The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.8 New Disturbing Travis Scott Astroworld Details, Negligence, Failures, Lawsuits, & Today''s News

Episode Date: November 8, 2021

Shoutout to Keeps! Go to https://www.keeps.com/defranco to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment. More PDS: https://youtu.be/Jk1rEw62U8A TEXT ME! [phone] Get More Phil: https://linktr.ee/PhilipDeFranco -- 00:00 - Lawsuits Filed Following Travis Scott Astroworld Tragedy 07:49 - Jeff Bezos Pokes Fun at Leonardo DiCaprio After Twitter Video 08:56 - Sponsor 09:40 - Elon Musk Promises to Sell Tesla Stock Based on The Results of A Twitter Poll 11:41 - Missing Teen Saved After Using Distress Signal She Learned on TikTok 13:07 - Conservatives Outraged by Big Bird’s Vaccine Tweet 14:21 - House Passes Infrastructure Bill -- ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ Lawsuits Filed Following Travis Scott Astroworld Tragedy: https://roguerocket.com/2021/11/08/lawsuits-filed-travis-scott-astroworld/ Jeff Bezos Pokes Fun at Leonardo DiCaprio After Twitter Video: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-08/jeff-bezos-pokes-fun-at-leo-dicaprio-after-twitter-video?sref=LxPlVnZb Elon Musk Promises to Sell Tesla Stock Based on The Results of A Twitter Poll: https://roguerocket.com/2021/11/08/musk-twitter-poll/ Missing Teen Saved After Using Distress Signal She Learned on TikTok: https://roguerocket.com/2021/11/08/missing-teen-saved-after-distress-signal/ Conservatives Outraged by Big Bird’s Vaccine Tweet: https://roguerocket.com/2021/11/08/conservatives-slam-big-bird/ House Passes Infrastructure Bill: https://www.axios.com/house-approves-infrastructure-bill-36cc16f0-480e-402a-a260-ff17976184f7.html —————————— Executive Producer: Amanda Morones Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxwell Enright Art Department: Brian Borst, William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Cory Ray, Brian Espinoza, Maddie Crichton, Lili Stenn, Neena Pesqueda Production Team: Zack Taylor, Emma Leid ———————————— #DeFranco #TravisScott #Astroworld ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So we need to talk about and break down the absolute insanity of Travis Scott's Astro World Festival in Houston. So we're talking about 50,000 people in attendance. Right now, there's an investigation still underway to try and figure out what the hell happened. But what we do know is that chaos actually began early in the day when fans began storming

the entrance of the event, things apparently then getting even worse when Travis took the stage around 9 p.m. With Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena telling reporters, the crowd, for whatever reason, began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed. They were unable to escape that situation.

With police actually declaring the concert a mass casualty situation at 9.38 p.m., but Travis Scott still performed until around 10.10 p.m. Right, we're talking about at least eight dead, an estimated 300 injured. Of those who died, they were between the ages of 14 and 27. And of those injured, 25 went to the hospital on Friday, some in critical condition, and in fact,

according to NPR, 13 were still in the hospital Saturday afternoon. And notably, while all this was happening, right, while you have Travis performing, you have fans trying to get the attention of Travis, security, or really anyone to help. As far as more of a timeline and a breakdown, you had the Washington Post reviewing videos taken by fans

at that show and finding that around 9, 12 that night, a group of fans were already screaming for help while Travis was performing. The Post also syncing some of the videos up with Travis's performance and at one point while Travis was asking fans to make noise for a person sitting in a tree people in the crowd were chanting for a medic. There's also footage of fans trying to alert the camera crew that was filming the show for Apple Music. At one point, we see one fan even arguing with other concertgoers who didn't seem to care that he was telling them that people were dying in the crowd. With this happening as Scott paused the show upon seeing flashing lights in the crowd, but then resumed it after asking fans to put their hands up if they were ready.

