The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.17 Deputy EXPOSED Body Slamming Middle School Student & Netflix BLASTED Over "Gay Jesus"

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you've had a fantastic Tuesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today is this troubling situation in North Carolina. So I don't know if you've seen it yet. I'm going to give you an advance warning. The footage, in my opinion, is disturbing. But there was this now viral incident that occurred on Thursday at Vance County Middle School in Henderson, North Carolina.

Starting point is 00:00:21 In the video, we have a child who has not been identified, though we do know they are under the age of 12. And you have Vance County Sheriff's Deputy, Warren Durham. And he's a school resource officer for that middle school. And to just walk through this disturbing video, you see Durham suddenly turn to the child, lift him up, throw him to the ground, then standing over that child for a brief moment, and then lifting him up again just to throw him back down.

Starting point is 00:00:41 And then finally lifting this child up and dragging them off. Following this video getting out there, of course there was mass outrage, especially as it was reported at that time that the then unidentified school resource officer was getting paid leave. And with this incident,

Starting point is 00:00:54 we learned that the state bureau investigation was looking into the incident to determine if criminal charges were warranted. The Advance County Middle School releasing a statement saying we are deeply concerned by the actions that took place. And adding school and district officials are working closely and in deeply concerned by the actions that took place,' and adding, "'School and district officials "'are working closely and in full cooperation

Starting point is 00:01:06 "'with the local authorities to address this matter "'consistent with school board policy and state laws.'" Now, as far as the child's injuries, according to reports, the child's mother said that he did have a bump on his head, but he was not hospitalized, which may have played a role in the update to the story that we're seeing today.

Starting point is 00:01:20 Warren Durham, the sheriff's deputy, has now been charged with assault on a child under the age of 12, child abuse, and willful failure to discharge. With that last one reportedly related to his employment with the sheriff's office, which he was fired from on Monday. Now of note, all of these charges are misdemeanors. And the reason for that reportedly

Starting point is 00:01:35 is because under North Carolina law, because the child did not suffer what they see as serious bodily harm, it cannot be a felony. Now, as far as the answer to, I've seen a number of people asking what prompted or at least preceded this violent incident. As of right now, we don't know,

Starting point is 00:01:48 but also around this situation, we heard from Mike Waters, he's the district attorney of the ninth judicial district in North Carolina. Regarding what led up to the altercation, he said, it's not relevant. I don't see any justification for it. Also with this, understand it's still a developing situation.

Starting point is 00:02:02 According to Waters, at the time of filming this video, the arrest warrant had been issued, but Durham had not been arrested yet. But ultimately, we're gonna have to wait and see what happens from here. As far as what kind of punishment Durham might actually get, according to Waters, the maximum penalty that Durham could face

Starting point is 00:02:15 is 120 days in jail. And this, in part, he said, because he had no prior convictions. But yeah, of course, with this, I'd love to know your thoughts on the situation in general. What do you think about the potential of 120 days? Are you disappointed that it's only 120 days? Any and all thoughts and opinions, of course,

Starting point is 00:02:29 I'd love to see in those comments down below. And then to briefly divert to a story that's not infuriating and or a polarizing thing, let's talk about a story that I never thought I'd be talking about, Kumail Nanjiani's body. If you're not familiar with him, he's a comedian, actor, writer, and you might recognize him from HBO's Silicon Valley,

Starting point is 00:02:45 or from his Oscar-nominated film, The Big Sick. But also, in the very near future, there are gonna be a number of people who recognize Nanjiani as Kingo in the upcoming Marvel film, The Eternals. He's starring in that along with Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, and Salma Hayek. And connected to that, the reason that Nanjiani

Starting point is 00:02:59 made headlines is he posted photos of himself with a just new, ripped physique. Now earlier this year at RTX, I went to a screening of Stuber. Afterwards, he did a Q and A and you could tell that he was ripped. But then looking at this photo, holy what? That man is 41 years old and he was like,

Starting point is 00:03:14 yep, now's the time. Just crushing it. And in addition to articles being written up about this, because wow, it just kind of popped up out of nowhere. Also a number of the big reactions were people praising Nanjiani for his caption with this photo, noting, "'I would not have been able to do this

