The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.18 Disturbing Kidnapping Attempt! Billie Eilish Stalker Exposes a Growing Problem, College TikTok Bans

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

Go to https://eboost.com/defranco and use code DEFRANCO to get 30% off sitewide today! Catch Up on Yesterday’s Show here: https://youtu.be/9U1QXpEOw5I Check Out Sunday’s Show: https://youtu.be/v9mdrUVDNbQ – 00:00 - Police Catch Man Who Tried to Kidnap Drive Thru Barista in Viral Video 02:21 - Billie Eilish, Lolo Jones Deal With Scary Stalker Incidents 04:42 - New Revelations in the Faked Death of Susan Meachen 07:08 - Sponsored by eBoost 08:01 - Texas Universities Block Access to TikTok as More Colleges Take Similar Actions 10:30 - McCarthy Prepares to Strip Democrats of Committees After Seating Controversial Republicans – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ Police Catch Man Who Tried to Kidnap Drive Thru Barista in Viral Video: https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-allegedly-abduct-barista-drive-window-arrested-police/story?id=96493272 Billie Eilish, Lolo Jones, Deal With Scary Stalker Incidents: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-17/billie-eilish-restraining-order-home-intruder-los-angeles ​https://nypost.com/2023/01/18/lolo-jones-rages-on-instagram-over-three-different-men-stalking-her/ New Revelations in the Faked Death of Susan Meachen: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/health/fake-death-romance-novelist-meachen.html Texas Universities Block Access to TikTok as More Colleges Take Similar Actions: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/17/ut-austin-tiktok-ban/ McCarthy Prepares to Strip Democrats of Committees After Seating Controversial Republicans: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/18/democrats-prepare-house-gop-deny-members-key-committee-posts/ —————————— Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: Maxwell Enright, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Maddie Crichton,  Lili Stenn, Brian Espinoza, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle ———————————— #DeFranco #BillieEilish #TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Billie Eilish cannot escape these scary creeps. People are trying to kidnap drive-thru attendants now because forcing them to be in their TikToks I guess wasn't cruel enough. The congresswoman who once blamed wildfires on secret Jewish space lasers is now on the House Homeland Security Committee. TikTok is now being banned on college campuses. We've got all of that and so much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, so buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it, you beautiful bastards. Service workers aren't just being disrespected, they're now being kidnapped, beaten, and shot. Like this video that's gone viral

at a drive-through near Seattle. You have the barista going to hand this guy his change, and then you see him yank her hands forward, dropping the money, then throwing a loop zip-tied toward her, trying to pull her through the window, where they're luckily able to fight back, shutting the window and him then driving off. And for the past couple of days,

this scumbag was just out there, with the police releasing the footage as well as a shot of the tattoo on his arm, appearing to read Chevrolet. So millions of people ended up viewing the video, and now with their help, cops have arrested a suspect. And they're thanking the overwhelming support from the community, and this is all a relief. Because yeah, not only is there a question of what the fuck was this guy intending to do once he got her into the car, but also even after he failed this abduction, when would he try it again? Because this isn't like a one-time intrusive thought, most likely. It looks like a premeditated kidnapping at a drive-thru, which is someone

who has done that job, already a shitty job. You got people fighting with you or other customers over food, money, manners. And I thought the new worst things were people that just like harass service workers for funny TikToks. It's not funny. You're just harassing people. But then even that seems so small compared to what we're talking about today. And one of the big issues is that we've seen a lot of this in recent years. Like with this situation, there was a dispute over a receipt. You see a man and woman dragging the female employee out of the window. The anchor hair hit her in the face. Her colleague's able to pull her back inside. And then you have things like at this one KFC, there was a guy who shot the

drive-thru employee because they said they were out of corn. And of course, you might have forgotten this because the whole world's crazy and it's hard to keep track. Do you remember when we covered the story about that guy who brandished a gun at McDonald's workers for getting the order wrong? And then I guess because that wasn't messed up enough, he gave the gun to his four-year-old kid who then shot at police? So where I'll leave you with this is two things. One, for those of you that work in fast food, the service industry, retail, you know, all of that, I'd love for you to share your craziest encounter with a customer. We'll be walking through some of those on Sunday.

And two, if this story can serve as anything, please let it be a reminder to just be nicer to the people who are helping you at the restaurant or the store or the whatever. They're just trying to get a check. They don't need to be the punching bag for your redirected anger. And beyond that, you don't know the other stuff that they're having to deal with or fear, like getting pulled out of a drive through by someone trying to kidnap you. And then Billie Eilish is scared for her life right now, and it absolutely makes sense. Being super famous seems great, but also has to sucknap you. And then Billie Eilish is scared for her life right now and it absolutely makes sense. Being super famous seems great, but also has to suck so much.