People are f***ing dying. I'm gonna say to my son. That's the vice king. Who answered are dying, I'm gonna stick to my size. That's the Vice Chief, I want it. Two hands to the side. I'm gonna save them. Two hands to the side, two hands up, y'all, two hands up. Y'all know what y'all can't do, chase me in the store. People noting that's not the only time that Travis paused,

pointing out he had stopped a song to tell security a fan had passed out and told them to help and then continued performing. Also later, at around 9.43, a group of fans began chanting this in the crowd. Stop the show! Stop the show! Stop the show! Stop the show! You know, in the days since,

the stories that have been coming from fans have been horrifying. With one telling Rolling Stone, "'The crowd was moving so violently "'that people fell on top of us, "'and when they fell, people fell on top of them. "'There was layers and layers and layers of people falling.' With him adding that he tried to pick up one person

"'who was screaming for help, "'and then the crowd just moved me "'and I saw a wave of people falling. With him adding that he tried to pick up one person who was screaming for help, and then the crowd just moved me, and I saw a wave of people just walk over him. Another person saying it was impossible to breathe, that people began screaming for help, or were not heard, there was nowhere to go. He also had someone saying that he tried to tell a group of police officers that a section of people

were suffocating and could die, but he was allegedly simply told to calm down, that officers were aware of the situation, but were dealing with something else. And saying their calm response bugged me out a little. I tried again telling them, I'm not trying to be an asshole, but there's people in there who are probably dying.

I was basically told to fuck off, just no urgency at all. You also had fans saying that security was just not prepared for what was happening, though, regarding that officials have said that it's too early to tell if security failures were the cause of this, but it will be part of the investigation. What we do know right now is that reportedly there were 505 security staff members,

91 armed private security officers, and 76 Houston PD officers present. There's also been a big debate and conversation over how much Travis was actually able to notice or pick up on. That will also be a part of the investigation, though he is facing a lot of scrutiny online right now. We're also seeing things like,

according to the New York Times, a Houston police chief allegedly visited Travis before the show and conveyed concerns about the energy in the crowd. You also had Fire Chief Pena saying that Travis could have potentially done more to stop the situation Saying one person who can really call for and get a tactical pause when something goes wrong is that performer? They have the bully pulpit and they have a responsibility Somebody would have said hey shut this thing down and turn on the lights until this thing gets corrected and that coming from the person

With the mic I think that could have been very helpful regarding, we've seen online many people sharing their favorite artists, speaking to the crowd and saying, "'Stop this shit. "'Take a step back. "'Make some room. "'Are these people okay? "'Guys, if you don't do it, there's no show.'" But on the other side of this,

you had Travis's girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, posting an Instagram story saying that they were not aware of any fatalities until the news came on after the show, saying that if they had known, they would have stopped the filming and performance. Though we had a lot of people shooting back at her because emergency lights were actually visible

in her own Instagram story that she posted. Though actually regarding Kylie, we've seen news outlets facing a lot of backlash regarding how much they've centered their coverage of this tragedy on her. But I mean, you had places like People, as the story was developing on Saturday morning, sending out an article saying,

"'Pregnant Kylie Jenner uninjured "'after Travis Scott Astroworld incident leaves eight dead.'" But also, back to Travis, he posted on his Instagram story to say that he was cooperating with the investigation and praying for the lives lost. My fans really mean the world to me and I always just really wanna leave them

with a positive experience. And anytime I can make out, you know, anything that's going on, you know, I'd stop the show and, you know, help them get the help they need. I'm honestly just devastated and I could never imagine anything like this just happening. Which was received well by some and then also memed and parodied by others who just didn't think

that he was being genuine. Travis has also had other responses though, right? He promised to cover the funeral costs for the victims. He also stepped out of an upcoming show in Vegas. He's also facing pressure to leave other major gigs like Coachella. But also with all this news, unsurprisingly, many have pointed out that Travis actually has a history of chaos at concerts. Saying that he's even directly encourages fans to display reckless behavior for years. Or with people pointing to things that he's even helped promote out there, like his Netflix documentary.

