The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.22 Hollywood's Palestine Purge Exposes A Lot, Disturbing Viral Rant Shocks The Internet, & Today's News

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

Go to https://buyraycon.com/defranco to get up to 50% off sitewide!  Https://BEAUTIFULBASTARD.COM BLACK FRIDAY SALE JUST DROPPED! UP TO 75% OFF!! shhh this is a secret link: https://youtu.be/pbrCd3euZO8?si=QoSu4CYoszEkfWS6  –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 0:00 - Stuart Seldowitz Recorded Spewing Islamophobic Language at Food Vendor 3:45 - Hollywood’s Palestine Purge: Melissa Barera, Susan Sarandon, & More 7:38 - Sam Altman Reinstated as Open AI CEO 9:43 - Sponsored by Raycon 10:42 - Netflix & Prime Self-Censor Content to Appease Right-Wing Indian Government 14:49 - Israel and Hamas Reach Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages 16:15 - Your Thoughts on Yesterday’s Show  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxx Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #JennaOrtega #TomCruise ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking about Hollywood's Palestinian purge, former Obama advisors disturbing anti-Palestine ran going viral, Israel and Hamas finally agreed to a hostage exchange, after all the chaos Sam Altman is now back at OpenAI, we're talking about all that and so much more in today's brand new Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, but first this is your last friendly reminder. The Black Friday Cyber Monday sale over at beautifulbatcher.com is live along with the brand new drop. And there's really been no better time to snag some stuff for yourself or a friend.

The new stuff is 20% off and stuff that's been on the site is up to 75% off right now. Yeah, I just wanted to let you know as we go into the Thanksgiving extended weekend, we got a lot of news to talk about today, so let's just jump into it. Starting with, have you ever wondered like what causes someone not only to say crazy shit, but also say that on camera and blow up your career and your life. Because that is exactly what this man did after harassing a halal food truck in New York City, saying things like, you know what, if we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what, it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. So that is Stuart Seldoitz, a career diplomat who served as

acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate. Based on his comments, some might think, oh, he's a Trump official, but he was reportedly around during Obama's time in office. And actually, the craziest thing is that he was a deputy director in the U.S. State Department's Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1999 to 2003. So he at least had to pretend to be working with both sides while apparently having these views. Also, that same video has the two going back and forth for over two minutes before Seldoitz leaves. During that time, Seldoitz threatens things like, I'm gonna put big signs here that say this guy believes in Hamas.

And the vendor whose name we haven't found so far seems to have the patience of a saint because he never raises his voice and just asks Seldoitz to leave. Seldoitz seemingly because of the man's accent assumes the vendor is operating illegally or in the US illegally leading to this exchange. You have no right to be on the sidewalk.

You have a permit? Yeah, I have a permit. I have a license. Okay, but you don't have a visa. I have a visa. Go. What do you have? It's not your business.

Go. Oh, it is my business because I actually know the guy who owns all these- I have American citizen. You have it? You're an American citizen? Yeah, I have it. How? How did you become an American citizen?

It's not your business. Go. No, you're right. I was born here. But you're a terrorist. You support terrorists. No, I'm not American citizen. Do you have it? You're an American citizen? Yeah, do you have it? How? How did you become an American citizen? It's not your business. Go. No, you're right. I was born here. But you're a terrorist. You support terrorists. Listen, go. I'm not supporting something.

But yeah, the vendor doesn't have to tell Seldoitz a damn thing. Nor would it be unheard of to be born as a citizen abroad, leading to an accident or being born in the US before leaving at a young age. Which can also lead to an accident or, you know, the other many ways that people become US citizens. None of which are Seleldowitz's business. But also, one of the crazy things is that this is just the tip of the iceberg in one video. Just hours before this event surfaced, a different one was making its way across the web where Seldowitz is seemingly threatening the man's family. Where based on context clues, it seems that Seldowitz thinks the guy's Egyptian, and he may be, we don't know.

