The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.11 Ace Family Child Controversy, Anti-Vaxxer Measles Mess, Vegetative State Pregnancy, & More

Episode Date: January 11, 2019

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Friday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. And if you're new here, on Fridays I do things a little bit different. On Fridays I try to cover more viewer-requested stories and at times stories I try to get to, but we just didn't have enough time this week. And so with that said, let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today is just this crazy story out of Arizona. If you haven't heard, police are investigating a Hacienda healthcare facility in Arizona after a female patient gave birth to a child on December 29. And as far as why the police are investigating, it's because this 29 year old patient in question has been in a persistent vegetative state for at least 10 years. And so that means she is awake, but does not show signs of awareness,

she is nonverbal and cannot move by herself. And according to an anonymous source familiar with the situation, quote, none of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth. From what I've been told, she was moaning and they didn't know what was wrong with her." Adding, there was a nurse that was there and from what I've heard, she's the one that delivered the baby. Following this, we had Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson saying the matter is currently under investigation, but he gave no further detail. But, reportedly the police have been stationed in front of the facility for the last few days. We also had the Arizona Department of Health Services saying in a statement that after learning of the incident,

they are performing an immediate on-site complaint investigation. Adding, the agency has required heightened safety measures be implemented at the facility. We also had Hacienda Healthcare spokeswoman Nancy Salmon giving a statement where she called this a deeply disturbing incident. And adding Hacienda has and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and all the relevant regulatory agencies regarding this matter. Then on Monday it was announced that Bill Timmons, the CEO of Hacienda Healthcare, resigned from his position effective immediately. Then according to a press release on Tuesday from Hacienda, the police served a warrant to gather DNA from male staff members. And in the statement, they said they welcomed this development, adding that it would have been illegal for Hacienda to require staff to submit DNA. Saying, to undergo DNA testing conducted through Hacienda or for Hacienda to conduct voluntary genetic testing of staffers.

We were told it would be a violation of federal law in either instance. Also on Tuesday we found out that the patient is a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe, according to a statement from the tribe's chairman. We also had a lawyer representing the woman's family coming forward to say, The family obviously is outraged, traumatized, and in shock by the abuse and neglect of their daughter at Hacienda Healthcare. But also adding regarding the baby, The family would like me to convey that the baby boy has been born into a loving family and will be well cared for. Also of note here, reportedly since this incident, the facility's policies have changed. Now, in order for a male staff member to enter a female patient's room, they must be accompanied by a female staff member.

But still, and understandably, you have parents of other patients that are questioning the safety of this facility after this news came out. A lot of people are mad, my family included. My heart hurts, my chest hurts. I haven't been able to sleep good at night because of what occurred here. Trust has been broken and severed completely. And on the note of others being fearful, I mean you had a spokesperson for the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence say, In sexual assault cases, it's not uncommon that perpetrators have multiple victims,

and so that would be a concern for us. Also, since this news came out, you've had people digging into the care facility's history. You had people finding things like records from 2013 that reveal a number of incidents where a staff member made inappropriate comments about patients. Also, there were allegations that the staffer had watched some patients masturbate, and that while bathing, a patient told another staffer that the patient would have a, quote, happy morning. But also, records show that the staff member in question

was fired and training policies were updated. But ultimately that's where we are right now. You have multiple agencies that are investigating this incident but also making very little information publicly available. But I mean because there is DNA, hopefully they will find whoever did this. But also still, past the rape and people not knowing

that a rape took place, there have been understandably a lot of people questioning how the hell can a healthcare facility not know that one of their patients was pregnant reportedly there was a physical done on the Patient April 16th But reports have come out saying that that was only external also as far as the outward signs that this patient was pregnant According to some of the reporting here doctors and fetal medicine say it's possible There might not be extreme outward signs of pregnancy if the mother is in a vegetative state But ultimately that's where we are right now.

Hopefully we get more information soon from this investigation. Also, hopefully we see an arrest. Yeah, this is definitely one of the more disturbing stories that we saw this week. I don't even know what question I would pass out with this story. Just like, oh, is it horrible or just really, really horrible? I don't know. That's it for this story. Then, in a quickie requested story, I had people asking about my opinion regarding the Ace Family controversy. If you're not familiar, the Ace Family is a massively successful and popular family channel here on YouTube.