Where you actually end up seeing Travis hit with three misdemeanor charges for inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, and endangering the welfare of a minor in 2017. After he invited fans to overpower security and rush the stage, with him later pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and only having to pay $6,000 to two people who were injured at the show. But also before that incident, I mean, he pleaded guilty to reckless conduct charges in 2015

after urging fans at Lollapalooza to climb over barricades and onto the stage with him, also encouraging them to flip off security as they did this. That same year, we even saw him stop a concert and order fans to beat a person who apparently tried to take one of his shoes. We've also seen Travis get sued by a concert goer in 2017 who said that he was left paralyzed

after fans pushed him off an upper deck balcony. And actually at that show, another fan even jumped from the same balcony after Travis pointed him out and encouraged him to jump. And there are plenty of examples of Travis basically applauding fans who storm barricades at his shows. So that's why with all of this,

you have many arguing that Travis has had plenty of time, plenty of chances to learn and grow. It's saying this isn't like a random out of nowhere thing that happened. It was an inevitability for what you've been pushing for. And so now, as far as what happens from here, like I said, there is an investigation, but there are also now lawsuits.

Some that are now being filed and very likely many more to come. One coming from Houston resident Manuel Souza, who says that he was injured at the event with him suing Travis Scott, Live Nation, people affiliated with NRG Park, where the concert took place in Squarmore Holdings. That suit accusing Travis and the other defendants of having a conscious disregard of the extreme risks of harm to concert goers. And adding that Travis essentially encouraged fans to break into the show by tweeting, no, and we still sneaking the wild

ones in after Astroworld sold out. Another lawsuit coming from this involves Austin resident Christian Paredes, who reportedly is suing a similar group of people along with Drake who appeared during Travis's set. Paredes was allegedly severely injured during the tragedy and with this you have a lawyer releasing a statement saying, There is every indication that the performers, organizers, and venue were not only aware of the hectic crowd, but also that injuries and potential deaths may have occurred. With that suit specifically implicating Drake saying, as Drake came on stage alongside of Travis Scott, "'he helped incite the crowd, "'even though he knew of Travis Scott's prior conduct.'"

And attorney Ben Crump released a statement last night saying that he's representing 21-year-old Noah Gutierrez, who apparently tried to help people off the floor of the VIP section, describing the scene as chaotic. But for now, we're gonna have to wait and see what comes from any end to all of this. And so with this story, I do wanna pass the question off to you.

What are your thoughts? For people online, and it's gonna be a big part of all these lawsuits, how much do you specifically blame Travis Scott? Like there are some out there that think like, he is an evil dude, he wanted this to happen, all of that. But do you specifically blame him? Do you think he should be held liable?

Or do you believe that he wasn't aware of what was happening, that people were getting hurt, people were dying? It's just an absolutely horrible and infuriating and a heartbreaking situation. And so I'd really love to know your thoughts here. And then because that story is so heavy and tragic, there's really no way to successfully transition out of it.

So what I wanna do is kind of give you a mental breather story, something on the more lighthearted side. And we got that thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, Lauren Sanchez, and Jeff Bezos. Bezos and Sanchez, they're dating, they go to this gala on Saturday, and boom, there's DiCaprio, Lauren Sanchez, and Jeff Bezos. Bezos and Sanchez, they're dating, they go to this gala on Saturday, and boom, there's DiCaprio.

And the interaction instantly meme. Save yourself for someone that looks at you the way Sanchez looks at DiCaprio. She's ready to risk those billions. And you get the point, there was just meme after meme, though all obviously in good fun. Everyone knows their girl's safe from DiCaprio as long as their age doesn't start with a two.

But today we actually saw Jeff Bezos himself lean into the meme posting this picture with a caption, Leo, come over here. I want to show you something. Which is absolutely hilarious until DiCaprio dies in the next one to four years under mysterious circumstances. And then we all just kind of know it was Jeff Bezos.

And we're like, oh, it wasn't a joke. And so yeah, I guess the main point of this story is if something ever happens to DiCaprio, we all just understand together that it was Bezos. But we won't say or do anything about it because we've all become accustomed to prime shipping. I'm sorry, Leo. Also, unrelated, no one was gonna tell me

I had a tag on for most of the day. But from that, let's take a second to pay some bills and thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show, Keeps. Did you know that two out of three guys will experience some form of male pattern baldness by the time that they're 35? And maybe you have that friend or that family member that's dealing with hair loss right now, and you don't want to just wait around for it to happen to you, and you don't have to, because now is the time to do something about it. Keeps helps you stop hair loss before it's too late with their scientific and affordable approach to treatments that are up to 90% effective at reducing and stopping further hair loss.