So Seldowitz threatens to warn the Egyptian authorities about him and says, Samarad in Egypt will get your parents. Does your father like his fingernails? They'll take them out one by one. With that same video showing Seldoitz blasting the guy's English saying it's the reason he's working in a food truck and quote See that just shows how ignorant you are. Also saying things like Mohamed was a child molester. Over also in that clip at least one guy comes up and tells Seldoitz to stop.

You know with this so far we only have the footage from the food truck side We have no idea really what led to these exchanges or Seldowitz's accusations that he supports Hamas and terrorism But based on Seldowitz's actions like it seems clear He's just going out of his way to harass this man You know because of these videos surfacing online and the backlash to his comments there have been some repercussions Seldowitz has reportedly been sacked from his role at the lobbying firm Gotham Government Relations, which tweeted, Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation

with Stuart Seldoitz, an individual who hasn't contributed to our work in years. And adding, the video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm. And all of this,

as Seldoitz, as of recording, hasn't commented on this situation yet. But considering that he knew that he was being filmed the whole time, I really wouldn't be surprised if he just doubled down. And then, Hollywood's Palestinian purge. That's what some are calling what Hollywood is doing right now over the split, over the war in Gaza. Starting with things like the Melissa Barrera situation. But then it was breaking yesterday that Melissa was fired from her role in Scream 7 over a recent post on social media regarding Israel and

Palestine. Right, since the war broke out, she's been using her platform to speak out in support of Palestine, saying things like, Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp, cornering everyone together with nowhere to go, no electricity, no water. People have learned nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. This is genocide and ethnic cleansing. She's also been resharing other posts and articles, some referring to Israel as colonized land, and others including a reference to, quote,

the distortion of the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry, but then all of that leading Spyglass Entertainment to drop her from Scream 7. And since then, many have claimed that she was fired for openly supporting Palestine, but a spokesperson from Spyglass has said that Melissa's posts were considered anti-Semitic, and saying, Spyglass's stance is unequivocally clear. We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or anything that flagrantly

crosses the line into hate speech. And with that, Melissa has previously denied antisemitism, sharing on Instagram a few weeks ago, "'It is important for me to clarify "'that when I say free Palestine, "'I do not in any way mean kill all Jews.'" With her adding that she wants freedom and safety for all Palestinians and Jews around the world.

And while she has yet to provide an official statement on her dismissal from Scream as of recording, she did share a photo on her Instagram earlier this week that read, at the end of the day, I'd rather be excluded for who I include than be included for who I exclude. So with all this, you have a lot of people upset about the news. Saying things like this Melissa Barrera shit is infuriating. The definition of anti-Semitism is being devalued so fast and in such bad faith that it will soon lose all meaning, which probably isn't great for the Jews long term. Alas, by definition, Zionism doesn't care about anything but itself. Also, the situation of people pointing to Jenna Ortega saying, you know, she too has been supportive of Palestine, so will she be fired from Scream next? Or, you know,

maybe will she quit in solidarity? And in fact, we just learned today that Jenna will not be returning for the new Scream movie, but reportedly not because of Melissa's dismissal. That is what a number of people have been tying it to, though you have sources telling Deadline and Hollywood Reporter that Jenna told Spyglass Studios that she wouldn't be returning to the franchise months ago. But regarding the recent controversies, you know, it's not just Melissa who's gotten the axe in Hollywood. You have other situations popping up,

like actress Susan Sarandon being dropped by her talent agency following her comments at a rally in New York City. There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence. There it's also worth noting what she also said

to the New York Times in an article about the rally, saying, there's a terrible thing that's happened where antisemitism has been confused with speaking up against Israel. I am against antisemitism, I am against anti-semitism I am against Islamophobia Despite that the United talent agency has since confirmed to several outlets that Susan is no longer a client of theirs We're also seeing situations like one of the top agents at creative artists agency not getting fired