And that's actually somewhat limiting, they're also massive elsewhere, but the main point of this story was Austin McBroom, the father of the family. There was a video that went viral on Twitter, although I will say I don't feel comfortable sharing it in this video. But these videos via Snapchat that Austin McBroom put out there, you see them in a store. Little girl's reaching up, she says, I want a lollipop. The video showcases that the lollipop is this kind of rainbow lollipop in the shape of a penis. Next, we see she's holding it, Austin McBroom says to show it to Catherine. The little girl then begins waving it around, acting like she's licking it. He then showcases himself buying it and kind of gives an explanation as to why he did it.

Which, that part doesn't have the kid in it, so we can see. She said she's gonna steal it if I didn't buy it, so... Better me buy it. So there's a massive negative's gonna steal it if I didn't buy It so better me buy it So there's a massive negative reaction to this like I said this went viral that the initial video has over 4 million views any responding That they were disturbed disgusted someone on to say that he was sexualizing this young girl Some people went as far to say that he had brought this little girl to a sex shop Although that doesn't appear to be the case many people pointing out that it looks like they were in a Spencer's which if you've ever Been inside like the stuff that's in there just ranges wildly.

Right, as people have pointed out, like you'll see like a Pokemon shirt in the front and then stuff like what we saw in this video in the back. My personal response to the situation is, what the fuck? You could have easily said no to a child and gotten them a different lollipop. You also at any point did not have to videotape and throw that out to the internet. Whether it be the first video which is like, ha, she doesn't realize what this is, nor the video where you had this incredibly young child acting like they were licking the lollipop for the camera, which you then decided to share

to the entirety of the internet. It's just really, really strange to me. I think there's probably a conversation about people not knowing where the line is, and we live in a society now of oversharing, especially when profit is associated with oversharing. But also, that's just my opinion. Now, as far as Austin McBroom's response to all of this, well, we really haven't seen one so far,

and at least from a PR standpoint, as of now, that may have actually been a fantastic choice for Austin McBroom. Because, for example, when you go to their YouTube videos, which just their last video got over 4.45 million views, while a lot of the top comments are referencing the video, the controversy, the video is still massively liked compared to disliked.

There's subscriber growth since last Sunday has slowed down, but they're still immensely positive. Something we're gonna kind of touch on with the last story is sometimes the more you talk about it, the bigger you make the situation. But also at the same time, when you're in the situation, you don't know if it's about to end tomorrow, you don't know how long it'll continue, because there are a lot of other places that can pick it up. For example, just in the past day, it's not just the BuzzFeeds of the world, but all of a sudden you have Newsweek.

BET picked it up, I saw the Washington Post was posting about it, and so I kind of mentioned that from a PR standpoint, I'm very fascinated by the situation. As far as Austin McBroom is concerned, I don't know him as a person, I am apparently one of the few people that does not watch their vlogs. I don't know if this is a trend, based off of the shock, it appears that this kind of just came out of nowhere. I don't know, as a person. I am apparently one of the few people that does not watch their vlogs. I don't know if this is a trend based off of the shock. It appears that this kind of just came out of nowhere.

I don't know, still watching that video, it creeps me the hell out. That said, I will pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts around this situation? Then let's talk about a story that we're somehow talking about in 2019, measles. Right now, New York health officials are battling the state's largest outbreak of measles in recent history,

according to its health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker. And according to reports, there have been at least 105 cases in Rockland County, at least 7 in Orange County, and at least 55 in New York City, mainly in Williamsburg and Borough Park. And understand, these numbers are still expected to rise. Now, the outbreak began back in September. It's thought to be connected to visits to Israel, which has been battling their own outbreak of the measles. Although it's not just them, along with Israel there have been other outbreaks in recent months in Ukraine, Italy, Moldova, and Colombia, among others. Also, according to the World Health Organization, in 2017 around 110,000 people died from the measles worldwide, mostly children under five.

And since the outbreak in New York began, health officials there have been making efforts to get the unvaccinated vaccinated. Over the past three months, at least 13,000 people, mostly young children, have been vaccinated at state and county clinics. More than 40,000 educational flyers have been distributed to homes in the hardest hit communities. In Rockland, we saw more than two dozen schools and daycare centers closed down

because of low vaccination rates, with unvaccinated children being required to stay home for their own protection until they get their shots. Also of note here is the state of New York actually requires all children to receive the measles vaccination before being enrolled into schools, daycares, and pre-K, but there is the state of New York actually requires all children to receive the measles vaccination before being enrolled into schools Daycares and pre-k but there is the exception of waivers that can be applied for in cases where religious beliefs do not allow for

