The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.18 Stop Crying About Taylor Swift Getting Booed, Family Vlogger Ruby Franke Pleads Guilty To Abuse, &

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

ON: Click my CoPilot link https://go.mycopilot.com/PhilipDeFranco  or scan the QR code to get a 14-day FREE trial AND 20% off your first month of personalized fitness if you sign up before February 1st!  Go to https://BeautifulBastard.com for up to 90% OFF and $10 Mystery Items. –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Ruby Franke Pleads Guilty  1:53 - Florida GOP Strips Chairman Christian Ziegler of Authority 4:25 - Senate Staffer Fired After Allegedly Filming NSFW Video in Hearing Room 7:04 - Sponsored by CoPilot 8:11 - Taylor Swift Booed at Pats vs Chiefs Game 9:52 - Southwest Airlines Fined $140 Million for 2022 Holiday Meltdown 12:17 - Your Thoughts on Thursday’s Show  Previous coverage of Ruby Franke’s arrest: https://youtu.be/Fnd1bDbPUT8?si=NWLdFkX8JBx-PHL3 ——————————   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 #TaylorSwift #RubyFranke ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive in the news. We got a lot of talk about today, so buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. Starting with- In huge news, Ruby Frankie is pleading guilty. And I know it's been a while since we talked about her, but if you remember this, this story was horrific. Because Ruby was best known for her family channel, Eight Passengers. She got charged earlier this year with felony child abuse alongside her business partner, therapist Jody Hildebrand. And all that coming after two of Ruby's kids were found with duct tape on them, severely malnourished, and they had deep lacerations from being tied up. And all of

that after tons of viewers had long suspected that Ruby was abusive, at least in some capacity, you know, just based on the content she was putting out. If you want all the details, I'm going to link to our previous coverage. If I talk about it here, like the whole video is going to get suppressed. You know, as far as new things we've seen, of course, she pled guilty at a court in Utah today. You also had ABC News publishing a statement from Ruby's law firm, though not placing the blame on Ruby herself, and instead laying it at the feet of her business partner. Saying this is all Jodi's fault, saying, quote, Initially, Ruby Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrandt had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement.

Ms. Hildebrandt took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous. Over an extended period, Ms. Hildebrandt systematically isolated of this quest and twisted it into something heinous. Over an extended period, Ms. Hildebrandt systematically isolated Ruby Frankie from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Frankie. This prolonged isolation resulted in Ms. Frankie being subjected to a distorted sense of morality. With her attorney adding that Ruby has been reflecting on this ever since she was arrested, saying she's been able to, quote, reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions, and claiming that she plans to take responsibility so she can mend family relationships. Specifically, regarding her charges and potential time, according to the AP, for the deal, she pled guilty to four of the six charges against her.

For now, we won't know her sentence because that's scheduled for February, and there, the judge hasn't ruled out prison time. And then, you know, as far as how things stand for Jodi Hildebrandt, you know, that's kind of unclear. Though, according to the AP, her next hearing is next week. So, you know, we're going to see what she says, what claims are made. But at the very least, I want to give you this major update today, because I know just that initial story, it just stood out to a lot of people. Which is why, of course, with these updates, I'd love to know your thoughts here. And then, we're seeing political sex scandals all over the place today.

Starting with, remember the Zieglers? Well, Florida's Republican Party stripped Christian, their leader of basically all power, and they declared him unfit for office. Right in this, as he's going through this whole political scandal where some things have been confirmed, other things alleged. Because we know, at the very least, that this centers around Republican power couple Christian and Bridget Ziegler. She's a member of the Sarasota County School Board,

also known for being a founder of Moms for Liberty, with that being a right-wing national group that tries to elect school board members who oppose education about LGBTQ+, rights, gender and sexuality, race, discrimination, stuff like that. And both become major players in the conservative movement. You know, widely recognized for their pro-family Christian values that they always spout. But at the very least, it's been confirmed that he and his wife had a three-way sexual encounter, and at the most, Christian's under criminal investigation due to accusations that he raped the same woman he previously had a three-way with in

a separate encounter, with the accuser alleging, hey, she agreed to another sexual encounter with the Zieglers, but then before that happened, she changed her mind and canceled after she learned that Bridget couldn't make it. And telling police, despite canceling, Christian still showed up at her apartment without an invite and raped her. Now that said, Christian, for his part, has not been formally charged. He's also denied all wrongdoing,

