The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.27 Messy Margot Robbie Controversy, Promising Young Woman, Carey Mulligan, Gamestop, AMC, &

Episode Date: January 27, 2021

Go to https://trynoom.com/phil and take your free 30-second quiz! Thank you #noom for sponsoring today’s video! Check out the new ACW episode with Daniel Sloss: https://youtu.be/j9eZhdzLwyQ -- WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/ACW  LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com WATCH the ACW Clips channel!: https://youtube.com/ACWClips -- 00:00 - GameStop & AMC Stocks 04:40 - Carey Mulligan Calls Out Variety 07:39 - Sponsor 08:39 - Biden's New Executive Orders And Roadblocks 11:07 - The Continued Controversy Around Rep. Greene  -- ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com ✭ Lemme Touch Your Hair: http://BeautifulBastard.com ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com  ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩  AMC and GameStop Stocks Surge: https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/27/gme-amc-stock/ Carey Mulligan Responds to Variety’s Apology After Review Criticized Her Casting & Looks:  https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/27/carey-mulligan-responds-to-variety/ Biden White House Aims To Advance Racial Equity With Executive Actions: https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/26/960725707/biden-aims-to-advance-racial-equity-with-executive-actions Judge Bars Biden From Enforcing 100-Day Deportation Ban: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-texas-barack-obama-51688033e490d50867e52ef9c8ec574f Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Expressed Support for Violence Against Top Democrats: https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/27/majorie-taylor-greene/  ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩ Amanda Gorman Joins Super Bowl Pregame Festivities, Signs With IMG Models:  https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/27/amanda-gorman-joins-super-bowl/ Lawyers Petition India High Court Ruling: https://roguerocket.com/2021/01/27/india-high-court-controversial-ruling/ ——————————     Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxx Enright Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst  Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda, Brian Espinoza Production Team: Zack Taylor, Luke Manning  ———————————— #DeFranco #PromisingYoungWoman #GameStop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. It is Wednesday, January 27th, 2021. Hit that like button, otherwise we'll punch you in the throat and let's just jump into the news of the day so you can get back to yours. The first thing that we're gonna talk about today

is GameStop or as Elon Musk calls it, GameStomp. What an absolutely insane situation. For reference, back in July, the stock was only $4 a share, but like we talked about on Monday, it jumped, the stock was only $4 a share, but like we talked about on Monday, it jumped all the way up to $140 a share, then plummeting down to $70. And then it proceeded to rise and rise and rise.

And then Elon Musk tweeted about it. Game stomp. Rise and rise. And as of recording, it is $350 a share. Meanwhile, it's also not just GameStop anymore. Shares of AMC opened at $20 this morning, which is very notable because for the past month, it's been trading around $2.

Also, for transparency sake, I currently own some AMC stock. I am not an advisor. This is not advice. I am not making a recommendation. I literally have no idea how anything works about anything. Have I made this part clear? Literally the only thing I could maybe say I know,

there are gonna be a lot of people that make a lot of money and a lot of people that lose a lot of money. That's what's happening because trading has been so volatile today that AMC and GameStop stocks have had to be temporarily suspended multiple times. As far as what's driving these two huge upticks, it's two main things, short selling and short squeezing. Try to oversimplify, short selling occurs

when an investor borrow shares of a stock and then immediately sells them. The way that works is kind of the opposite of how most people think about stocks, right? Usually you think you buy a share hoping the stock value goes up, but with short selling, you're hoping that the stock price goes down.

For example, let's say you borrow a share that's $10 and then immediately sell at that price, meaning that you have made $10. Except since you borrowed that share, you at some point will have to pay it back. So let's say you wait until the share price drops down to $7. In that example, you have essentially made $3.

Though, keep in mind, this is just a simplified way of explaining short selling. For one, on top of all this, short sellers also have to pay fees until they actually buy their borrowed stock. But back to the main point here, short sellers also tend to put in a lot more money than just $10.

But it also can be really risky to play with stocks like this because you could get short squeezed. And short squeezed occurs when specific stocks begin to gain money, right? Using that last example, let's say the stock price jumped to $13 instead of down to seven. For the sake of this example,

let's also say that it looks like the stock is going to continue rising. A short seller might decide to just go ahead and buy that stock at $13. Notably, that is a loss of $3 per share, but if the stock continues to climb higher, it's gonna get even worse for them. Right, so kind of all of that is what's happening right now

with GameStop and AMC. A bunch of short sellers, including the likes of Hedge Fund, Melvin Capital, have been betting that both of these stocks will go down. And this is for a number of reasons, including that we are in a pandemic, movie theaters are closed, a lot of people buy digital copies of games instead of physical versions.

However, a group of Redditors from the subreddit WallStreetBets is now driving this unprecedented short squeeze by buying more and more stocks. And that community is also growing at a crazy rate. And so with all of this happening, you have places reporting that short sellers have been losing billions of dollars. With places like Melvin Capital seemingly having

to take an injection in bailout of $2.8 billion. And as far as where this is going, where this ends up, we're gonna have to wait and see, but as far as what has been driving this, it's been really interesting to watch. One, yes, there has been a heavy meme component to this. Two, a lot of people trying to get rich quick, that has been fueling it.

