The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.18 DisgustingShawn Mendes Scandal Exposes A Lot, Zac Stacy, Rittenhouse MSNBC, Julius Jones, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Just wow, man. I just, I want to say, like, I've been getting a lot of criticism about saying, like, I only have this show so I can shill clothing that I drop from beautifulbastard.com, and here's the main thing I want to say. That could not be further from the truth. The goal of my content has always been to spread common sense news coverage to start conversation. But just the fact that there are people in my audience that think so little of me, I just, I don't even... That feels nice. I don't even, like honestly, did someone drop you on your head? But also, here's what I'm going to close on. I know my true fans, the majority of people that watch me know who I really am, that this isn't about building up hype for November 22nd at beautifulbastard.com, probably 6 a.m. Eastern time. So with that now said and done, let's get to work. Welcome back

Starting point is 00:00:44 to the Philip DeFranco Show. Hit that like button if you want me to punch you in the throat, and let's just jump into it. Hey y'all, the first thing we're gonna talk about today, it's kind of light news, but also maybe not, and that is because we had Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello in the news, because apparently they broke up,

Starting point is 00:00:56 which, all offense intended, is news that does not matter. If you're one of these people that's like, like, our love's not real because these people I don't know in real life, they broke up, and blah, blah, blah, no, just stop it. You don't know who these people are outside of these people that's like, our love's not real because these people I don't know in real life, they broke up and blah, blah, blah. No, just stop it. You don't know who these people are outside of the image that they've projected to you on social media.

Starting point is 00:01:10 You don't know them behind doors. It, like if that is the entire story, that is a story that does not matter. But this has also sparked a larger conversation about speculating about private lives. Because the way this went down is that the two posted matching statements on their Instagram stories, saying we've decided to end our romantic relationship,

Starting point is 00:01:24 but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever. With the two reportedly having been together for two years, so there were a lot of big reactions, right? Some people reacting in that way of, oh no, love's not real. Others saying that they weren't surprised because this was a fake relationship, like something put together by Hollywood.

Starting point is 00:01:38 And then others, and this is kind of where the main spotlight is, where all the conversation and debate's happening, a number of people saying they believe that Shawn Mendes is gay. Even spawning numerous viral TikToks like this one. What do you mean Camila and her gay best friend broke up? What do you freaking mean?

Starting point is 00:01:51 No, this is a lie. I don't believe it. They had such a good friendship going. He's gay. She loves and supports him anyways, and he's gay. And look at the vest that he's wearing. You know? And it's like, after two years,

Starting point is 00:02:03 you're just gonna call it quits on your gay best friend like that? I just don't... I think it's fake. I don't think it's like after two years, you're just gonna call it quits on your gay best friend like that? I just don't, I think it's fake. I don't think it's real. But this conversation, this theory, this debate, it's not a new one. This has been long standing. In fact, it's something that Mendez himself

Starting point is 00:02:15 has addressed in the past, telling the Guardian in 2020. There was a desperation for me to come out as being gay, which is such a ridiculous thing. I got upset because I know people who are gay who haven't come out, and I know the suffering they experience because of that. It's just completely ignorant and insensitive of people to be on that shit. And this wasn't like an outlier solo statement. He soon after that went on the Armchair Expert podcast and explained. It's such a tricky thing. You're right. You want to say

Starting point is 00:02:35 like, I'm not gay, but it would be fine if I was gay. But also like, I have nothing wrong with being gay, but I'm not, you know, like you don't really know how to respond to the situation. Everyone's calling me gay since I was 15 years old and I'm not gay. And I'm like, well, what does that mean? And I had these problems with the way my voice sounded. I'm like, how do I sit? Like I'm always first to cross my legs and sit with like a position of this feminine type of style.

Starting point is 00:02:56 And I really suffered with that. But of course, with people being people, the internet being what it is, that it not stopped the speculation. And now with this breakup, there's a whole new wave. But also while this is happening, we're seeing this breakup, there's a whole new wave. But also, while this is happening, we're seeing a number of people trying to shut that down. People tweeting things out like,

Starting point is 00:03:09 "'Calling Shawn Mendes gay is not the flex "'y'all think it is. "'If he is gay, y'all are essentially trying to out him. "'And if he's not, you're going against everything "'we preach about sexuality and behavior not being synonymous. "'And if someone says they're straight, "'believe them until they say otherwise. "'Speculation and being outed are the exact things

Starting point is 00:03:22 "'you didn't want to happen to you. "'Stop.'" And so with all of that said, I do want to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this? I, one, I will say I'm not talking about Shawn Mendes being gay or not. I could not care less if he is.

