The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.1 I never thought this would happen... Also Elliot Page Reveal, 30 Under 30, & New Stimulus?

Starting point is 00:00:00 So it is Tuesday, December 1st, 2020, and most importantly, other than World AIDS Day and Giving Tuesday, and the fact that on this day, back in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to get to the back of the bus. More importantly than that, this is sarcasm. Don't try it. You can't cancel me today, because 35 years ago today,

Starting point is 00:00:18 my mother pushed out into the world what my father would go on to call his best accident ever. And honestly, I don't know what to do today. If you've been a long time viewer of this show, I never thought that I would actually live to be 35, which also doesn't even make sense. It's not like I lived a crazy life. I'm not like free climbing mountains.

Starting point is 00:00:38 And I think I'm the only YouTuber in LA that has not touched cocaine. But hey, where I'll leave this regarding my birthday, one, if you're gonna give me a present, just hit that like button. And if you're subscribed, make sure you have that bell turned on to all notifications. And two, if there is any bit of advice

Starting point is 00:00:52 that I can pass off to you is give yourself the room and space to grow and change. We're usually the most judgmental of ourselves. Treat yourself like you're someone you love. But on that happy note, welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button, otherwise I will absolutely punch you

Starting point is 00:01:08 with my 35 year old fist. Let's just jump into it. First up today, let's talk about a batch of news from the entertainment world, though the first one is more than that. So yesterday, right here in Los Angeles, California, 504 residents were sent emails from the city notifying them that their COVID-19 testing appointments

Starting point is 00:01:24 for Tuesday had been canceled. With the email saying this was because the Union Station kiosk, which was the specific testing location that they had signed up for, would be closed for the day. And as far as why they closed it down, you had Deadline reporting that it was done to accommodate a film shoot for Miramax's upcoming

Starting point is 00:01:38 "'She's All That' reboot, He's All That." Right, which if you don't know, is the new Addison Rae Tanner Buchanan movie. So apparently this movie was more important than several hundred people knowing if they had COVID-19 or not. Which to me sounds absolutely ridiculous. Well, yes, some people could easily go to another testing site or go a different day. Not everyone can. In addition to a number of factors that differ from person to person,

Starting point is 00:01:57 this is also one of the few transit accessible testing spots. And changes like this without a doubt can lead to a backup and scheduled and rescheduled tests over the weekend. So understandably you had residents frustrated, wondering how the hell could you prioritize this over public health, especially because right now, according to reports, rising cases could overwhelm the local healthcare system in less than two weeks. But with all this, you had people wondering

Starting point is 00:02:17 who are we supposed to be angry at? Because I mean, we saw reports that no one from the mayor's office, Miramax or Film LA, which is the body that approves filming permits, made the decision to cancel testing. In fact, Miramax and Film Film LA, which is the body that approves filming permits, made the decision to cancel testing. In fact, Miramax and Film LA said they didn't even know the station was a testing center. And in fact, according to Deadline,

Starting point is 00:02:31 it turns out the decision was made by a nationwide testing organization known as Curative, with that group apparently feeling like it would be too disruptive and difficult to enforce social distancing with both testing and filming happening at the same time. But then after seeing the backlash over the decision, reps of the film reportedly offered to work with the station

Starting point is 00:02:45 to figure out how to accommodate Bull. Then for a while, there was kind of just general confusion until midnight when we saw Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeting that Union Station would in fact remain open and everyone who was scheduled to take a test still could. Though it is unclear if the people who thought they had a scheduled appointment, who were then told that it was canceled,

Starting point is 00:03:00 now saw that it was uncanceled. Then in actually entertainment and world news that broke while I was filming today's show, Elliot Page has come out as trans. The Oscar-nominated star of Juno and the Umbrella Academy releasing a statement saying, "'I am trans, my pronouns are he, they, "'and my name is Elliot,'

Starting point is 00:03:16 saying he feels overwhelming gratitude "'for the incredible people who have supported him "'along his journey, saying it feels remarkable "'to finally love who I am enough "'to pursue my authentic self, "'offering thanks to the trans community and saying I will offer whatever support I can. But also adding, I also ask for patience.

