The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.19 Chik-fil-A's "Betrayal", Taylor Swift's Messy Win, Disney+ Hacks, & Iran's Protests

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you have a fantastic Tuesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. We have a large show for you today, which on that note, if you like the larger shows, hit that like button. But with that said, let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is the further politicization of a chicken sandwich.

Starting point is 00:00:15 So yesterday, the Chick-fil-A Foundation released a statement saying that starting in 2020, they will be giving to a quote, smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness, and hunger. And the organizations that they will be giving to a quote, "'smaller number of organizations working exclusively "'in the areas of education, homelessness, and hunger.'" And the organizations that they will be partnering with in those areas include Junior Achievement USA, Covenant House International,

Starting point is 00:00:32 and the local food banks in 120 communities. But notably missing from this list were organizations that Chick-fil-A had come under fire for in the past. And specifically, we're talking about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army. And this because both of those organizations

Starting point is 00:00:44 have been criticized for having homophobic views. On their website, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army. And this because both of those organizations have been criticized for having homophobic views. On their website, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes states that sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, which they define as between one man and one woman. And on their student leader application form, they require applicants to sign a sexual purity statement, which states that homosexual acts are a sin.

Starting point is 00:01:00 And then as far as the Salvation Army, even though right now they have a part of their site devoted to helping the LGBTQ homeless population, in the past, the group had gotten in trouble for their stances. Like in 2012, when a spokesperson for Salvation Army implied that gay people deserve to die in a radio interview with Australian reporters.

Starting point is 00:01:14 Right, and if you don't remember that situation, you had a lot of people saying that they were gonna boycott Chick-fil-A for supporting these groups. Granted, not all people, there was also massive pushback, and we're gonna touch on that in a second. You know, regarding Chick-fil-A, it's still believed that this has hurt them.

Starting point is 00:01:24 I mean, just the last year alone, Chick-fil-A canceled the opening of a location in Buffalo, New York after backlash, announced the closure of its first UK location just days after it opened, and saw massive protests when it opened a Toronto location in Canada, right? And so many have seen Chick-fil-A's choice to not donate to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Starting point is 00:01:39 and the Salvation Army anymore as them addressing this backlash. And so that's why there have been a ton of different reactions to this news, right? Some praising the company for this decision, saying that they can finally eat there, though obviously not everyone. There were others that were a bit more cautious

Starting point is 00:01:51 and afraid that the company might not be as forward thinking as it appears. With tweets like, just because they make some tiny concession doesn't mean they have suddenly changed into nice people. At their heart, they are evil to the core. We also saw the Salvation Army release a statement that didn't mention Chick-fil-A by name,

Starting point is 00:02:04 but expressed disappointment with the choice, writing, "'We're saddened to learn that a corporate partner "'has felt it necessary to divert funding "'to other hunger, education, and homelessness organizations, "'areas in which the Salvation Army, "'as the largest social services provider in the world, "'is already fully committed. "'We serve more than 23 million individuals a year,

Starting point is 00:02:19 "'including those in the LGBTQ plus community,' and adding, "'In fact, we believe we are the largest provider "'of poverty relief of the LGBTQ plus population. "'When misinformation is perpetuated without fact, "'our ability to serve those in need, "'regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, "'religion, or any other factor is at risk.'" And then as far as reactions,

Starting point is 00:02:36 you also had people that were genuinely angry and disappointed. Some saying they saw it as the company abandoning their Christian values. You have people like Mike Huckabee calling it a betrayal, writing, "'In August, 2012, I coordinated a national Chick-fil-A appreciation day after they were being bullied by militant hate groups.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Millions showed up. Today, Chick-fil-A betrayed loyal customers for money. I regret believing they would stay true to convictions of founder Truett Cathy. Sad. With others saying things like sad to see a company that so many admired for staying faithful to their beliefs cave in to the leftist mob.