She technically maintained her job But she was relieved of her duties as co-chief of the motion pictures department that coming after an Instagram post where she said what's more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide witnessing Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening. And in this case, we actually saw that she got the support of the agency's biggest client, Tom Cruise. But Cruise reportedly taking the rare trip into the CAA office to show his support for the agent. And in fact, she also has the backing of a group of CAA assistants who threatened to walk out over the agency's treatment of that agent, saying that management railroaded her, but then decided to give up the threat. However, there are also other agents who say that she should have been fired for her comments,

as the agency has previously done that to one staff member and two clients. So the agent has reportedly since deleted the post and apologized for it. And all this playing out is not everyone's taking a stance. Right, notably, the Writers Guild has deliberately remained silent on the issue, much to the disappointment of some of its members. Last month, the WGA president also said they would not be issuing a statement saying, quote, "...consensus is out of reach." And that really does appear to be the case with this issue causing some deep rifts within Hollywood, an industry that notably usually presents the United Front

on political issues. You know, with all that said, I got to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here as we're seeing the situation develop? And then we're going to talk about my favorite dumb chaotic story of the week. And that is the update to the Sam Altman open AI fiasco this week. Because now, less than a week after the update to the Sam Altman OpenAI fiasco this week. Because now, less than a week after he was fired, Sam Altman is back in the big chair over at OpenAI. And all this is just so amazing, because when you think of, like,

possibly one of the most important companies of this decade, you imagine, oh, the people involved have to be grownups in the room. They have to understand what's at stake. They're just not capable of the shit show that we've seen over the last week. Which, just quick recap, last Friday, Altman was fired out of nowhere, leaving investors baffled. With then a bunch of OpenAI senior researchers following him, and the board then backpedaling faster than he could say incompetent, trying to

get Altman back, but he insisted on a new board, and they refused. He then had two different interim CEOs being named, and Altman accepted a position with Microsoft. That was then followed by nearly all of the 770 OpenAI employees signing a letter threatening to walk out if the board didn't reinstate Altman and step down themselves. And one of the people that signed was actually a board member who led the push to fire Altman in the first place, which was super weird. But then all of that bringing us to last night where Altman is back as the CEO of the company with a new board, and only one of the former members holding his seat. Which, on the note, the current board consists of three members whose main directive is setting up a full board of nine,

which will likely include Altman, but notably he doesn't currently hold a seat. And as part of his return, Altman agreed to a full investigation of the events, leading up to his dismissal on Friday, so we'll have to wait and see what comes from that. Also notably, along with Altman, returns OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who resigned in solidarity. You know, everything that we're seeing with this quick reversal here is likely to prevent an employee walkout to appease investors. That, and arguably there is a question of, you know, what is this company if everyone leaves? Also, as far as Microsoft, they're pretty happy with this new-slash-old arrangement as well,

with their CEO saying, We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well informed and effective governance. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners. But yeah, you know, I guess we'll see how this plays out. And hopefully we do learn more because once again, this was so random and chaotic. Like I can't wait for whatever the Hulu Netflix doc looks like. And then are you looking to keep the gift that keeps on giving this year? Don't miss the Black Friday Cyber Monday deals from today's sponsor, Raycon.

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after talking to some two dozen sources about the streaming giant's rampant self-censorship in the face of political pressure from India. Where you've got executives and their lawyers asking for extensive changes to scripts and the removal of passing references to religion that might offend the Hindu right-wing. Projects that deal with India's political, religious, or caste systems are politely declined when they're proposed

or drop midway through development. Sometimes even completed series and films have been quietly abandoned and withheld from Netflix and Prime Video from their more than 400 million combined viewers worldwide. And while the pressure has been building and building for years, the real watershed moment for the industry came back in January of 2021, because that was when Hindu nationalists whipped up anger toward the Prime Video series Tantav. And it's supposedly because one scene mocked a Hindu god, but the show also depicted police brutality against student leaders and farmer protests. And so viewers in nine states filed coordinated complaints with police,