Like it must be amazing to get that much love and attention and adoration, but then you have to deal with the dark side of all of those things. Where it goes too far, it's off the deep end that when you are a lightning rod for attention, that means all attention. With Billie Eilish being at the center

of just one of two freaky stalker stories today. With reports breaking that she's now seeking a restraining order against a man who allegedly broke into her family house this month. The man arrested on suspicion of burglary and Billie's restraining order would protect herself as well as her parents and her brother Phineas. But also don't get it confused he was arrested for suspicion of burglary but this goes further. With Billie claiming in her request that the man Christopher Anderson got into her family's Los Angeles home unannounced and uninvited after apparently professing his love for me and expressing that he really wanted to meet me. Apparently he has shown up at her home several times prior to the January incident with police getting called five different times and Billy's father claiming that at one point in December Anderson approached the home and rang the intercom asking to use the bathroom. Also alleging that at

another point Anderson slipped a phone under the gate and then came back the next day to leave a flower and a note where he claimed that at some point in time Billy had been watching Mr. Anderson and writing songs about Mr. Anderson. With Billy saying this has caused her substantial anxiety, fear and emotional stress and she doesn't even feel safe visiting her parents anymore. And all that's scary on its own but it becomes worse when you remember this is not her first time dealing with this. This is just one of the multiple incidents that she has experienced and will likely experience more of in the future. And she's not alone, like I said, this is just one of two today. With Olympic hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones also in the news.

With Lolo writing on Instagram, In the last year, I've had three different male stalkers. Three times now where guys have crossed the line, jeopardized my and my friend's safety, and altered my life. Explaining that one broke into an Olympic training center and stayed overnight hoping to find her. Another harassed her friends in an attempt to get to her. And one stalked her house and told police he knew her from social media and that he had actually been invited to live with her. With Lolo continuing in this post, I'm done. If there was any confusion here, let me be very fucking clear. I'm not interested

ever. This is not the way to go. And in that post, she included what appeared to be security camera footage of one of those stalkers at her door. With her again writing that she doesn't want to date randos who follow her on Instagram. With her also including a slide with advice on what to do if you're in a similar scary situation, right? Because yes, we're seeing headlines about this happening to celebrities, and of course with the attention they get, it's gonna happen to them more, but this is also something that happens

to other everyday people. So what we need to do better as a society and provide more resources, this serves, I think, as a good reminder to try to stay safe, protect yourself out there, and just keep this in mind. And then, the death of romance author Susan Meachin is a hard one to talk about.

Back in September of 2020, Susan passed away. Her daughter posting on Susan's fan page, The Ward, announcing her death to her fans and colleagues. Many coming to the conclusion that Susan must have committed suicide because she would regularly post about her struggles with her bipolar disorder as well as conflict she had with other authors. With one post, for example, from Susan reportedly reading,

"'Every day it got to the point I'd rather be dead than to deal with the industry and the people who swear they're friends. I've had some dog-eat-dog jobs in my life, but this one is by far the most vicious with the least amount of money. And after finding out about her passing, fans and other authors held fundraisers and book auctions in her name. Many also gathering on her fan page to mourn her passing devastated that their community had lost one of its own. Which is also why it was such a shock that on January 2023, two and a half years later, Susan reappeared on her fan page, saying, I debated on how to do this a million times and still not sure if it's right or not. There's going to be tons of questions and a lot of people leaving the group, I'd guess. But my family did what they thought was best for me,

and I can't fault them for it. I almost died at my own hand, and they had to go through all that hell again. Returning to the ward doesn't mean much, but I am in a good place now, and I'm hoping to write again. Let the fun begin. So as it turns out, she wasn she wasn't dead but instead it's being said that her husband and daughter had noticed the toll that the industry was taking on susan all of that coming to a head when her 22 year old daughter found susan unresponsive after she had taken a large dose of xanax susan's husband reportedly instructing their daughter to announce susan's death online despite a recovery and so now her return has sparked some serious outrage and i wouldn't say that it's like 50 50 especially after it was discovered that she was actually still writing under a pen name.