Starting point is 00:03:04 What's next? open on Sundays? To which, if I can just insert my opinion, that would be great. I think Chick-fil-A needs to flip it. I was raised Catholic. If instead, when you do that, you know, that whole thing where it's like, this is the body of Christ and it's a little wafer, they gave me a Chick-fil-A mini,

Starting point is 00:03:16 I'd still probably be a Catholic. But I'm getting off track. There were also some people speculating as to why now. Right, you had a number of people saying that it might've been Popeyes that forced this move. With tweets like, wild how Chick-fil-A finally says they're gonna chill on donating to anti-LGBT groups

Starting point is 00:03:29 right after Popeyes drops a sandwich that got lines over an hour long where some stores just straight up sold out. Ah, well, probably just a coincidence. Though on that note, according to a Business Insider report, they spoke to a representative from the company who said that Popeyes had nothing to do with this

Starting point is 00:03:41 and that it was something that had been in the works before the sandwich. But also before you cheer and or boo, something important to note about Chick-fil-A's new donation policy is that while it does not include the Salvation Army or Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 2020, it could down the road with Chick-fil-A releasing a statement saying,

Starting point is 00:03:56 "'They will reassess its philanthropic partnerships annually "'to allow maximum impact. "'These partners could include faith-based "'and non-faith-based charities.'" So there's all of that, but I think the main point of this story is the best spicy chicken sandwich is actually from Wendy's, at least compared to the two other options

Starting point is 00:04:11 that people have been debating. Come fight me, he said sarcastically. But with this story, I do wanna ask, what are your thoughts around the situation? Do you see this as a good move, betrayal, not that deep? Any and all thoughts, I'd love to see in those comments down below. And then let's talk about what the hell is going on

Starting point is 00:04:26 with Taylor Swift, Scooter Braun, Big Machine Records, and the AMAs. This whole situation has been this very public mess. Right, and what we're seeing now is kind of a buildup that started back in 2018. In November of 2018, we see Taylor Swift announce that she's found a new home at Republic Records, writing on Instagram that it was, quote,

Starting point is 00:04:43 "'Incredibly exciting to know that I'll own "'all of my master recordings that I make from now on.'" This seemingly in contrast to the deal that she had with Scott Bruschetta and Big Machine Records, who notably still owned the masters of all her old work. Masters that were also more notably purchased by Scooter Braun, which following that news, we saw Taylor Swift write on Tumblr,

Starting point is 00:04:59 "'Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine "'the buyer would be Scooter Braun. "'Anytime Scott Bruschetta has heard the word "'Scooter Braun escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing, they both did, controlling a woman who didn't want to be associated with them in perpetuity.

Starting point is 00:05:13 That means forever. Right around that time, this started this kind of back and forth. It's Scooter Braun's wife telling Taylor Swift to get her fact straight, alleging that Taylor Swift passed on the opportunity to purchase her master's, also adding, who are you to talk about bullying?

Starting point is 00:05:24 Also, Bruchetta making claims that Taylor Swift had every opportunity to purchase her masters. Also adding, who are you to talk about bullying? Those are bruschetta making claims that Taylor Swift had every opportunity to purchase her master. It's something that Taylor Swift's lawyer later denied. We then saw Taylor Swift in August say that she was going to re-record her older songs. This beginning in November of 2020 when she would be legally allowed to do so.

Starting point is 00:05:37 Things then kind of went quiet for a while and then all of a sudden on November 14th, you see Taylor Swift share this long note on Twitter. And there she says that the AMAs, the American Music Awards, will be honoring me with the Artist of the Decade Award, saying that she was planning to perform a medley of hits, but Scott Bruschetta and Scooter Braun have now said

Starting point is 00:05:52 that I'm not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I'm allowed to next year. Also mentioning that Netflix has created a documentary about her life, but then adding, Scott and Scooter have declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project. This even though there is no mention of either of them

Starting point is 00:06:08 or Big Machine Records anywhere in the film. And then adding, Scott Bruchetta told my team that they'll allow me to use my music only if I do these things. If I agree to not re-record copycat versions of my songs next year, which is something I'm both legally allowed to do and looking forward to,

Starting point is 00:06:21 and also told my team that I need to stop talking about him and Scooter Braun. And going on to say, I feel very strongly that sharing what is happening to me could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate. The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up

Starting point is 00:06:35 or you'll be punished. And then going on to tell fans, please let Scott Bruchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this. Scooter also manages several artists who I really believe care about other artists and their work. Please ask them for help with this.