Vaccinations but also I guess double but there are also some reports saying that among private schools There is less enforcement of this policy saying that in some private schools in Rockland County vaccination rates have fallen to around 50% and according to John Lyon a spokesperson forland County, people usually wait until the school or the doctor makes them get vaccinated. In many cases, it seems like they didn't have to do it, so they chose not to do it. With Lyon also adding that enforcing school vaccination requirements seems to have helped with getting children

vaccinated. And something people really need to understand about the measles is just how contagious it is. According to Dr. Tanya Altman, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, measles is one of the most contagious viruses. It's so contagious that 9 out of 10 people will catch measles if they're in the same room as someone who has measles. It's transmitted by sneezing and coughing as well as direct contact with an infected person.

Symptoms include rashes and a fever that usually lasts for several days. Infected people are contagious from 4 days before to 4 days after the rash appears, with young children and pregnant women having the highest risk for severe complications that can lead to death. And so that's why the CDC recommends that children receive the vaccine for measles, which also protects against mumps and rubella, referred to as MMR,

which typically involves two rounds of shots, the first being between 12 and 15 months of age, and the second being between four and six years of age. And going even further, they recommend that everyone, including infants between six and 11 months, be vaccinated before international travel. Also a little history around the measles. Before the vaccine became available back in 1963, nearly all children got the measles by the time they were 15.

With an estimated 3 to 4 million infected in the United States each year. It's also estimated that each year, 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 people were hospitalized, and 1,000 suffered encephalitis or swelling of the brain from measles. And if you've gotten the hint yet that this is an incredibly frustrating story to me, it's largely because back in 2000, the measles was declared eliminated from the United States because there was an absence of continuous disease transmission for more than 12 months.

It was done, it was gone, science prevailed. But due to now anti-vaccination movements and things like the untrue belief that vaccinations are linked to autism, we're seeing more and more of these cases. And according to a CDC report released back in October, the proportion of children receiving no vaccine doses by two years of age rose from 0.9% in 2011 to 1.3% among those born in 2015. And the thing is, when I talk about anti-vaxxers, a lot of people often think of Jenny McCarthy. She, of course, is one of the people with a spotlight that helped popularize the just scientifically unsubstantiated claims that there is a link between vaccines and autism.

It's not just those dumpster fires. Most of these new cases involve children that are completely unvaccinated and in cases partially and some that are connected to the Orthodox Jewish community. In November New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbet said in a statement, The increase in measles cases in Orthodox Jewish communities of Brooklyn demonstrates the importance of getting children vaccinated on time to prevent measles and not put other children at risk.'" Now, while it is not part of Orthodox Jewish beliefs, some anti-vaccination groups have made targeted efforts to reach religious communities. And specifically in this situation, some Orthodox Jews avoid technology and hold rabbinic opinion in high esteem, which leaves them in a vulnerable position. Alexander Rapoport, the CEO of the Mosbya Soup Kitchen Network in Brooklyn and a public face for the Hasidic

community said, being a religious Jew you also get used to having a minority viewpoint. So if something is not mainstream it doesn't take you away from believing it. The Brooklyn based Peach or Parents Teaching and Advocating for Children's Health is one such group. They hand out pamphlets and books to Orthodox Jewish members and use rabbis as authorities which is something that

members take very seriously. So then you have people like Brooklyn Orthodox Rabbi William Handler. Handler is out there saying things like, people that vaccinate their children are engaging in quote, child sacrifice. And I will end this by kind, I feel like I got this point across.

The fact that we're dealing with this is so incredibly stupid, but unfortunately regarding the measles, this is a team game. So please, please, please people out there, spread the word. Get vaccinated. Also, side note, and I probably have a few of these that float through my life now that I have to, I have a kid and I have to deal with other people I normally don't have to deal with. If you are an anti-vaxxer, I think you are so just profoundly fucking stupid. You in no way should ever be featured on a TV station having some debate one-on-one with someone because you're not 50% of the conversation.

You're a small, deluded, ridiculous group backed up by even less, if you can even call it, information. You're only searching for information you can find on the internet that backs how you feel, stupid motherfucker. For you specifically, I welcome your dislikes on this video so I can see how many stupid people passed through. Side note, if you haven't yet, everyone go get your flu shots. And then, let's talk about a story that, I'm almost a little bit surprised that it has continued from the end of 2018 now into 2019, but also it makes sense.