Starting point is 00:03:30 My joy is real, but it is also fragile. Adding the truth is, despite feeling profoundly happy right now and knowing how much privilege I carry, I am also scared. I'm scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the quote jokes, and of violence. With this announcement, my reaction is, hey, that's cool, I'm happy for Elliot.

Starting point is 00:03:46 I hope you live a fulfilled life and feel comfortable and happy in your skin because that's really what everyone deserves as long as they're not actively hurting other people. You do you, and obviously while it's very easy for a person like me to say the following, while of course following an announcement like this, you will see bigotry slowly stepping up and going,

Starting point is 00:04:04 it also warms my heart seeing the open outpouring of love and support for this other person. As a, this will be the last time I mention it, as a 35 year old guy, I think about how this announcement today would have been received when I was 18, vastly different. How, I mean, my reaction back then would have probably been different because at that time

Starting point is 00:04:23 I was ignorant to other people's lived experiences that were that different than my own. Which I think also highlights the immense benefit of an Elliot Page or all those that came before him coming out and sharing their stories. More that we're exposed to that that is different than our lived life, I think the more we can understand.

Starting point is 00:04:40 That's how you further and foster empathy. But of course, understand I say that as me and not the person that will unfortunately be the recipient of debt threats. But main point here, much love to Elliot. Good luck with your life and much love to all those sharing their love and support right now. And then the final bit of news in the entertainment world

Starting point is 00:04:58 is Forbes released their 30 under 30 lists. And I say lists because the 30 under 30 isn't actually just 30 people. There are a bunch of different 30 under 30 isn't actually just 30 people, there are a bunch of different categories. So it's actually several hundred people. But one of the notable things is that when it came to entertainment, how dominated the list was by new TikTokers.

Starting point is 00:05:13 People like, I mean, we just previously mentioned her, Addison Rae, with Forbes noting she's the top earning TikToker and the app's second most followed celebrity. And adding she has since landed brand deals with Reebok and Watch brand, Daniel Wellington, and become American Eagle's main spokesperson. Forbes also going on to include the D'Amelio sisters, Charlie and Dixie. They also included David Dobrik as a TikToker, though of course you could easily argue he's not just that.

Starting point is 00:05:35 But almost none of the people on this list are just that anymore. Because, and this is a big thing with this newest generation and a little of the generation before, they become bigger than and are no longer limited by the platforms that they came up on. They're able to transcend what they were initially known for, evolve. One of the more interesting examples included in the Forbes 30 under 30, in fact, is Travis Scott.

Starting point is 00:05:54 Obviously he is a musical artist, but over the last year he has proved he is much bigger. Some calling him the king of collapse. I mean, for example, that McDonald's collab. Reportedly he has now made $20 million from the Travis Scott meal deal earlier this year. He's also made deals with PlayStation, Nike. He had that virtual concert on Fortnite.

Starting point is 00:06:12 And reportedly, without releasing a musical album this year, he is projected to earn more than $100 million from his projects and collaborations. Oh, and I would regret if I didn't congratulate the featured honoree of the 30 under 30 for social media, MKBHD, who not only puts out fantastic content, but, and obviously I'm only basing this off of like maybe two interactions,

Starting point is 00:06:34 genuinely smart, inspired, gracious, humble guy. It's impossible not to want to root for him and it's very awesome seeing him get his accolades. And then let's talk about something that feels so rare these days. I'm not even sure if I'm gonna pronounce this right. Bipartisan legislation? And specifically here, I'm talking about major news

Starting point is 00:06:53 regarding the stimulus bill negotiations. Because just this morning, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a new $908 billion proposal. And this is a massive deal because not only does it mark the first time talks have been restarted since the election, but it also represents arguably the most concrete step towards a coronavirus relief bill that Congress has taken in months.