And had even joined her own fan page under it, watching people mourn her. With other authors even accusing her of faking all this to bring more attention to her books. Some former friends of Susan saying they feel betrayed. One even filing a report about the incident to the FBI, and many calling for her to be prosecuted for fraud. But Susan, for her part, says she's not worried about charges. Telling the New York Times she doesn't think that she's broken any laws. And saying, I'm sorry for their mourning, but from a

legal standpoint, I did nothing wrong. Morally, I might have done something wrong, but legally, there's nothing wrong. With that, offering to turn over her financial records to the authorities to show that the family didn't receive substantial donations following her death. And Susan saying she's also decided to not write again, saying that she regrets ever joining the book world. And I, I don't, don't have the words. Why? That's the only question I have. Would there have been a meaningful difference to say like, I'm burnt out, this isn't good for me, and then you just go on with your life versus emotionally manipulating a countless number of people, many of whom probably care for you? I just don't understand the thinking. But I mean,

what are your thoughts? And I also I ask you that in a way that please don't go harass this person That's obviously going through something like I just I don't understand people and then by now you're probably wondering Phil What are you sipping on which is why I got to give a major shout out to the sponsor of today's show E-boost these bad boys taste great and they've been giving me the kick I need to get through my days Plus 110 milligrams of plant-based caffeine won't give me the jitters and superuel has way better ingredients than most other energy drinks that you're going to find. It's sweetened with honey, fortified with 10 essential vitamins and minerals, nootropics, electrolytes, and antioxidants, and was voted best energy drink of 2021 by Eat This, Not That. And it has no artificial colors or sweeteners, and it's great for everyone, whether you want everyday energy, you're working late, have jet lag, or have a

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and use code DeFranco to get 30% off site-wide. And get on it now, because that 30% off deal never happens and it's their best deal ever. And then TikTok is getting spanked right now. And it's way harder than whatever it was that you walked in on your parents doing that one time. Because like we've talked about in the past,

state governments have been cracking down on the app, banning it from being used on official devices. In fact, according to a new analysis, the app's now been at least partially barred from government devices in half of all states. But now these bans are impacting a major demographic unexpectedly, students at public universities and colleges.

But also doing so in the classic government way of half-assedly and not really at all, it's just kind of annoying. With the ban now impacting students' devices because a number of universities yesterday in Texas announced they were blocking access to the app on campus networks. And in an email to its more than 50,000 students,

officials at the University of Texas at Austin wrote that the decision is a response to Governor Greg Abbott's recent directive that all state agencies pull the app from government-issued devices. Noting that as of Tuesday, that will include the university's wired or Wi-Fi networks, and saying they're doing so to eliminate the risks of information contained in the university's network and to our critical infrastructure. And adding as outlined in the governor's directive,

TikTok harvests vast amounts of data from its users' devices, including when, where, and how they conduct internet activity, and offers this trove of potentially sensitive information to the Chinese government. Though notably there, there are exceptions for law enforcement, investigation matters, and academic research. But since that announcement, spokespeople of multiple other Texas schools have announced similar restrictions. UT Dallas, the Texas A&M University system, which is a really big one. I mean, that's a statewide network of 11 universities, 153,000 students, as well as 26,000 faculty. Also, looking into this more, Texas isn't in the first place as this is happening. Multiple public universities across

Oklahoma and Idaho have banned access, as has Auburn University in Alabama. War Eagle! Also, don't get confused. I'm not an Auburn fan for the three of you that care about college football that watch this show. But the time they beat Bama off of that missed field goal and they ran it all the way back. Ah, top 10 memory. I was in a room full of Bama fans. It was best thing ever. But back to the story at hand, also impacting Georgia universities. You get the picture. It's happening everywhere. And as far as why it said these bans are massive, your Texas Tribune say, the ban could have broad impacts, especially at universities,

serving college-age students, a key demographic that uses the app. Also noting university admissions departments have used it to connect with prospective students, and many athletics departments have used TikTok to promote sporting events and teams. That, of course, now obviously going to change. But hey, this is a big deal that it's happening, but it's also going to blow your mind that it's not a fucking big deal at all Because to access TikTok under most of these policies you just have to get off the Wi-Fi and use a personal device We're talking about the number of people potentially impact being in the hundreds of thousands if not millions