The thing I'm talking about there is the story and the controversy that has continued to follow Kevin Hart around. And if you missed the initial situation, I wanna just super boil it down to bring us back up to speed. Back in December it was announced that Kevin Hart was going to host the Oscars, and then of course a bunch of homophobic,

offensive tweets from his past resurfaced, some as far back as 2009. We also talked about his initial responses back when it happened, and essentially he said that he had already apologized for his past comments, claiming that he was given an ultimatum from the Academy to apologize or lose the job. Kevin Hart then ultimately decided to step down as the host,

issuing that announcement on Twitter, as well as then issuing another apology But the backlash really didn't die down there There were a lot of people that continued to criticize his previous apologies saying they weren't sincere He was also criticized for referring to people bringing up his past as trolls rather than people with legitimate cause for anger people that were bothered Also seem to be bothered that he appeared to feel like the victim in this situation and then time went on and I thought okay Well, maybe this is over then while we were on break from the PDS, Kevin Hart appeared on the Ellen Show.

And in that segment, he explained that he initially wanted to ignore the tweets resurfacing, saying that he'd already addressed them in the past. But as the days went on, the story got bigger and bigger, and so he did. Now the headlines are starting to change. The headlines are Kevin Hart refuses to apologize for homophobic tweets from the past.

The word again was left out. Everybody took those headlines and started to run with it. So now the slander on my name is all homophobia. Now I'm a little upset. I'm a little upset because I know who I am. I know I don't have a homophobic bone in my body. I know that I've addressed it. I know that I've apologized.

I know that I've addressed it. I know that I've apologized. I know that within my apologies, I've taken 10 years to put my apology to work. I've yet to go back to that version of the immature comedian that once was. I've moved on. Nobody's finding the apologies. Nobody's finding the footage from where I had to address it. I had to address it when I did Get Hard promo with Will Ferrell because of my joke that I had about my son. I had to address those tweets in 2012 in a very, very heavy junket where I was asked questions and asked questions about homophobia based on those tweets. And I had to address it and apologize and say I understand what those words do and how they hurt.

I understand why people would be upset, which is why I made the choice to not use them anymore. I don't joke like that anymore because that was wrong. That was a guy that was just looking for laughs and that was stupid. I don't do that anymore. Nothing hits like playoff hockey. The Road to the Cup starts on FanDuel. Your home for live bets all playoffs long. I don't do that anymore. and get more playoff action with North America's number one sportsbook. Please play responsibly. 19-plus and physically located in Ontario. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling

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diesel engine and z71 off-road package with a 2-inch factory suspension lift you get both on-road confidence and off-road capability dirt road ahead let's go truck month is awesome ask your chevrolet dealer for details then ellen goes on to tell kevin that she wants him to reconsider hosting saying she called the academy and they really want him back and in the end He said that he would evaluate everything they had discussed But this interview was met with more backlash and this time for both comedians especially for members of the LGBTQ community like Jonathan Van Ness Who tweeted nothing like enabling someone to mansplain why their homophobic past comments paired with defensive irritated half apologies are totally fabulous Gay men of color in this country face huge stigma caused by this behavior.

Ellen girl, not cool. With others writing, Why didn't you bring black gay men, the ones who the comments were about on the show? How do you, a white woman, decide who gets to receive an apology where you were never the target of the comments? Y'all have got to start using privilege correctly. Others refer to his statements as concocting an alternative history. We also have people looking to Ellen's producer, Andy Lassner, who even responded to some comments criticizing the segment. And one response saying,

Then, earlier this week, Kevin apologized to the LGBTQ community on a SiriusXM show, from the heart. Saying these weren't words that I said to gay individuals. Saying this was our dumbasses on Twitter going back and forth with each other. We thought it was okay to talk like that because that's how we talk to one another. In that, you go, fuck, this is wrong now. And saying in the same episode, if the fight from the LGBTQ community is equality, that's the fight. The fight is the will and wants for equality. I'm riding with you guys, I understand you. But in the fight for equality, that means there has to be an acceptance for change.

If you don't want to accept people for their change, then where are you trying to get to the equal part? Where does the equality part come in? He also addressed a comment from CNN anchor Don Lemon, who criticized Kevin's Ellen interview by saying, Apologizing and moving on does not make the world a better place for people who are gay or people who are transgender. Being an ally does. And Kevin responded by saying that he wasn't interested in doing that because it's quote, Not my life dream. Then after that that this week

He did an interview on Good Morning America with Michael Strahan It appeared that he was there to promote his movie But he also then sat down with Michael Strahan for like 10 11 minutes for this interview if there was one thing that Kevin Hart Really wanted to get across at this point. It was that quote. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it I'm over you're trying to say that you've apologized and People should accept the way in which you've done it even if it's not here the way that they like free would like here's I'm trying to say that you've apologized and people should accept the way in which you've done it. Even if it's not the way that they would like. Here's what I'm trying to say.