Starting point is 00:03:27 "'if I didn't have a full year with the best trainers "'and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio "'in the world. "'I'm glad I look like this, "'but I also understand why I never did before. "'It would have been impossible "'without these resources and time.'" And also going on to thank not one,

Starting point is 00:03:39 but six personal trainers and a number of other people. And so with this, you had a lot of people praising him for being realistically honest. He's in a very unique and specific situation, especially at. And so with this, you had a lot of people praising him for being realistically honest. He's in a very unique and specific situation, especially at a time where people say, you know, you see these superhero physiques. I mean, the BBC even reported back in 2015, the muscle dysmorphia among men,

Starting point is 00:03:54 which is sometimes referred to as bigorexia, is on the rise. As far as my personal reaction, I say good on him. And I also love just his take on it, his caption with this. Right, he's obviously proud of his accomplishment because that also does take a lot of work, but he's showcasing it in a way that really points out

Starting point is 00:04:09 that this is an outlier situation. Right, he's not like, you're three diarrhea tees away from looking like this. Yeah, that's where I'm gonna end this story. Kamales, abs, they've been on screen too long and they make me feel bad about myself. And then let's talk about a story that kind of combines

Starting point is 00:04:23 a number of people's individually favorite things, Netflix, Christmas specials, and Jesus. And specifically today, we're talking about a Brazilian Netflix original titled The First Temptation of Christ, which might sound like a biblical retelling of Jesus's life, but actually the movie has stirred up a lot of controversy

Starting point is 00:04:39 and some things to know about the movie. It was released December 3rd, it's only 46 minutes long, and as you can see from the trailer, it shows Jesus coming home to Nazareth after walking the desert for 40 days. However, he also brings home a stereotypically effeminate man who is implied to be his boyfriend. And notably here in the movie, we see this exchange.

Starting point is 00:04:56 Jesus' boyfriend says, "'I was bathing in an oasis and I was naked.' Jesus cuts him off and says, "'And then I asked for directions. "'I asked and he gave it to me.' His boyfriend then replies, "'You bet I did. "'Sure gave it to him.'" Now boyfriend then replies, he bet I did, sure gave it to him. Now, for their part, the filmmakers have described

Starting point is 00:05:08 the movie as highly satirical, which is also why it depicts Mary having an affair with God, why God also catches Mary smoking a joint, why the three wise men try to pass off ham as quote, free range soy, and why one of the wise men brings a prostitute to a party. Right, so the filmmakers saying this is obvious satire, it's not meant to be biblically accurate or even serious.

Starting point is 00:05:25 However, and unsurprisingly, this movie has upset a lot of people. I mean, one, before we even look to the rest of the world, we look to Brazil, which is highly religious. I mean, nearly two thirds of the population of Brazil is Catholic, with the Protestants being the next biggest religious group in the country. We also saw Eduardo Bolsonaro,

Starting point is 00:05:39 President Jair Bolsonaro's son say, "'We support freedom of expression, "'but is it worth attacking the faith "'of 86% of the population?' Also calling the film garbage and saying it refuses to preach the word of God. We also saw Marco Feliciano, the head of the Brazilian legislature's

Starting point is 00:05:52 Commission on Minorities and Human Rights, and also a conservative evangelical pastor say, "'Christians and non-Christians have asked me "'to take action against the irresponsible members "'of Porta dos Fundos,' which is a sketch comedy group that made the movie, and adding, "'It's time we took a collective action, churches and all good people, to put an end to this.

Starting point is 00:06:09 And with this, a couple of weeks ago, we saw a change.org petition popping up, that petition asking for Netflix to remove the film, and while that petition hit one million signatures on Saturday, as of recording this video, the situation has gotten even bigger, and the number of signatures has skyrocketed to just under two million.