Starting point is 00:03:33 Rather, what are your thoughts regarding the conversation and debate around speculation, as well as some people saying that it's akin to outing? Yes, no, maybe so. Any and all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below. Then, in cool business slash creator economy news, though it's a little weird

Starting point is 00:03:45 because I ended up being a part of this story. The all-in-one creator commerce platform, Fourth Wall, announced today that they have raised $17 million, allowing creators to sell absolutely amazing merch-run membership programs, just like a Patreon. Maybe you have a subscription-only newsletter. It's got cameo-like features, tipping, and more, all with you as the creator being front and center.

Starting point is 00:04:04 And speaking from a personal place by using their tools their tech Being open to their expertise. I've been able to 10x the revenue from my drops It just overshadows all my other income sources now and connected to this news. My mom's gonna be so happy I finally have a real job It started as one of the first creators to use the platform fell in love with it started getting involved with you know What we can what can we do for creators moving forward. And today, I have officially been announced Chief Creator Officer. So one, to any creators or consumers out there that are like, oh my god, I have this idea or that idea, feel free to message me.

Starting point is 00:04:33 Like, I have ideas and visions and goals, but I'm just one guy. And working with this team, I mean, it's so exciting to, like, everyone I work with, they're just the best at what they do. It's really made me feel like, oh, this is a collaboration. Two, to the creators out there that watch me, I don't care if you're small, you're large, whatever size, there are solutions, sign up. You have to submit an invite request

Starting point is 00:04:51 because we wanna make sure that we grow at a rate where we can actually focus on each individual creator. Finally, three, especially if you are an engineer, we are hiring. I'm gonna put the link down below for the hiring as well. Part of what we're doing with this funding is we are doubling the engineering team. So yeah, I'm gonna keep it positive today,

Starting point is 00:05:06 not shit on any of our competitors, but it's a very exciting day. And then while I cannot show you the video in question, I will link to it down below, though I will also give you a trigger warning. It is one of the most fucking horrifying things that I've seen in a long time. But it's a video that's gone absolutely viral

Starting point is 00:05:20 on social media showing former NFL running back, Zach Stacey, beating the hell out of the mother of his five-month-old child who, by the way, is just feet away as he was doing it. Swinging at her, punching her, throwing her around, he throws her across the room through a TV. The entire time she's just begging him to stop. He finally, thankfully, storms off. After the incident, she called police. She's also filed for a restraining order. She also reportedly had to go to the hospital for these injuries. As far as what kind of transpired, it appears that he does not live there, but rather he came over around 2 p.m. the day that this was filmed to see his son. And really, I think the only way that I can close this story is someone who just watched that video in horror and also as someone that grew up around

Starting point is 00:05:56 domestic violence. In my opinion, Zach Stacey doesn't belong in prison. He belongs under the fucking prison. Fuck you, Zach Stacey. You're a fucking garbage human being and you belong where the garbage goes. Then I guess because I'm not done raging and I wanna talk about more people that maybe should go underground. Let's talk about 20 year old Christopher Belter who was just sentenced to New York

Starting point is 00:06:16 for sexually assaulting four women in four separate incidents at his parents' home. Reportedly Belter and all the victims were teens at the time of his attacks, which happened over an 18 month period starting in February of 2017. And what ended up happening here is that after initially being charged

Starting point is 00:06:27 with more serious crimes, Belter eventually agreed to plead guilty. The third degree rape, attempted sexual abuse, and two misdemeanors. Right, and so with all of that, he was facing up to eight years in prison. But during sentencing this week, Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III

Starting point is 00:06:40 said that he had prayed and agonized over his decision, saying that yes, there was quote, "'Great harm done and multiple crimes committed in this case, but then adding, quote, it seems to me that a sentence that involves incarceration or partial incarceration isn't appropriate, with him ultimately only ordering Belcher to register as a sex offender

Starting point is 00:06:56 and serve eight years of probation. Fucking probation. And so understandably, his ruling reportedly shocked the courtroom, obviously disappointing the victims and their lawyers, with one even saying, My client threw up in the ladies room following the sentencing. And adding, if Chris Belter was not a white defendant from a rich and influential family, he would surely have been sentenced to prison. The truth of what went on and what he did to his victims is far more egregious than the charges he pleaded to. Also,

Starting point is 00:07:18 this is likely not the last you'll hear of this disgusting mess of a case because according to reports, Belter's house was known as a party house, with authorities also accusing people close to Belcher, like his mother, stepfather, and a family friend, of helping to groom the victims with alcohol and marijuana, with them all pleading not guilty to their own set of charges, but we're also gonna have to just wait and see what happens next.