saying that his encounter with this woman was consensual. And there's reportedly been some conflicting evidence that's come out since. The woman says that he showed up at her door and made his way in as she was trying to take her dog out. But sources have reportedly told the Florida Center for Government Accountability that the surveillance footage shows Christian knocking on the door and just being let in. The was trying to take her dog out. But sources have reportedly told the Florida Center for Government Accountability that the surveillance footage shows Christian knocking

on the door and just being let in. The sources also said that the sex tape Christian filmed on his cell phone does exist and confirms other parts of her story. But reportedly, it's still unclear if she consented either to the sex or the fact he recorded it. With the woman also having previously told police that she'd been drinking for a while before he came over and could not have consented. You know, regardless, this whole situation has generated a metric fuckton of backlash. With people saying at the very least, you're liars, you're hypocrites. You know, regardless, this whole situation has generated a metric fuckton of backlash, with people saying, at the very least, you're liars, you're hypocrites, you're flouting conservative values

while living a double life, where you're seemingly engaging in the behavior that you say that you're so against, and then at the most, you might be a criminal. And understand, this wasn't just coming from liberals. You had pretty much every big-name Florida Republican, and even Governor Ron DeSantis, calling for Christian to leave his post.

But he refused to do so, which is why we saw Florida's GOP Executive Committee taking matters into their own hands. Holding an emergency meeting yesterday where they voted unanimously 39 to 0 to censure him, strip him of all his powers and duties, and cut his $120,000 salary to just a dollar. Though notably here,

this also does not actually officially remove him from office. But really, many party leaders just view this as the last step before doing that. In effect, the full state party is set to have an emergency meeting on January 8th to vote on whether to remove Ziegler. But still with this, Christian and Bridget have remained steadfast. And this is the Sarasota school board also just passed a resolution demanding that she resign and afford a one vote. Which by the way, the one voting against was also

Bridget herself. But really important here, right? The only person that actually has the power to remove her is DeSantis. And you know, despite his comments on her husband, he hasn't signaled that he'd make this move. You know, this is all still developing. It is playing out and we'll have to wait to see how it actually does. And then, like I promised, this was not the only sex scandal today. Though this one didn't just involve politics, it reportedly took place in Congress, like the actual location in a famous hearing room. Because a Senate staffer for Democratic Senator Ben Cardin just got fired for allegedly filming himself having sex with another man there. And the way that it played out is that the far-right media outlet The Daily Caller on

Friday published an explicit video that I obviously cannot show here. One, because it's YouTube, and two, we have an explicit no-butthole policy on the show. But in it, you have two men having sex in what appeared to be a congressional committee hearing room. And at the time, they reported that one of the two men was a congressional staffer and that a source had identified the room as room 216 in the Hart Senate building, which is the room for the Judiciary Committee and where numerous historic hearings have taken place. And while, you know, The Daily Caller did not identify the person they claimed was the staffer, a few hours before they published a video with The Spectator, a conservative British magazine, they reported

that an unnamed Cardin staffer had publicly shared videos and pictures of himself engaging in sex acts in the Hart Senate building. And so it just kind of grew and grew from there. Ultimately, a name came out, which I am probably going to butcher. Let's give it a shot. Aiden Mace Cheropsky. And while as of recording, Aiden's identity has not officially still been positively confirmed, over the weekend, Cardin's office told Politico that Aiden is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate, and then notably declined to comment further. With that, Aiden himself also posted a statement on his LinkedIn page, though as of recording, it appears that his account has been deactivated. But in that post, which was captured in screenshots by multiple outlets, Aiden wrote, this has been a difficult time for me as I have been attacked

for who I love to pursue a political agenda. While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgment, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace. Any attempts to He also notably went on to address separate allegations from Republican Representative Max Miller. Or because Miller told the Daily Caller that Aiden was the same staffer who approached him and said, Free Palestine during an interview last week. With Aiden writing, I have never seen the congressman and had no opportunity or cause to yell or confront him. So with that statement, you had a lot of people responding on social media and that post slamming Aiden, saying that he has no right to be playing the victim here, saying this has nothing to do with his sexuality and everything to do with what he did in a famous Senate hearing room. And actually touching on that, you had some legal experts saying that Aiden could actually be slapped with