and authorities actually descended on Mumbai to interrogate actors and producers. With Prime Video's India head executive hiding inside safe houses and going radio quiet to avoid arrest. And still to this day, several cases alleging she hurt Hindu sentiments remain in the court despite Prime Video's attempts to have them dismissed. And this as she can't leave India without seeking permission from the police. So with all this, you have a former director of production management for Netflix India recalling, streaming executives had to review the projects going forward. You wanted to make sure that you were not making the same mistakes that happened to Tandav. And all this as Hindu nationalists were then given another legal tool by a 2021 law requiring streaming companies to resolve viewer complaints within 15 days. Otherwise, they would

then face regulatory scrutiny by an industry body or a government committee staffed by various ministries. So the self-censorship kicked into high gear, and its first casualty after that was Gorman, a satirical show about the absurdity of Indian politics. And all nine episodes had already been shot for season one. It was publicly scheduled to stream immediately after Tandav, but then it suddenly vanished without a trace. Prime Video instead releasing what one industry executive called a makeup film about an Indian archaeologist whose discoveries prompted him to reconsider his atheism. And with all this, you had Netflix taking notice of the trouble its competitor Amazon was having with the government, and Netflix's India chief reportedly telling the company's global leaders that its India office should not take risks or they might

also face the possibility of jail. One of the most high-profile casualties here was Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. Right, Netflix poached him after it entered India in 2016, looking to produce edgy Hindi-language shows for a mass audience. And in 2018, he co-directed what the company's then-chief executive called the first big spectacular Netflix series to come out of India, the crime thriller Sacred Games. The show, which includes hard drug use, sex, and profanity, featured a gangster anti-hero who mocks his pious Hindu father and instigates religious violence. And it was a massive hit, but pretty soon the police complaints came rolling in. With Hindu nationalists targeting not just Sacred Games, but shows like Laila, a Handmaid's Tale-style series about a Hindu dystopia. As well as a series showing a Muslim boy kissing a Hindu girl in a temple, which provoked a BJP party official to complain.

After that one, police registered a criminal case against two Netflix executives, but no arrests were made. Though the hashtag Boycott Netflix began to trend on Twitter, so by the time the Tandem backlash came in 2021, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. And that year, Netflix suddenly shelled what Kashyap called his magnum opus, a three-part adaptation of the non-fiction book Maximum City, which explores Hindu anti-Muslim bigotry in the 1990s. Right, and after that, investors just wouldn't touch him. So then he drained his personal savings and borrowed money to make another, less provocative film, but that ended up flopping. And so he sank into depression, he drank heavily, he suffered two heart attacks.

And with all this, him saying, Maximum City was where all my energy went. I was heartbroken. I totally lost it. And adding, why greenlight it? Then change your mind. It's invisible censorship. Unfortunately, you know, all of this is really not a surprise given the economic incentives at play here. Streaming revenues in India are projected to balloon more than 20% a year from $2.6 billion in 2022 to $13 billion in 2030. So these streaming giants will do whatever it takes to not lose access to one of the biggest entertainment markets in the world. And it's the same exact story with social media

giants like Facebook and Twitter, which were more defiant years ago, but now cave to political pressure more easily. I mean, hell, even the government, right? The Biden administration has been reluctant to take a hard line on India because it hopes to enlist the country as an ally against China. And that is unfortunately the way the world works. Money and power come first, everything else comes second. And understand, I'm not saying that's the way the world works. Money and power come first, everything else comes second. And understand, I'm not saying that's the way it should be, that is the way that it is. And then, after weeks of fighting and Israel capturing large parts of Gaza City, we have big news for both sides. There is now a deal for a hostage exchange and a four-day truce.