Starting point is 00:06:45 I'm hoping that maybe they can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote." Then in response to that we saw Big Machine Records release a statement on the 15th saying they were shocked to see Taylor Swift's statements yesterday based on false information. And adding, at no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor's decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record,

Starting point is 00:07:13 in which we do not financially participate. And then adding, the truth is, Taylor has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars in multiple assets to our company, which is responsible for 120 hardworking employees who helped build her career. And going on to say, "'Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist.

Starting point is 00:07:28 All we ask is to have a direct and honest conversation.'" And following that, you had Taylor Swift's spokesperson denying the accusation that she owes them money, and in fact saying that they actually owe her money in unpaid royalties. But then on November 18th, we got good news. Maybe, I don't know, it's confusing. On the 18th, we see Big Machine Label Group

Starting point is 00:07:45 release a statement saying that they and Dick Clark Productions, who are producing the AMAs, announce that they have come to terms on a licensing agreement that approves their artist's performance to stream post-show and for rebroadcast on mutually approved platforms. This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances,

Starting point is 00:07:59 and adding it should be noted that recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media. Record label approval is only needed for contracted artist audio and visual recordings and in determining how these works are distributed. But following that, Dick Clark Productions released a statement saying,

Starting point is 00:08:14 "'At no time did Dick Clark Productions agree "'to create, authorize, or distribute a statement "'in partnership with Big Machine Label Group "'regarding Taylor Swift's performance "'at the 2019 American Music Awards. "'Any final agreement on this matter "'needs to be made directly "' regarding Taylor Swift's performance at the 2019 American Music Awards. Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift's management team. We have no further comment.

Starting point is 00:08:30 So as of right now, it does appear like Big Machine Label Group is saying, yes, she can perform. Dick Clark Productions is like, hey, we didn't even touch this thing. Right now as to whether Taylor Swift will actually perform those songs, it's unclear. We'll have to wait and see, but of course, like with all the stories,

Starting point is 00:08:45 I would really love to know your thoughts on this one. And then let's talk about Disney+. You know, it's been out for about a week now, very notably after it launched, we saw reports that over 10 million people signed up on the first day. And you know, the hype around this was very real. Disney stock shot up.

Starting point is 00:08:58 You had people flooding social media about things old and new, some kind of just rewatching shows for the first time in years, some saying they would die for Baby Yoda. Now, a good amount of that immediate hype for Disney Plus is starting to calm down, and we're also now seeing some bad stuff.

Starting point is 00:09:12 And specifically, I'm talking about we're seeing reports that thousands of people have had their accounts stolen. Actually, even on November 12th, right, the day that Disney Plus was released, you had people saying that their accounts had been hacked, which is a problem we only saw continue to get worse into the weekend. And with a lot of these claims of hacked accounts,

Starting point is 00:09:26 we also saw people tweeting out pictures of users on their profiles that they didn't recognize. Others saying that hackers had changed their emails and passwords multiple times. Some saying they'd been locked out of their accounts altogether. You had people waiting on the phone for hours to get their accounts back.

Starting point is 00:09:38 Some saying they were successful. Some saying they were still locked out. And so with all of that, then we started seeing reports that those stolen accounts were actually being posted for sale on the dark web. And so with all of that, then we started seeing reports that those stolen accounts were actually being posted for sale on the dark web. And so with this, you had the BBC actually bring in a cybersecurity researcher to look into those claims.

Starting point is 00:09:50 And in an article posted this morning, that researcher found more than 4,000 Disney Plus accounts for sale on the dark web. And those listings showing the type of subscription, right? Whether it was a solo or for example, if they got the Disney Hulu ESPN bundle. Also the country it was bought in, when the user signed up, when the account expired.

Starting point is 00:10:05 Reportedly, some of those accounts were being sold for as little as $3. Some were actually even being offered for free. Right, but the full potential problem here isn't that, oh no, someone got access to my subscription to Disney+, which is what? $7 a month without the bundle. One of the big issues is that it's likely

Starting point is 00:10:18 that many of the accounts that were stolen, right, that are the people that had their accounts stolen, that those people might use the same information and notably passwords for different sites. Which actually, on that note, it's actually possible that some of the had their accounts stolen, that those people might use the same information and notably passwords for different sites. Which actually on that note, it's actually possible that some of the Disney Plus accounts were hacked by using other accounts that had already been hacked.

