda you just served. Boom, China Daily, LeBron James says, "'Daryl Morey was not educated on the situation at hand.'" But hey, ultimately that's where I'm gonna end that one.

Starting point is 00:07:22 Today, of course, there's a story, some of my opinion, and of course, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Then, let's talk about arguably one of the most talked about things on social media in the past 24 hours. Let's talk about Austin McBroom and the Ace Family. For those unfamiliar, Austin is the father in the Ace Family, which is just a massive family vlog channel on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:07:41 Per video, they get anywhere between 3.6 to eight plus million views. And while Austin is no stranger to controversies, the allegations being thrown around in this situation were far heavier. And this is because another creator by the name of Cole Kerrigan released a video called The Truth About The Ace Family.

Starting point is 00:07:55 In it you have Cole starting off by mentioning rumors that Austin's been cheating on his wife, Katherine. But the reason this has blown up so much is that the allegations in his video go much further than just cheating. With Cole saying that his friend was assaulted by Austin, Austin's father, and another acquaintance in Miami back in June.

Starting point is 00:08:09 And Cole said that he was making this video on his friend's behalf because it's hard for women to come forward with these kinds of things. Especially when the man in question is as prominent as Austin McBroom, also saying that they had signed an NDA. But to try and kind of make sense of this, let's dive into the accusations at hand. You had Cole saying that his friend,

Starting point is 00:08:22 along with another girl, had been drinking and went back to their hotel room to chain, adding that Austin, his security guard, his father, and two other men followed them to their room. Obviously, I don't have recordings that went down in the room, but my friend told me that she repeatedly said no multiple times over and over and over

Starting point is 00:08:39 to the point where she started crying, begging them to stop. That's when they forced themselves in her. And I will insert the photos of the blood all over the bed sheets in the hotel room right here. Paul then proceeds to allegedly call this friend on the phone using a filter or a modulator to make that voice unrecognizable.

Starting point is 00:08:59 This person goes on to say the guys had come into their room and were being flirty, but they were too drunk to even try to push them off. But the next thing I remember is unfortunately being on the bed and his nba player friend was having sex with me i don't ever remember giving him consent to the next thing i remember is looking up and austin's Alan, is there and I am seeing him unbuckle his pants, pull down his pants and pull out his penis in front of my face, basically wanting me to suck his penis. And she goes on to say that she remembers a security guard walking in and then

Starting point is 00:09:37 going in to check on her friend and then adding, all of a sudden I hear her yelling no and screaming and crying. And all of a sudden I start rushing out of the room because my friend is literally terrible crying, sobbing, and she's just sitting in the shower. And then after that, we just got in bed and we were just crying for the rest of the night. And in the video Cole includes a number of screenshots, this including a photo of Austin and his dad in Miami

Starting point is 00:10:06 on the night of June 21st, which is one day before the alleged incident. Cole also showing texts that he said his friend sent the next morning, one where they were sort of avoiding Austin and his friends. Another alleged screenshot where one of the girls told their ex that lives in Miami that something had happened.

Starting point is 00:10:18 Cole also posting alleged screenshots of his friend and Austin sending pictures and messages about the girls Austin wanted her to bring. And another allegedly of Austin's assistant telling her to stop Cole from telling the story because she could be looking at serious consequences. And Cole also including other alleged screenshots and stories from other girls

Starting point is 00:10:32 who claim to have interacted with Austin. One of which includes a girl claiming she got pregnant. But a big thing I wanna note here, these are allegations. We have not independently verified the authenticity of the screenshot. We're talking about what is being alleged, what is being shared and has blown up. And then we talk about the reaction.

Starting point is 00:10:46 And this video has since blown up. As of recording this, it has over 3 million views. Keep in mind that is just on YouTube. That doesn't even consider everything we've been seeing all over social media. And this story is part of the reason that maybe if you logged on to Twitter, you saw Ace Family is over party trending.

Starting point is 00:11:00 And you have people calling Austin a rapist, his wife, Catherine, a gold digger. You also had other people posting screenshots of other alleged interactions, but once again, it's just unclear if those are real or not, which on that note, Catherine from the Ace family seemed to acknowledge this, making it seem like a lot of the screenshots were fake, tweeting,

Starting point is 00:11:14 "'I don't know who's worse, "'the person who photoshops conversations "'or the people who believe it. "'Next, can't break us ever.'" And with that caption, she posted what appears to be a fake conversation of her telling Kanye West that she's pregnant with his baby. But then we see a twist to this story. There is a she posted what appears to be a fake conversation of her telling Kanye West that she's pregnant with his baby. But then we see a twist to this story.