potential criminal charges. We're talking trespass, indecent exposure, misuse of public property. But as far as what actually could happen from here, you know, you have Capitol Police still investigating the matter, and this is kind of where we're at right now. You know, actually where I want to end this story, and it's a bit of advice, it's not mine, I wish I could take credit for it. It comes from Grandma DeFranco, I remember like it was yesterday. She sat me down, she looked me in my eyes and said, Philly, never have sex with someone at work. And definitely don't film, especially if it's in room 216 of the Hart Senate office building. Because say it with me, we all know you never have sex in a room where Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina nominee to the Supreme Court. You know, Grandma D didn't have a lot of rules,

but that for some reason was one of them. You know, it's advice that served me well and could maybe help you out in the future. And then it's been a year since I started my journey with Copilot and I can't believe really how far I've come. Copilot just really worked for me and my schedule. So thank you Copilot for also being a fantastic partner of the PDS. You know, despite this holiday season and my ever changing schedule, the Copilot app and my coach have helped me stay on track, you know, because yeah, I've been on this journey for a year. You know, the workouts, they change up quite a bit to fit where I'm at at any given time.

Because I can't always keep up with my routine. You know, I have select free weights at home. That's my usual go-to. But then, you know, I was out of state for Thanksgiving. I didn't have those. And so for me to have something and someone to go like, okay, here's how we're going to switch it up. That's huge. Because otherwise, without this, I'm making excuses as to why I'm not doing stuff.

Oh, I'll pick it back up. No, I won't. I know me. It's like having a Swiss Army knife workout app. And the first step's easy. You just start with an onboarding call. You connect to a coach and then they may customize workouts tailored to your needs. You just communicate your goals with your coach and they'll set you up for success. And remember, the changes that you make today can enhance your life in ways you never really thought possible. Copilot's, you know, really helped me with my goals, but also to shoot for new ones. So if you want to join me on a

fitness journey, just click my Copilot link or scan the QR code to get a 14 day free trial and 20% off your first month of personalized fitness. If you sign up before February 1st, and then this is such a non-story. I don't, I don't, this, this narrative is so stupid. I woke up, hopped straight to the internet this morning, rather than, you know, doing anything that would be productive for my day. And I saw people going, Oh my God, can you believe that Taylor Swift got booed at Gillette Stadium? Yeah, you fucking donkey. What? You thought diehard Patriots fans were going to cheer for the girlfriend of the Chiefs tight end? And also for those of you that don't watch the NFL, there's something you need to understand. Pats fans are going through it right now.

There's an entire generation of Patriots fans that do not know what to do when they suck. The ones who have been there for a long time, right, pre-Brady, they know this. They're like, hey, things go up, they go down. We had a great two decades. But there's a huge swath of that fan base that doesn't know what to do with themselves. They are 3-11. They are behind the Zach Wilson-led Jets. Also, I shouldn't say the Zach Wilson-led Jets. This year, I've actually become a Zach Wilson supporter and apologist. I don't think any fucking quarterback could thrive with the Jets offensive line and that whole system. The only thing they're good for is me betting the over on how many times the Jets quarterback's gonna get sacked. But anyway, I'm talking too much actual football now, and based off of past analytics, you've already skipped this section. So here's where I'll end it.

Taylor Swift's fine. She's a billionaire in a private box watching her boyfriend play. She's an enemy in enemy territory with fans that are widely called mass holes. And as many sports fans know, a lot worse could have gotten thrown around. You know, things like batteries instead of booze. Also, I just want to say for any Patriots fans that are not just nodding their head

and agreeing with everything I'm saying right now, I need you to know you can't hurt me. I've been a Jets fan my entire life. All I know is sadness and embarrassment. I'm just happy I live long enough to have some fucking company. Because there's no reason to hope. First game of the season proved it once again. It sucks to suck, but you get used to it. And then, as you're getting ready for holiday travel this year, if you're like me, maybe you're feeling anxious. You know, honestly, there's plenty of legitimate reasons why you should feel that way. With one of the most legitimate being that your flight is not going to take flight. I mean, do

you remember that whole Southwest garbage fire last year? You had millions of people left stranded after Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights over 10 days. Well, now, in addition to all the bad PR they got last year, the Department of Transportation is telling Southwest to get out their wallet, fining them $140 million for, quote, numerous violations of consumer protection law during and after the operational failures. And I'm actually kind of shocked by that number. Turns out that fine's actually 30 times higher than any fine they've ever issued in the past over failures in consumer protections. And while, you know, Southwest is disputing the legal findings, Southwest has agreed to accept the fine,

saying that they're committed to delivering quality customer service. And the agreement includes, quote, a new industry-leading policy to compensate customers during significant delays and cancellations. That likely referring to the $90 million fund that's been set up for future Southwest customers affected by significant delays or cancellations, which also is likely to take up most of the fine. This is a key thing for those of you that are still going to fly Southwest. They're saying that they'll offer customers delayed by three hours or more, or those whose flights were canceled for a reason within the airline's control, a $75 voucher. That program is set to kick off at the end of April. So with all that, we've seen Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg saying in a statement,