Starting point is 00:10:30 But also very obviously this can work in reverse of that, notably for Disney because Disney accounts are linked together. Which is why some people are worried that their Disneyland or Disney World tickets will be compromised and in fact, we've already seen people complaining that their Disney Vacation Club accounts

Starting point is 00:10:42 have been hacked along with Disney Plus. Now what we've seen from Disney is that they have responded to the situation. Disney has said it doesn't believe that its systems have been compromised. In fact, we had a spokesperson for Disney Plus saying, "'Disney takes the privacy and security "'of our users' data very seriously,

Starting point is 00:10:55 "'and there is no indication "'of a security breach on Disney Plus.'" Now understand, that's not Disney saying that a problem does not exist, it's just that they are not responsible for it. Although, around this, you have people saying, "'Even if it's not a new problem, right, this is an issue with people signing in

Starting point is 00:11:08 or using the same user and password on multiple sites, that Disney should also use things like two-factor authentication. But yeah, that's the situation, and if there's a kind of a final thing that I could add to this story, if you have the same password for multiple sites, you should definitely start changing those. Also, while I'm not inside Disney,

Starting point is 00:11:21 I don't know if there was actually a breach or not. I personally agree with those that say this is not a new problem. For example, a while ago with Netflix, I started wondering why the hell Portuguese subtitles were popping up. I was like, what does Netflix know that I don't know? Then I got an email alert of an odd sign in from Portugal.

Starting point is 00:11:35 And then I realized, oh damn, this was the last place that used a very, very old password that I had that I had on multiple accounts. But yeah, there's that. And then let's talk about the situation and these massive protests going on in Iran. So since this last Friday, Iranians have held demonstrations all over the country.

Starting point is 00:11:48 This after the government announced that they would hike up fuel prices from between 50% to as much as 300%. With Iran's President Rouhani saying that this increase would raise up to $2.55 billion that would then be handed out to about 60 million of Iran's poorest people, which is a massively significant number

Starting point is 00:12:02 because that country only has around 80 million people total. Right, so with this, you had a number of people arguing that this really didn't make sense, saying that the government was basically making everyone pay more for gas than just give that money back to most of the population anyway. This was also an incredibly significant announcement because gas in Iran is insanely cheap.

Starting point is 00:12:17 They have the world's fourth largest crude oil reserves. Before the price hikes, people were only paying around 25 cents a gallon for gas in Iran. Even though these new gas prices, right, they're still low compared to global gas prices. It was still a huge deal for Iran where so many people right now are struggling due to economic downturn and high inflation. So just like other protests that we've talked about in places like Chile and Lebanon, a single decision by the government to raise prices on a population that was already hurting was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Starting point is 00:12:41 And like the protests in those other countries, that decision prompted much broader demonstrations against economic issues and corruption. So following the government's announcement, we saw drivers abandoning vehicles on highways and protesters taking to the streets, blocking roads. While protests in some places have been largely peaceful, others have become violent.

Starting point is 00:12:57 In some places, protesters set fires and ransacked gas station, banks, stores, and government buildings. Demonstrators also clashed violently with security forces who responded by using tear gas. Those clashes reportedly escalating Saturday with some reports that the forces were opening fire on protesters.

Starting point is 00:13:12 But the full extent of the protests and the violence is not totally clear right now. And that's because the government imposed sweeping internet restrictions on Saturday that have been kept in place ever since. When I say the word internet restrictions, right, it really doesn't convey how massive a thing I'm talking about.

Starting point is 00:13:25 The internet monitoring service, NetBlocks, described this shutdown as a near total. And Oracle's internet intelligence described it as the largest internet shutdown ever observed in Iran. And regarding the situation, you had government officials today in Iran saying that they would gradually lift the block once they were sure that the internet

Starting point is 00:13:39 would not be quote abused during the protest. Also today, a judiciary spokesman said that the protest had died down, but there are some conflicting reports on that. And because the internet is still blocked, we basically just have the government's word, which, hey, personally, I don't find myself inclined to believe a government that would turn off the internet.