Starting point is 00:11:27 There is a screenshot from what appears to be one of the girls in this story. She allegedly posted this to Instagram, then deleting it. And in it, she writes, To speak on this video that Cole Kerrigan posted, some of you have already figured out that I'm the other girl they're talking about in the video. I feel like this video was made for the wrong reasons and this wasn't Cole's story to tell. Cole even texted me saying we could potentially get paid $100,000 from this, following the claim that Drama Alert

Starting point is 00:11:48 was paid off $500,000 swipe right to see text. Then adding, I wasn't aware Amanda or Cole were in contact with Drama Alert to anonymously run our story, but I was aware of Cole's video being made and I only wanted it to be factual if it was ever going to be posted. I wanted to say that Austin McBroom is not to blame in the situation and did not rate me or anyone.

Starting point is 00:12:04 I'm currently handling the situation in my own way. I brought this to social media to address the false accusation. This isn't what I wanted. There's several sides to every story and this isn't how I wanted to tell mine. And the other photo in that post is an alleged conversation she had with Cole, which allegedly says, but the point of this is to not upload a video. The point of this is to scare them into paying us off because they paid Drama Alert 500k. So I'm sure they would pay me 100K or more not to say shit.

Starting point is 00:12:27 And then I would split that with you guys if you help me and send me all the receipts that I need." First, like regarding where this claim that $500,000 was paid to Drama Alert to spike the story, right, to not cover it, that appears to be coming from a text exchange between Cole and Keemstar from Drama Alert, where I would say it appears apparent

Starting point is 00:12:42 to pretty much anyone that has not been on the receiving end of a brain injury that that is sarcasm. And two, if these text messages are real, they are to be believed, it appears that regarding Cole's $100,000 comment, that looks like extortion. We also this morning saw Austin respond to this controversy in the allegation, writing,

Starting point is 00:12:58 "'If you have not heard, I have recently been a victim "'of extortion, defamation, and slander. "'I knew this was a cold world, "'but never did I foresee something this disturbing upon me. Thank you to all of my ACE family members for all of your concerns, and thank you to those who know my character and my heart. I don't wish this upon anyone

Starting point is 00:13:12 and can only hope that those responsible for this learn from their mistakes and become better people. My family and I are dealing with this matter privately and taking legal action. Bullying, extortion, slander, and defamation of character is something I will not stand for and can promise that justice will be served." And then sharing those previous screenshots

Starting point is 00:13:27 that we were just talking about. Yeah, ultimately that's where we are with this story right now. It is gonna be very interesting to see the further fallout from this. Personally, I'm waiting to see more information. Also given the updates we've reached out for comment from Austin as well as Cole.

Starting point is 00:13:38 Right, but really understand this is not a drama story. Same kind of thing that I said when the James Charles scandal happened, right? A lot of people were talking about like gummy bear vitamins there. On the most public of platforms, allegations of illegal conduct are being made. And on this massive scale in a public forum, not in a courtroom, we are seeing allegations

Starting point is 00:13:53 of assault, extortion, defamation of character. And that's why I say it'll be interesting to see what happens from here, because in the past we've kind of seen just situations, at least from the public view, go away. You have people kind of just believing what they want to believe, but I feel like we're going to start seeing more

Starting point is 00:14:08 and more consequences. But hey, that's the story as it is now. Things are still developing, allegations being thrown left and right. So we'll have to wait to see what happens next. But while we wait, of course, I would love to know your thoughts on this. And that's where I'm going to end today's show.

Starting point is 00:14:20 And hey, if you're not 100% filled in, you're still looking for more to watch, you can click or tap right there to watch any of that goodness. And hey, if you liked today's video, let us know, hit that like button. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, you're still looking for more to watch, you can click or tap right there to watch any of that goodness. And hey, if you liked today's video, let us know, hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, you want more of these dives into the news,

Starting point is 00:14:30 hit that subscribe button. Definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications. 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 tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.15 The MASSIVE Austin McBroom Allegations, Counterclaims Of Extortion, & Lebron China Backla

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