Starting point is 00:07:35 And as far as those calling to remove the judge, it's already gonna happen, and not because of his absolutely disgusting and pathetic sentencing here, but because he is about to turn 70 next month, which is New York's mandatory retirement age. And yeah, where I'll end the story is I'll just leave the reactions to you

Starting point is 00:07:50 because I feel like with some of these stories today, I'm just, I'm gonna get in trouble. But from that, I wanna take a second to thank the sponsor of today's show, NordVPN, or more directly, nordvpn.com slash Phil. With the holidays quickly approaching, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that most of those must-have tech toys,

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Starting point is 00:08:38 It's nordvpn.com slash phil and it's all risk free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee. And then let's talk about one of the boogeyman words that we've been seeing lately, inflation. You know, understandably, we've been covering this a lot as far as how it affects the United States, but this might be a shock because we're incredibly self-involved, but there are other countries out there

Starting point is 00:08:55 that are also being impacted. The UK, for example, released government data yesterday showing that inflation in the UK is reportedly accelerated at its fastest rate in nearly a decade. But the economy is saying that the acceleration is mainly due to a surge in energy and fuel prices amid growing global demand.

Starting point is 00:09:07 But some have also pointed to signs that higher costs caused by persistent bottlenecks and global supply chains are being passed on to consumers. And on top of all that, reports are saying that the UK is also feeling some of the fallout from Brexit, which adds to the cost of doing business with the European Union, its biggest trading partner.

Starting point is 00:09:20 As we have new data that's higher than what analysts were predicting, news also likely to strengthen expectations for the Bank of England to become the first major bank to lift interest rates from pandemic lows to tackle rising prices, and all that adding to the fears of global inflation intensifying since we know it's not the only economy seeing price spikes right now. Now the hope, and what many experts believe,

Starting point is 00:09:36 is that this trend will settle as COVID-19 recedes, but they're ultimately predictions, and like we've talked about with a lot of these inflation stories, a lot of the predictions have been wrong. And then, you know, a lot of people, and maybe even yourself, you have concerns. Like what would happen if someone saw my search history?

Starting point is 00:09:50 What would happen if that certain friend group chat got out? People got the transcript. Well, I'm not gonna try and put away your fears for that, because a lot of that's probably valid. Instead, I want to give you another fear. How thoughtful of you, Philip DeFranco. But yeah, let's talk about Amazon Because this morning Wired published a bombshell report called Amazon's Dark Secret It has failed to protect your data

Starting point is 00:10:11 And among the most headline-grabbing claims of this article is that you had an anonymous former service representative saying that low-level employees would regularly look Up the purchases of celebrities like Kanye West and unnamed Avengers actors saying this became such a common invasion of privacy that workers even reportedly discovered one unnamed celebrity's dildo purchases. But reportedly it's not even just celebrities. Like I hope you have not pissed off someone that works at Amazon because allegedly people have looked up purchases of exes or even their current partners.

Starting point is 00:10:36 With one former customer service manager saying, everybody, everybody did it. Even though Amazon made it clear they weren't supposed to. Which regarding Amazon, they have denied much of this. Saying we strongly reject the notion that abuse of these privileges is common. However, it's reportedly not't supposed to, which regarding Amazon, they have denied much of this, saying, we strongly reject the notion that abuse of these privileges is common. However, it's reportedly not that hard to do this, and as of 2015, executives became aware

Starting point is 00:10:51 that this sort of voyeurism was an issue. With Amazon's internal security systems reportedly being so bad and so lax that Gary Gagnon, who was once vice president of Amazon's information security team, telling Wired it was all put together with tape and bubble gum, with Wired adding that according to his description,