I'm over it. He then went on to confirm that he's not going to host the Oscars, but saying, you know, leaving the door open for the future. He then appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he made similar comments. Essentially saying that he refuses to be a part of an endless cycle of apologies. And doing so again on Thursday with an interview published by NPR's Fresh Air. And as far as the Oscars question, right now there is still no host. It's actually believed that there might just not be one. According to reports right now, producers might just be selecting celebrities to introduce segments, be a part of skits, all instead of kind of having to rely on just a single person. And as far as my opinion on

this, I am not a part of a group that may have taken offense to those past comments. I'm a straight white guy. Technically I'm Sicilian slash Italian, which maybe would have mattered several generations ago where people were like calling you a wop and throwing stuff at you. In 2019, people just see me as white bread.

I didn't have to deal with the hurdles, the harassment that members of the LGBTQ community had to deal with. That's not my story, it's one that I can see, it's one that I can hear, it's one that I can hear, it's one that I can try and take time to understand. Right, and so just kind of from the get go, I understand why some people are gonna discount

this opinion, and that's not against you, I understand. And understand, I'm not like, oh, woe is me, poor persecuted me, I'm just saying, I understand that, but I'm still going to give my opinion, even though some of you don't want it. I 100% understand that there are members of the LGBTQ community that feel frustrated and annoyed and annoyed that Kevin Hart at least in his statements can appear that he feels like he is the main victim of this situation And on the other side of it

I can see from Kevin Hart standpoint the frustration and a frustration that he feels because he's had to apologize for his past comments For such a long period of time, but at this point with how long this conversation has continued My big question is well What is the goal that everyone has and how do we move forward? Because it appears that from Kevin Hart's standpoint he feels like he has thrown out apology after apology and his frustration is very on the surface. Right, I have to imagine that mindset comes from a let's say let's just throw a number out there. Here's a mindset of I have apologized six times literally nothing else is going to change or happen if I say it a seventh. Either they hear me, they believe me that I'm trying to become this better person,

that I feel like I've become this better person, or they're locked in, they have this opinion of me, I can't change it, that's just the reality, and why should I continue to grovel? Especially since every time I talk about it, there's another sound bite that gets more people angry. But on the other side of this, you have people like Louis Vertel.

Louis tweeted, I feel like if you're not homophobic anymore, you shouldn't mind apologizing for your past homophobia again and again and again. I don't want to hear a hostile retelling of how we didn't hear your meager apology the first time. And so what I ask to Louis or anyone else, and I ask this genuinely, because as I stated before, I have my different upbringing.

I didn't have to go through the hurdles and trauma of what you have to deal with now and your childhood. What, if anything, would make it okay in your mind and allow someone to continue moving forward? Is it frustration because you feel like it's any and all of the apologies have not been sincere, that he has not evolved or grown and that he has just shielded his true feelings?

Are you of the mind that his career should just be done because this stuff happened? Would you want to see him make a kind of a spectacle or a public donation to an LGBTQ charity? Or would that just be seen as PR or a manufactured move? Have to consistently for the rest of his life lower his head and say, I'm sorry. And I ask all of that because, one, this is a very specific situation, but it's also part of a larger story that has to do with cancel culture in general.

And in a lot of these situations, I don't know what the hell we or others want. And I think in part I ask that because, I mean, for those of you who have been with me for a long time, I- I- and I constantly bring it up, I was a scumbag at times in my past. Right, at times saying ridiculous, over the top, disgusting things just to be edgy and get a reaction and get traction. Like that's someone that now I would call that person

a douchebag of the day. I do personally find it somewhat unfortunate that I think that we'll often lock someone in a box for their past. Obviously not all past actions are the same. There's a massive difference between words and actions, like violence. Yeah, just something this and several other stories

have me thinking about, and that's why I do wanna pass the question off to you regarding what are your thoughts on this? And that's where I'm going to end today's show. And remember, if you like this video, you like these daily dives into the news, hit that like button, it lets us know. Also, if you're new here, you want more of these daily dives,

you wanna get notified, hit that subscribe button, maybe ring 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 Monday.