Specifically, in exchange for 50 Israeli women and children being released, Israel would in turn release Palestinian women and children being held in custody. And on top of that, they would also allow in a large number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid. The deal in question was reportedly negotiated with Qatari intermediaries, and the exact time of the ceasefire will be announced within the next 24 hours. Although you have Israeli officials telling outlets that it'll be at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The deal also has clauses that could let the ceasefire last for as long as 10 days, with Netanyahu saying that for every 10 additional hostages released, another day would be added to the ceasefire. Also, Qatar's chief negotiator in the deal is urging the international community to seize this brief window of opportunity to generate further momentum for the diplomatic track. And overall, we've seen this deal being

met with praise on the international stage. But then online, it has been met with a mixed response. You know, while some people are happy that at least a truce is now in place, they're upset that there's a delay to its starting. And you also have people angry that, quote, this deal was an offer weeks ago, but Israel kept nixing it, saying earlier pressure could have saved thousands. This is not an accomplishment of Western diplomacy. It's a failure of it. Though there we also saw pushback, people saying the reality is that, you know, Israel was never going to agree to such a deal without first doing serious damage against Hamas. But for now, the main thing that I want to focus on is that this is welcome news unless it falls apart in the 11th hour. Because what we don't need is

more dead civilians and hopefully this ceasefire can last as long as possible. But of course, with that said, I'd love to know your thoughts on the situation. And then let's talk about yesterday today. We take a look back at yesterday's show. We dive into those comments and see what stories stood out to you, what your thoughts on it were, what your connections sometimes are to them. And yesterday, and this was a surprise to me, a lot of the top comments had to do with WIC. With y'all saying things like, "'As a Canadian watching the US ban abortions,

"'then refuse to renew WIC to help the increasing amount "'of low-income mothers just really makes me hate humanity "'more and more.' As well as, "'I've watched this show for well over a decade "'and nothing Phil has ever said has scared me as much "'as the WIC story. "'I'm a mom on WIC. "'I've been on WIC for three years "' decade and nothing Phil has ever said has scared me as much as the WIC story. I'm a mom on WIC. I've been on WIC for three years since I became pregnant with my firstborn.

My secondborn is seven months old and on hypoallergenic formula. His formula is literally $40 a can. We wouldn't be able to afford formula if we didn't have WIC and I couldn't breastfeed. The fear of my baby starving is overwhelming. I don't understand how anyone can support slash vote for people who want to take money away from people who need and don't have it Republicans do not care about their constituents They only care about themselves and their wallets others adding reducing wick funding anytime is abhorrent, but especially around the holidays is pure evil Absolutely evil also in addition to that

There's a lot of conversation around twin flames universe and that whole scandal people saying things like it's fascinating how hard that twin flame cult Completely misrepresents every single spiritual term they use. Others agreeing, saying, yeah, it's like they took a gaslight seminar. Others sharing that twin flames is insane. As a fellow lonely person who is not physically built for dating apps and not mentally capable for random interactions, it's just beyond effed up that there are two people just taking pure advantage of that for money. It's tough enough as it is, and there are just legions of people using bots and now cults to try and prey on vulnerable people. Which, also with this, you know, there's the docuseries on Netflix right now. There's been a lot of conversation also happening online, and

one thing that, like, really stood out to me was, how is this guy the leader of, you know, what they refer to as a cult? There are people saying he is, like, one of the least charismatic, cringey human beings out there. People wondering, like, doesn't that go against the prerequisite? Also, going back to the comments, we had people saying things like, I binged the Twin Flames series over the weekend. The one thing that kept standing out to me was how desperate people seemed to be to find their soulmate and didn't want to be single. People feeling this perceived pressure to find love and companionship make them more susceptible to organizations like this cult. Society needs to learn that being single isn't terrible and there isn't something wrong if you can't find a romantic partner. With people agreeing and adding, not to mention it puts unrealistic expectations that your partner will be perfect.

No one is perfect and there's a reason it's generally a bad idea to get married after you've only known someone for a month. But that is where we're going to end your daily dive into the news today. Remember, for more news you need to know and that secret thing I've been doing, I got you covered right here. You can click or tap or I got links down below. And not, like always, I say, thank you for watching. I love your face. I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving and I will be back here next Monday.

And in the meantime, I just wanna say, thank you for being a part of my online family. I am thankful for you. Love ya, bye.