Taking care of passengers is not just the right thing to do, it's required. And this penalty should put all airlines on notice to take every step possible to ensure that a meltdown like this never happens again. Though I do want to say, like, the airline already has reason enough to try to make sure that that whole 2022 holiday meltdown does not happen again. With Southwest estimate saying that it actually cost them around $800 million in lost revenue and payouts. And the Department of Transportation even noting that the airlines already paid out $600 million in refunds and reimbursements. But to bring it back to the most important thing in this story, you. Well, Southwest and Buttigieg said you should probably be fine this year.

And Southwest CEO Bob Jordan specifically saying, spent the past year acutely focused on efforts to enhance the customer experience with significant investments and initiatives that accelerate operation resiliency, enhance cross-team collaboration, and bolster overall preparedness for winter operations. And specifically, as far as the steps, they're reportedly updating scheduling software, training more staff in de-icing duties, and consolidating operations to speed up communication. But of course, words are words, actions are actions, and the fucking weather is the weather. My belief is always expect a shit show, prepare for it, hope for the best, and just make peace that life and existence in general is just a chaotic dumpster fire. So at the very least, take a chill pill and, you know, warm your hands by the

fire. And also know that I'm saying that as much for you as I am for myself. And then finally, let's talk about yesterday today. Let's take a look at the last show, dive into those comments and see what news stood out to you. And in there, a bulk of the conversation had to do with sports washing and cybersecurity. Regarding the sports washing deep dive, you had comments like, I've never thought that Saudi Arabia dipping into sports like this was a good thing.

Attracting top athletes in their sport with insane contracts is just so scummy when you understand that the wealth is built off many, many human rights violations within the country. The amount of organization, team owners, and fans who are willing to sweep all that under the rug for the sake of sport entertainment is disgusting.

And while I very much agree with you, I would also then counter it with, but isn't it also the easiest thing to do? Isn't it easier to just do your job, collect the check, don't think about it? Especially when the actual formula is do your job, collect a crazy paycheck, and then just don't think about it. Especially if you, like, take the time to think and you go, isn't everything fucked? Right, like when most people buy a thing, at some point, unless they're, you know, they're fantastically unaware, there has to at least be a little voice

in the back of your head going, the way that I have this thing in my hand, right, my cell phone, there were probably varying levels of human suffering to make this, to source the materials, to make it, to make it on time, to get it to you. Isn't it easier, isn't it more simple to just enjoy the fruit of the labor and not think of how it was created? I think time, to get it to you. Isn't it easier? Isn't it more simple to just enjoy

the fruit of the labor and not think of how it was created? I think it kind of comes back to the idea that people don't want to see how the sausage is made, especially when the sausage that we're talking about is, you know, not a sausage and is instead you getting hundreds of millions of dollars a year. So, you know, I say all that not trying to come to any sort of conclusion, but then I wonder, have I been too judgmental? And I'll ask myself the same question that I'll ask to you. Would I be willing to extend my ignorance for $200 million a year? What stories might I tell myself? What false equivalencies might I make? What justifications out of what I can do with the money? What I tell myself or actually do, you know, considering the

source of the money. So yeah, I'd love to hear from you, whether it be this or really anything today. But then also too, like I mentioned, there was a chunk of conversation focused on cybersecurity. With many of y'all shocked, but also at the same time not shocked, right? I think people understand that stuff like this is happening. And saying things like, my favorite story about data abuse is how Target was able to figure out an underage girl was pregnant before her parents. The girl's father saw a bunch of targeted ads for baby supplies and angrily called up the store manager to complain about them filling his daughter's head with inappropriate ideas. Then called a few days later to apologize after he had a talk with his already pregnant daughter.

Now there's adding what's crazy is that particular story happened well over a decade ago. If the technology for a company to figure out that already existed that long ago, imagine how many more data points they collect now. But that is where we're going to end today's dive into the news. Thank you for being a part of this. I love your faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.