Starting point is 00:11:04 it, quote, seemed like everyone on the network had access to nearly everything, including customer information, and yet there was no insider threat program dedicated to preventing rogue employees from abusing their access while he was there. Also outside of that, he said that he found other glaring security issues

Starting point is 00:11:16 after he stepped into his role at the company. For example, saying in May of 2017, workers found that for two years, the names of American Express card numbers of up to 24 million customers had sat exposed on Amazon's internal network, saying that while that flaw was later corrected, there was no actual way of knowing

Starting point is 00:11:29 if someone actually looked through the information. Reportedly, that's because their data logs only stretch back 90 days. Also, in another concerning incident, accounts belonging to Chinese employees allegedly bypassed the company's customer service platform and changed emails of 36,000 customer profiles, with Wired noting that the move, quote,

Starting point is 00:11:43 "'Would have allowed attackers to take over customer accounts and use them for fraud.'" And keep in mind, like what we're talking about today, it's not all the accusations, not even all the top level accusations from the article. Of course with that, I'll link to it down below. But in the meantime, I would love to know your thoughts on this.

Starting point is 00:11:56 And then even though we're still waiting for a verdict regarding Kyle Rittenhouse, that does not mean there's not news happening. In fact, just today, the judge overseeing the murder trial banned journalists working for MSNBC from the courtroom. Right, and as far as details, during a brief hearing this morning, Judge Bruce Schroeder said the Kenosha police

Starting point is 00:12:10 reported yesterday that they noticed a car following the bus carrying the jurors and pulled the driver over after he ran a red light. With the judge going on to say that the driver, who he identified as James Morrison, said he was a producer working with MSNBC. With Morrison allegedly saying that a person with the network in New York,

Starting point is 00:12:24 who Schroeder identified as Irene Bayon, had instructed him to follow the jury bus. With Morrison allegedly saying that a person with the network in New York, who's shorter identified as Irene Bayon, had instructed him to follow the jury bus. With the judge going on to say the matter was under investigation and adding. I have instructed that no one from MSNBC News will be permitted in this building for the duration of this trial. This is a very serious matter

Starting point is 00:12:41 and I don't know what the ultimate truth of it is, but absolutely it would go without much thinking that someone who is following the jury bus, that is a very, it's extremely serious. What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders.

Starting point is 00:13:22 Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Groceries that over-deliver. $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. And then a statement on Twitter today. The Kenosha Police Department confirmed that, quote, a person who was alleging to be affiliated with a national media outlet was briefly taken into custody and issued several traffic-related citations. Police suspect this person was trying to photograph jurors. This incident is being investigated much further and added,

Starting point is 00:13:42 there was no breach of security regarding the jury, nor were there any photographs obtained. This investigation remains active and open, no further information. We also saw NBC issuing a statement to the media this afternoon, partially confirming reports, but denying certain aspects saying, last night a freelancer received a traffic citation.

Starting point is 00:13:57 While a traffic violation took place near the jury van, the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations and never photographed or intended to photograph them. We regret the incident and will fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation. Right, and with this, as you'd expect, there have been multiple different reactions. Some condemning MSNBC and accusing them of trying to intimidate the jury or dox the jury. Others, though, defending the outlet, saying,

Starting point is 00:14:18 we don't know what really happened yet, and the judge acted preemptively. But yeah, for now, we have to wait and see what comes from this investigation, and obviously still wait to see what happens with this jury and a verdict. And then definitely the last thing that we should talk about today is Julius Jones because he just narrowly avoided being executed today. If you're unfamiliar with the situation, the whole thing has been extremely controversial from the start. So let's talk about it. We have to go back to 1999 where Jones was convicted for murder that even up until today he has sworn he did not actually commit. There, a man named Paul Howell was shot and killed in front of his sister and daughters

Starting point is 00:14:46 while they were sitting in his SUV outside his parents' home in Edmond, Oklahoma, with the killer then getting away in Howell's SUV. And according to Howell's sister, Megan Tobey, who provided the only eyewitness account of the event to police, the shooter was a black man whose face was covered by a red bandana and who wore a beanie

Starting point is 00:14:59 covering all but an inch of his hair around his ears. And since then, Howell's family, who has repeatedly asserted that Jones, who was arrested three days after the shooting, is the murderer. And in fact, police later found the gun confirmed to have killed Howell in the attic space above Jones's bedroom closet,

Starting point is 00:15:10 with it even being wrapped up in a red bandana. And so ultimately what we see is in 2002, Jones convicted and sentenced to death. However, with this case, you also have a lot of people saying, hey, the evidence around Jones's conviction does not add up. For one, Jones repeatedly had a nearly shaved head at the time of the incident,

Starting point is 00:15:24 that seemingly not matching Toby's description, though some have argued that it might anyway. Two, Jones's family claims that he was at home eating dinner at the time of the shooting, however, none of them were able to actually testify in court, including Jones himself. And three, many believe that a man named Christopher Jordan actually killed Howell.