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to receive 50% off your first order. Then we should talk about Elon Musk being in the news for very Elon Musk reasons, which hey, absolutely makes sense. There's been a about Elon Musk being in the news for very Elon Musk reasons, which, hey, absolutely makes sense. There's been a lot of billionaire coverage in the news cycle lately. You got billionaires blasting butts into space, billionaires doing well during the pandemic,

and then of course the billionaire tax. There's been so much talk about how do you get billionaires to pay their quote fair share in taxes? Because unlike everyday people, these billionaires are not getting checks for billions of dollars. A lot of their worth is connected to stocks, AKA unrealized gains.

We've seen different aspects of this debate and conversation happening, though Musk is primarily at the center of it. Last week there was this whole thing of could Elon Musk by himself solve world hunger? He even said, prove it to me and I'll donate $6 billion. The news around Elon this week stemmed from him posting on Twitter, much is made lately of unrealized gains

being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this? And with that attaching a simple yes or no poll and adding, I will abide by the results of this poll whichever way it goes. I do not take a cash salary or bonus from anywhere. I only have stock, thus the only way for me

to pay taxes personally is to sell stock. What we ended up seeing was yes winning out by a vote of 58%, Meaning that if Elon was serious, he does keep his end of the bargain, he's gonna be selling $21 billion worth of the stock, or rather, what was $21 billion. I don't know what the price is gonna be when he actually sells it.

Tesla stock fell in pre-market trading, but as of this morning, it had gone up somewhat. And so while all of this kind of just seems like really weird and kind of crazy, and hey, is this the new normal? You have some saying it's actually not that interesting. He's making a big circus out of something pretty standard. Because reportedly, Musk's gotta pay some bills, right?

Back in September, Musk noted that he needs to sell a huge block of stock options by the end of the year, else they'll expire. With one report adding, Musk likely faces a large tax bill north of $10 billion from stock options he was awarded in 2012, which have since soared in price. He's also taken out personal loans

using his shares as collateral. But also the pushback ends. That narrative is, hey, he didn't know which way the poll was actually gonna go He's also taken out personal loans using his shares as collateral. But also the pushback is that narrative is, hey, he didn't know which way the poll was actually gonna go. But also at the same time, like when we're talking about 10 billion or $20 billion, that seems like unimaginable wealth to us. Elon Musk, like that amount of money is kind of jokes.

He's got a net worth of around $318 billion. Then let's definitely talk about, you know, it feels like TikTok or whenever it's on our show, it's always like some negative story. There's always like some new trend where kids are punching their mothers in the face with dogs. And we're like, why? Why is that a thing? But the news today is that authorities in Kentucky actually rescued a missing teen last week from a 61-year-old man's car after she caught a motorist's attention with a hand gesture that she learned on TikTok. Right, so amid a surge of domestic violence cases last year, the Women's Funding Network launched a campaign called Signal for Help.

And it went absolutely viral on social media, teaching people to tuck their thumb into their open palm before folding their other fingers over as a way to discreetly indicate that they're in danger. So when the 16-year-old girl is in the 61-year-old man's car she is in distress, she began making the gesture to motorists on the highway. And eventually one person, an absolute bamf,

noticed her, called 911, and then followed the car while updating authorities about its location. That let the police position themselves to pull it over and box it in as it got off the highway. Which is how they then learned that the passenger was a minor who had actually been reported missing by her parents in North Carolina two days earlier. With a girl later telling detectives that she and the driver, James Herbert Brick, had traveled through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, where they allegedly stayed with his relatives. But the two ended up taking off when Brick's family realized that she was underage and had been reported missing, and that's when she began trying to signal for help. But the authorities also claiming

that they found a phone in Brick's possession that allegedly had material portraying the minor in a way that I cannot describe on this show, unless I want the whole video suppressed. But with that and the unlawful imprisonment, he has now been charged with two felonies. And so I guess the main point of this story is let's all learn this and spread this.