Starting point is 00:07:12 But yeah, in the rolling out of the proposal this morning, both the Republican and Democratic lawmakers involved in the process framed it as sort of a template for the kind of deal that both sides could pass before the new year. And among other things, the working plan includes $160 billion for state and local government, $288 billion for loans to small businesses

Starting point is 00:07:28 through the Paycheck Protection Program and other loan programs set up under the CARES Act, short-term federal protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits, $180 billion for unemployment insurance, which reports say could come out to an additional $300 a week in expanded benefits, and $25 billion in housing assistance.

Starting point is 00:07:44 It's actually those last two I really want to hit on for two main reasons firstly because those are the things most likely to impact everyday people and viewers like you and secondly because there is a huge cliff at the end of this month when key unemployment benefits and Major federal eviction protections will both run out if Congress does not act and I really cannot emphasize enough how massive of a deal This is right We're talking about millions of Americans losing absolutely essential lifelines at a time when so many are already struggling financially.

Starting point is 00:08:09 Just look at the numbers. As of last month, more than 20 million people were still unemployed. And according to a new report from the progressive think tank, The Century Foundation, 12 million of those workers, right? More than half of all those currently collecting joblessness aid

Starting point is 00:08:21 will lose those benefits entirely the day after Christmas. And that 12 million people is in addition to the roughly 4.4 million those currently collecting joblessness aid will lose those benefits entirely the day after Christmas. And that 12 million people is in addition to the roughly 4.4 million who will have already exhausted that aid before the deadline even hits. But also, here's the thing, many people collecting unemployment insurance are still hurting.

Starting point is 00:08:35 I mean, just yesterday, the Watchdog Government Accountability Office released a report that found that the Department of Labor has been both under and over counting the number of people collecting unemployment benefits and are giving out less federal benefits than it should. With a report going on to say that the failure to extend those federal benefits will harm those people

Starting point is 00:08:51 even more and risk sending some households below the poverty line. Right, and then of course, in addition to that, there is the eviction issue, right? Federal eviction moratorium ends on December 31st. And while technically the CDC, which imposed the ban back in September could act again to extend this without Congress, it still would leave some major holes.

Starting point is 00:09:07 First and foremost, the federal ban does not apply to all American renters. While many cities and states impose their own eviction bans and provided other forms of rent to relief, many of those protections have already expired or will soon. And in fact, a new study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that as many as 6.7 million renter households

Starting point is 00:09:24 or roughly 19 million people risk being evicted in the coming months. And while an extension of the ban would definitely be a good thing without any additional relief for renters, it just kind of pushes the issue down the road a little bit. It adds a little more time to the bomb. Because remember, and this is a key thing here,

Starting point is 00:09:41 once the ban is lifted, not only do renters have to start paying again, they have to pay back all the rent they miss. And so the CDC can't do this on their own because they can extend the moratorium, but they can't allocate money for rent relief. That instead falls on Congress, which of course has the power of the purse.

Starting point is 00:09:55 And while cities and states could continue to help their efforts to help out with similar programs, it's estimated that $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to avoid an eviction crisis. And with the local governments themselves already running out of money because of this pandemic, they'll also likely not be able to help

Starting point is 00:10:11 without another stimulus package. But with all of that said, as far as what happens from here, even though the proposal announced today was drafted by senators from both parties, it is still unclear if leadership will sign on. For months, people at the very top have failed to compromise refusing to budge from their drastically different proposal.

Starting point is 00:10:26 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushing a much more comprehensive $2.2 trillion package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell instead pushing a much smaller $500 billion bill. Notably, also one that would not include money to state and local governments or another round of stimulus checks. But ultimately, for now, we just have to wait and see

Starting point is 00:10:42 and see if compromise can actually happen. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. As always, thank you for being a part of my daily dives in the news. If you're new here, hit that subscribe button, tap that bell to turn on all notifications. But of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in.

Starting point is 00:10:57 I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.1 I never thought this would happen... Also Elliot Page Reveal, 30 Under 30, & New Stimulus?

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