Starting point is 00:13:54 Now, as far as the casualties, you have Iranian officials saying that 12 people, including both civilians and security forces, have been killed, but others say that those numbers are actually much higher. You had the UN specifically saying that dozens had died. Well, some have said that it's actually even more, with Amnesty International saying today

Starting point is 00:14:09 that based on credible sources, they believe that 106 people had been killed. And according to reports from Iranian journalists, there have been well over 100 shootings by the security forces. But again, to reiterate, this internet blackout makes it uniquely difficult to know what's correct here. This blackout is also unique compared to protests

Starting point is 00:14:24 that we've seen recently, specifically the protests in Iraq and Lebanon, where social media has been absolutely essential in organizing the protests, as well as sharing what's actually happening on the ground to the rest of the world. Also, another thing that makes this situation unique is the role that the United States has played.

Starting point is 00:14:37 Many of Iran's economic problems have stemmed from the heavy sanctions the United States has placed on them. Brief, oversimplified history here. The United States, under the Obama administration, had previously lifted sanctions on Iran as part of the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at curbing Iran's civilian nuclear program. But in May of 2018, Trump withdrew from that deal

Starting point is 00:14:52 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, including sanctions on their oil exports, which was a huge sector of their economy. And since then, the Trump administration has continued to ramp up those sanctions, saying that a maximum pressure campaign is more effective to crack down on Iran's government. But regarding that, we've also seen many economists and human rights activists saying that a maximum pressure campaign is more effective to crack down on Iran's government. But regarding that, we've also seen many economists

Starting point is 00:15:06 and human rights activists saying that the sanctions actually end up hurting Iran's civilian population way more than the government. Though on the note of the population, we saw Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressing the protests in a tweet Friday, writing, as I said to the people of Iran almost a year and a half ago,

Starting point is 00:15:18 the United States is with you. Following that, you had Iran's foreign ministry condemning Pompeo's tweet, saying in a statement that Pompeo's remarks were hypocritical, and adding, "'It seems weird to see sympathizing with a nation "'suffering from the U.S.'s economic terrorism "'and the same person who has already said

Starting point is 00:15:32 "'that the Iranian people should be starved to surrender.'" But following that, we saw the Trump administration seem to double down on that position, with the White House saying in a statement on Sunday, "'The United States supports the Iranian people "'in their peaceful protests against the regime "'that is supposed to lead them. "'We condemn the lethal force and severe communications

Starting point is 00:15:46 restrictions used against demonstrators." But following that, you had many people criticizing the White House response, arguing that the United States is partially to blame for Iran's economic problem, with them also accusing the administration of painting the protests as just demonstrations against the government when that's only part of the equation. Right, with some pointing out that the Iranian government

Starting point is 00:16:01 implemented the fuel price hike in the first place as part of a broader plan to mitigate the huge economic hit from the US sanctions. But ultimately, that's where we are with the situation right now. You know, we've seen Iranian government officials, you know, for their part, continuing to downplay the protests, with Iran's supreme leader saying

Starting point is 00:16:13 in a televised statement on Sunday, the counterrevolution and Iran's enemies have always supported sabotage and breaches of security and continue to do so. Also saying that he still supports the price hike, saying that it must be implemented. And while all of this is being said, it also seems like things are set up

Starting point is 00:16:25 for this to escalate even further, with reports saying that yesterday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned protesters that they will take decisive action if the unrest continues. Yeah, ultimately that's where we are with this story now, and of course, I pass the question off to you, what are your thoughts around this? And that's where we're going to end today's show.

Starting point is 00:16:39 And hey, if you liked this video, hit us with a like. If you're new here, you want more of these daily dives into the news, hit that subscribe button, definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, you're looking for more to watch, you can check out that last podcast I did with Eugene Lee Yang right there,

Starting point is 00:16:53 or maybe dismiss yesterday's Philip DeFranco show, you wanna catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch either of those right now. 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 11.19 Chik-fil-A's "Betrayal", Taylor Swift's Messy Win, Disney+ Hacks, & Iran's Protests

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