Then in unexpected beef news, we should talk about the GOP fighting with Big Bird. Over the weekend, we saw the Twitter account for Big Bird post, "'I got the COVID-19 vaccine today. "'My wing is feeling a little sore, "'but it'll give my body an extra protective boost "'that keeps me and others healthy.'"

And adding, "'I've been getting vaccines "'since I was a little bird. "'I had no idea.'" With that announcement actually coming after several Sesame Street characters, including Big Bird, took part in a town hall event on CNN to help with questions from kids and parents about the Pfizer COVID vaccine.

And just like that, boom, divisive culture war. Pray the likes of Ted Cruz, quote tweeting Big Bird's post in writing, government propaganda for your five-year-old. With many prominent conservatives also echoing that claim that a puppet was spreading propaganda. Some also using the opportunity to falsely claim that children are not at risk of getting COVID-19

or spreading COVID-19. Some also taking it even further. One Republican state Senator in Arizona calling Big Bird a communist. Goes on to GOP congressional candidate in Tennessee implying that the puppet would die from the vaccine. But also on the other side, you have people praising the move,

prompting I stand with Big Bird to trend on social media. Many arguing that it's ridiculous that people are outraged by Big Bird, right? He's known for spreading messages about kindness and learning and actually the character has been involved in public health campaigns in the past and never upset Republicans. And pointing out this isn't even the first time

that the puppet's been used to help promote vaccines for kids, with people sharing clips from a 1972 episode when Big Bird got vaccinated against the measles and encouraged other kids to do the same. And then the final thing we'll talk about today is that Congress finally actually did a thing. After months and months of negotiations, the House finally passed the bipartisan

$1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The legislation ultimately approved 228 to 206, with 13 Republicans backing the plan, though notably the six progressive members of the squad voting against the measure, arguing that Congress needed to pass the nearly $2 trillion social safety net and climate bill first as leverage

against moderate Democrats who signaled that they may hold out. But as far as what is in this massive package that was just approved, overall it will provide $550 billion in new spending for a variety of projects, including $110 billion toward roads, bridges, and infrastructure repairs,

$73 billion for electric grid and power structure updates, $65 billion for broadband, internet, $39 billion in transit modernization, which the White House says represents the largest federal investment in public transit in history. And hundreds of billions more for air, rail, and water infrastructure as well as green technology

and other environmental remediation efforts. And because the Senate actually already passed this bill back in August, it only needs President Biden to sign off, which he is expected to give his signature in the next few days. And this is, I mean, it's absolutely massive for Biden. He's in the news for a reason that's not him, you know, whisper speaking.

Well, this is obviously lesser than the initial three plus trillion that was proposed that could in no way make it through the Senate, even at the lower price tag, it fulfills one of his biggest campaign promises. And it comes at a time when they need it. Democrats are struggling with public perception right now. They got slapped up with last Tuesday's elections.

And so now with the upcoming signing of the bill, you know, it's gonna be interesting to see, one, what this money is actually used for and if it is effective, and two, does it give the Democrats a big boost with their base as well as with more centrist independence? And as far as my opinion on it, I don't know. I mean, infrastructure, incredibly important, but not sexy.

I usually only think about infrastructure when it's failing you. You don't go like, oh, everything's working like it's supposed to. Whereas I think social safety net issues probably gonna be more effective for the regular Democratic voter. But actually regarding that as part of their effort to get House progressives on board,

Democratic leaders agreed to vote on the social safety net bill on November 15th. And if they can approve that package, which they would have to do through budget reconciliation and no Republican support, that could seriously help bump up the progressive vote in 2022. But they will still have to clear

the cinema and mansion hurdles. But ultimately that is where that story in today's show ends. Of course, whether it be this last one, the first one, anything in between, I'd will still have to clear the cinema and mansion hurdle. But ultimately that is where that story in today's show ends. Of course, whether it be this last one, the first one, anything in between, I'd love to know your thoughts on today's stories in those comments down below. But 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.