Starting point is 00:06:23 And so a big reason that this petition took off so rapidly is it gained international attention these last few days. I mean, yesterday we saw British politicians say, "'I have canceled my Netflix subscription "'after they decided to show a film "'about Jesus being homosexual. "'They can blaspheme Christ, offend Christians,

Starting point is 00:06:36 "'and insult Christianity if they want, "'but I sure as hell am not going to pay for it.'" We've also seen this message circulating Twitter with nearly 50,000 retweets. Breaking, Netflix released a show depicting Jesus as gay. Let's make this clear. Jesus is in some woke culture experiment for you to convince young people

Starting point is 00:06:50 that biblical teachings are debatable. Jesus is the son of God and died for our sins. Show some respect, retweet. But of course, with a story like this, you had a number of people pushing back, a lot of people citing that it's satire, freedom of speech, things are allowed to be offensive, you're allowed to be offended.

Starting point is 00:07:05 Another writing, if Jesus can be white, why can't he be gay? Why are y'all acting like two lies can't coexist? And during all of this, we've also seen some of the cast speak out. The actor who plays Jesus' boyfriend says that the film never incites violence or tells people not to believe in God.

Starting point is 00:07:17 Also saying that people's biggest concern with the character is his sexuality. And in an interview with Variety, he said, "'For some Catholics here in Brazil, "'it's okay if Jesus is a bad guy uses drugs. That's no problem The problem is he's gay then going on to say that if anyone should be mad It's the LGBTQ community this because spoiler alert the character actually turns out to be the devil in disguise Also as far as the reaction from the comedy group that made this film there

Starting point is 00:07:38 They're kind of joking about the situation posting a link to a less shared change.org petition saying as a petition against us picks up Steam we celebrate the success of yet another one "'of God's creations. "'Our Christmas special, The First Temptation of Christ, "'remains ever more powerful.'" They also include a meme of the actor who plays God throwing ingredients into a movie and adding a bit of heresy,

Starting point is 00:07:56 which actually on the note of the actor who played God in this movie, he has said, "'It's predictable that vain, opportunistic men "'who think they speak in the name of God, "'even without proxy, will want to mobilize "' the less enlightened around boycott or censorship campaigns. There's always the option of not watching it for those who dislike this content. But yeah, for now, ultimately, that is where this story is. And with this, of course, I pass the question off to you.

Starting point is 00:08:16 Are you of the mindset that this movie is offensive, should never have been made, should be removed? Or are you, let's say, on the complete opposite side, that everything is fair game, this is obviously satire, maybe you land somewhere in between, really, any and all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below. Then, in why is almost all the news today religious news, let's talk about the Mormon Church. And the reason we're talking about the Mormon Church

Starting point is 00:08:36 is a whistleblower complaint obtained by the Washington Post alleges that the church amassed around $100 billion in accounts intended for charitable purposes. With the complaint going on to say that the church deceived its members by doing this, it potentially violated tax laws as well. This complaint was given to the IRS on November 21st

Starting point is 00:08:52 by David A. Nielsen, a Mormon who worked at Ensign Peak Advisors, which is the investment division of the church. And he was reportedly helped by his twin brother, Lars, in getting the documents together. Now, for some explanation as to how it's possible that the Mormon church accumulated such a massive amount of money,

Starting point is 00:09:05 as the post points out, nonprofits are exempted from paying taxes on their income, and this includes religious groups. And around this, Ensign is registered as a supporting organization of the Mormon Church, meaning that it's allowed to operate as a nonprofit and makes money pretty much free from US taxes. And as far as the income coming in,

Starting point is 00:09:19 the Mormon Church asks its members to donate 10% of their income to the church, which is actually a fairly common religious practice known as tithing. But annually, the complaint says the church rakes in about $7 billion in contributions from its members, with 6 billion of that going to the church's operating cause with the remaining 1 billion getting sent over to Ensign.

Starting point is 00:09:35 With the Post noting that Ensign's portfolio started at $12 billion when it was formed in 1997, and now it is at $100 billion. With the Post also trying to put that number in perspective by showing that it is just slightly less than Bill Gates' net worth, though it notes that it is more $100 billion. With the Post also trying to put that number in perspective by showing that it is just slightly less than Bill Gates' net worth, though it notes that it is more than Harvard's endowment and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation endowment combined.