Starting point is 00:15:39 And that for a few reasons, the first being that Jordan seemed to more closely match Toby's description of the shooter. And at the very least, we know that Jordan was involved because Jordan actually claimed to be the getaway driver. And in fact, he testified against Jones in court as a state star witness in the case. And because of that, he only ended up serving 15 years

Starting point is 00:15:53 in prison, ultimately being released back in 2014. However, three other people have publicly come out and said that Jordan privately told them that he killed Howe and framed Jones. This including a man by the name of Roderick Wesley, who was housed in the same prison as Jordan. And in fact, last year, Wesley told reporters that Jordan admitted to the killing in 2009 saying,

Starting point is 00:16:09 quote, my co-defendant is on death row behind a murder I committed. On top of that, Jones' attorneys have claimed that Jordan planted the gun in his closet to frame him. Though a forensic test later found Jones' DNA on the bandana. And so with a case that has now spanned over two decades, naturally there's a lot of back and forth,

Starting point is 00:16:23 lots of arguments, lots of counter arguments. However, most notably you have Jones's family summing this up as a story about racial bias in the criminal justice system. Right, because for example, in addition to everything I just mentioned, Jones has claimed that the officer who first arrested him called him the N-word, dared him to run

Starting point is 00:16:37 so that he could shoot Jones. And then in the trial itself, 11 of the 12 jurors were white, with one also allegedly calling Jones the N-word and saying that he should be lynched outside the courthouse. And so with all that, as well as some aspects we just don't have the time to get into,

Starting point is 00:16:48 we've seen protest after protest, people lobbying for Jones's execution to be reversed. Including yesterday where we saw students of multiple high schools walking out of class to protest, those protests continuing, and today, people begging governors to intervene and stop the execution. With a clemency petition even garnering

Starting point is 00:17:02 6.5 million signatures as of this morning. Also capturing the attention of multiple high profile celebrities including Steph Curry and Kim Kardashian who has been very outspoken about this case. Calling this the cold machinery of the death penalty in America. Meanwhile you had Jones' attorney trying anything they could like this morning filing an emergency status quo injunction

Starting point is 00:17:19 to stay the execution given that an inmate executed last month convulsed after being administered a sedative. And ultimately what we ended up seeing is that with less than four hours before Jones was set to die at the hands of the state, Stitt commuted the execution. And saying in a statement, "'After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials "'presented by all sides of this case,

Starting point is 00:17:34 "'I have determined to commute Julius Jones's sentence "'to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.'" And immediately you had protesters erupting in cheers. Jones's attorney also saying, "'Governor Stitt took an important step today "'towards restoring public faith "'in the criminal justice system by ensuring "'that Oklahoma does not execute an innocent man.'"

Starting point is 00:17:50 However, on the other side of this, you have Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor saying that he is greatly disappointed in this commutation. This, even though he added that he recognizes Stitt is making what he believes is the right decision. Powell's family also saying they're taking comfort that Stitt's decision affirmed the guilt of Julius Jones. But also, this story and the conversation around Jones' conviction is not over. There's many now saying they're taking comfort that Stitt's decision affirmed the guilt of Julius Jones. But also this story and the conversation

Starting point is 00:18:06 around Jones's conviction is not over. Many now saying things like, "'We still need to get him out of prison. "'Thankful that his life was saved, "'but he is still innocent "'and should be released and reimbursed.'" And the good news for Jones and those that support him is he now has time for that to maybe happen.

Starting point is 00:18:19 But ultimately that is where that story and today's show ends. Of course, whether it be this final story, the first one, anything in between, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below. And to close it out, as always, my name is Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you next time.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.18 DisgustingShawn Mendes Scandal Exposes A Lot, Zac Stacy, Rittenhouse MSNBC, Julius Jones, & More

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