We're also talking about the most tech savvy generation that fucking exists right now I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say they're just gonna switch off their Wi-Fi or go to other Wi-Fi. Still, the fact that this is happening and escalating should be concerning for TikTok as a company. And then we need to talk about the clown show inside of a dumpster fire that is Kevin McCarthy and the House of Representatives. This story is kind of connected to why I was so annoyed at the Democrats who were like doing all that political theater when the Republicans couldn't agree to actually elect McCarthy. They're eating popcorn, reading the art of not giving a fuck. So cute. And it minimizes the just insanity that we are going to experience over the next two years. And there's really no shortage of things I

could be talking about here, though. Today, I am specifically talking about McCarthy and his handling of committee assignments. Because already, McCarthy has been making a number of highly controversial decisions that have been condemned heavily by the Democrats. Just yesterday, he gave two committee assignments to the newly elected representative George Santos, despite the fact that he has faced calls from both sides of the aisle to step down for lying about pretty much every aspect of his damn life, with the most recent accusation that he's facing being that he conned a disabled homeless veteran out of money that was meant to save his service dog. With the fact claiming that Santos set up a GoFundMe, raised several

thousand dollars, and then just closed it, took the money, disappeared, couldn't get a hold of him. He eventually had to put the dog down several months later. But also, it goes beyond Santos' committee assignments, with McCarthy definitely getting way more flack for also giving two committee seats each to representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, all of which had been stripped of those privileges in the Democrat-controlled Congress. Greene, of course, was removed from her assignments with bipartisan support from 11 Republicans shortly after she was sworn in, after social media posts surfaced of her supporting and making anti-Semitic and racist remarks. You know, the old Jewish space lasers debacle of 2021. While Gosar was taken off his committees for sharing that video on Twitter that was edited to make him look like he was killing

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Also, probably not a great thing that both MTG and Gosar went to Nazi Nick Fuentes' conference in the past. And the thing is, with both of them, they're not just getting assignments, they're getting very powerful assignments. Both Greene and Gosar have been placed on the House Oversight Committee, which is all but set to launch a number of investigations into President Biden, Hunter Biden, and a number of other heavily politicized issues.

And at that point, McCarthy has also faced a lot of backlash for also putting two other controversial Republicans on that committee as well, Warren Boebert and Scott Perry. For Boebert, the criticism is kind of self-explanatory. The woman is batshit crazy. Like, I could fill an entire other video with all the just crazy bullshit she's done. But Perry is actually the bigger standout here. Because in addition to doing all the usual inflammatory

election denying shit so far that we've seen a number of Republicans do, he is also specifically under extra scrutiny because his phone was seized by the FBI as part of the January 6th probe. But don't confuse how outlandish and ridiculous this situation is with even being surprised by it. McCarthy is doing what he promised he would do if he became Speaker. And if any news outlets out there are downplaying the importance of McCarthy actually following through here, they're doing a disservice to you. Now, as far as the White House's response to all we're seeing here, they said, what we are witnessing are Republicans handing the keys of oversight to the most extreme members of the Republican caucus who promote violent rhetoric and dangerous conspiracy theories. And adding, it appears that House Republicans may be setting the stage for divorce from reality

political stunts instead of engaging in bipartisan work on behalf of the American people. But also understand with these appointments, it's not over yet. McCarthy out loud before all of this swore revenge. After Democrats voted to remove Greene and Gosar from their committees, McCarthy swore that he would make them pay. And now he's poised to remove at least three Democrats from their committees. Specifically, he's expected to deny Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell their previously held seats on the Intelligence Committee, Schiff because of his role in the probe into Trump's ties to Russia and his first impeachment, and Swalwell because of his ties to an alleged Chinese spy. But many have noted that both of these claims are dubious. Additionally,

McCarthy said he will strip Representative Ilhan Omar of her spot on the Foreign Affairs Committee because of comments she made a few years ago that were condemned as anti-Semitic. Comments she also ended up apologizing for. But also with that, specifically of people saying this shows McCarthy's hypocrisy. Saying Omar is being stripped of committees over accusations of being anti-Semitic, whereas Greene is actually getting hers back after losing them for the same reason. But hey, all of that is to be expected. We live in a divided time, but McCarthy is specifically setting things up in Congress right now for things to be especially polarized and fucking messy. And remember, this is just one thing, and this is the beginning. We're going to see political theater. We're going to see targeted revenge campaigns. We are likely going to see the country held hostage

with things like the debt ceiling. I truly don't know if we're ever going to realize where bottom is on this situation, because I think that McCarthy is completely fine with the tail wagging the dog because he has worked his life to get this speakership. And as we saw with the 15 votes to get him into that position, there is a small but meaningful minority of Republicans that will drag him through the ground to get their way. And that is where today's show ends. Remember to leave comments down below

on whatever stories mattered most to you. We're gonna be talking down there as well as on the Sunday Community Show. But as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.