Starting point is 00:09:53 Yeah, back to the complaint. In order to get that tax exempt status, a group would have to operate exclusively for religious, educational, or other charitable purposes. And Nielsen says that Ensign does not meet that requirement. And in fact, it's reported that the complaint suggests that quote, Ensign has not directly funded any religious, educational, or charitable activities

Starting point is 00:10:09 in 22 years. Though of note here, this is based on information Nielsen learned while working for Ensign and there were no documents included supporting this. And also of note with this, right, in the complaint to the IRS, Nielsen is asking that Ensign be stripped of its tax exempt status.

Starting point is 00:10:22 Also suggesting that the group could owe billions in taxes. And the reason that is worth noting is that Nielsen is seeking a reward from the IRS, which would offer him a cut over the unpaid taxes recovered. Also, an interesting part of this story is why the Mormon church has been kind of raking in all this cash.

Starting point is 00:10:36 According to the complaint, Ensign's president, Roger Clark, told people that the amassed funds would be used in the event of the second coming of Christ, which I will say, if that is true, I am fascinated to know what this potential breakdown of what the money would be spent on is. Probably not wine, bread, fish, I think you're covered. Hmm, I don't know.

Starting point is 00:10:53 Whatever the answer may be though, in the complaint, Nielsen expressed frustration that the church had stockpiled this money, but continued to ask its members, some of who struggled financially, to keep donating. With him writing in the complaint, "'Would you pay tithing instead of water, electricity, "'or feeding your family if you knew

Starting point is 00:11:07 "'that it would sit around by the billions "'until the second coming of Christ?' The report also noting that the money from Ensign had allegedly been used in the past, but not for charitable reasons, with the complaint saying that $2 billion in the past decade were used to bail out a church-run insurance company

Starting point is 00:11:20 and a shopping mall in Salt Lake City that was a joint venture between the church and a major real estate company. Now with this story, David Nielsen did not speak with the Post, but his brother Lars did, telling the outlet, having seen tens of billions in contributions and scores more in investment returns come in,

Starting point is 00:11:34 and having seen nothing except two unlawful distributions to for-profit concerns go out, he, in reference to his brother, was dejected beyond words and so was I. Now with this story, the Post reached out to the Mormon church and they had a spokesperson by the name of Eric Hawkins say, "'The Church does not provide information

Starting point is 00:11:47 "'about specific transactions or financial decision.'" The Salt Lake Tribune also reached out for comment, but they were referred to a Q&A about the church's finances as well as an accompanying article. As far as that Q&A, it said that church members are taught to gradually build a financial reserve by regularly saving and adding, "'The Church applies this same principle

Starting point is 00:12:03 "'in its own savings and investment. "'In addition to food and emergency supplies, "'the church also sets aside funds each year "'for future needs.'" Also notably, in response to the question, "'Is the church a rich church?' the response says, "'The strength of the church cannot be measured "'by its financial holdings or real estate assets.'"

Starting point is 00:12:19 And adding, "'The only real wealth of the church "'is in the faith of its people.'" Now ultimately, that's where we are as of filming this video. It's gonna be very interesting to see what happens from this complaint, right? What will we learn? What else will come out? Will there be a good refute?

Starting point is 00:12:31 What are your thoughts around this specific story? But also I'd love to know your thoughts regarding the debate on whether a religious institution should be a nonprofit. No, yes, maybe somewhere in between like a yes, but more transparency in the United States and when it comes to financial statements, but whatever your thoughts are,

Starting point is 00:12:45 I'd love to hear them in the comments down below. And that's where I'm going to end today's show. And hey, if you liked today's video, hit that like button. If you're new here, you want more of these dives into the news, hit that subscribe button. Definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're looking for more to watch, you can check out the latest Rogue Rocket deep dive,

Starting point is 00:12:58 or maybe dismiss the last 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 want to 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 12.17 Deputy EXPOSED Body Slamming Middle School Student & Netflix BLASTED Over "Gay Jesus"

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