But also three, there really does appear, even if it's just kind of front facing, to be this belief and this passion behind giving a giant middle finger to institutions and Wall Street in general. You see arguments like the public is doing what they feel has been done to them by institutions. This is an echo of what we've seen social media enable,

the public to challenge institutions for the last decade. And it's a perfect storm at a time when lots of people are hurting, interest rates are so low, inescapable student loan debts loom, and every major institution has caught Ls during a global pandemic over the last year. But also, of course, all of this has reignited fears that a bubble is forming in the stock market, both with this

specific situation as well as kind of larger. Because, and I forget which expert specifically said this, but stonks don't just go up, contrary to what many people have been tweeting. Actually, where I'll close this is, it's a very exciting time and really interesting time, but I'm also deeply concerned. It just feels like a situation that is primed for people that have been looking for something that could bail them out or some sort of hope and they might overextend themselves,

especially because there are a number of internet personalities who have, seemingly have, the stock and are pushing it and promoting it to their fans. And everyone's happy and a genius and a winner when things are going up, but then, you know, I don't know, I'll leave it there. I'm not your dad, I just get nervous for people. Excited, but nervous.

Also in the comments down below, if you are any somewhat involved in what's been happening or you know someone that is, please share the story. I'm really interested. There's a lot of people that have a lot of stories right now. And then let's talk about this story around Carey Mulligan. So if you don't know Carey Mulligan,

she's a fantastic actress. She also stars in Promising Young Woman, which if you have not seen it yet, my quickie review is it's fantastic. It's definitely worth a watch. There are some things that have people very divided. I don't want to go into detail because it kind of ruins the story.

But what I can tell you is Mulligan plays a lead in the film and she plays at the base level, a character as she struggles with trauma in her past and seeks out vengeance on men who take advantage of and might assault women. And one of the reviews of the film came from Variety where they said that she was skillful and entertaining, but also saying that Mulligan seems a bit of an odd choice

as this admittedly many layered apparent femme fatale. Then going on to suggest that Margot Robbie, who's actually the producer of the film, might've been better suited for it because Mulligan, quote, "'Wears her pick up bait gear like bad drag. Even her long blonde hair seems a put on.'" That resulted in December Mulligan telling the New York Times that she read this review and said,

"'It felt like it was basically saying I wasn't hot enough to pull off this kind of ruse. Wasn't some sort of ego wounding thing. Like I fully can see that Margot Robbie is a goddess. It drove me so crazy. I was like, really? For this film, you're going to write something that is so transparent now in 2020?

I just couldn't believe it. We don't allow women to look normal anymore or like a real person. Why does every woman who's ever on screen have to look like a supermodel? And that criticism is an especially notable one, not only because it came from the main actress, but because the film very directly deals

with expectations for women, how men look at them, the male gaze. And two, overall Mulligan's performance is getting rave reviews, even people saying there's potential for Oscar recognition. But the reason we're talking about this today is Variety ended up actually agreeing with Mulligan's frustrations and added an apology on top of their review,

writing, Variety sincerely apologizes to Carey Mulligan and regrets the insensitive language and insinuation in her review of Promising Young Woman that minimized her daring performance. And actually, with all this, Mulligan just appeared on Variety's Actors on Actors Conversations where she talked to Zendaya about this apology. It made me concerned that in such a big publication,

an actress's appearance could be criticized and it could be, you know, that could be accepted as completely reasonable criticism. And I think it's important to pull out those things. It's sort of nerve wracking to rock the boat with a big publication, but at the same time, it feels like you've got to stand up for these things.

Otherwise it continues and then you're essentially part of it. So I was really, really sort of surprised and thrilled and happy to have received an apology. So you had that, but main thing that I'll end on here isn't actually about the controversy. Once again, just to go back to the recommendation, I highly recommend it. Also, Bo Burnham's in it. He's fantastic in it and well, of course, art is subjective. I think that you will like it unless you're maybe... how do I say this?

You're one of those guys that gets very bothered by and the victim complex hits really hard when men in a movie aren't the best, then maybe you want to skip this movie. I'm not saying that's the only reason why people might not like it, but just, you know, just to save you some time. Though it could be argued that this is then the kind of perfect movie that you should watch.

I don't, that's where I'll end this one. And then let's close out today's show with US politics, starting with President Biden's executive order spree continuing. This because in addition to others, Biden signed four executive orders yesterday as part of his administration's efforts to focus on racial equity.

And those orders include directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development to strengthen anti-discrimination housing policies that were weakened under Trump, directing the Justice Department to end contracts with private prisons, strengthening the relationships between the federal government and native American tribes and combating xenophobia against Asian Americans

and Pacific Islanders, which has actually risen since the pandemic started. And with this, we saw many civil rights groups and other leaders praising the moves as important first steps, but argued that more needs to be done. Specifically, a lot of people arguing that the order on private prisons, which reinstated a policy first enacted by Obama,

then revoked by Trump, falls short. First of all, the order doesn't actually end all government contracts with private prisons. Right, we've had administration officials confirming that the order only applies to the DOJ and not other agencies like ICE, which notably contracts with private companies and detains thousands of undocumented immigrants.

Others also noting that the order only impacts a small percentage of prisons. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, around 14,000 federal inmates are held in private prisons. So that's only about 9% of total federal inmates. So that's why with this, you had a lot of people calling for Biden to do more, to fulfill his campaign promises

and put policy behind his rhetoric about unity and racial justice. And specifically, a number of activists and leading advocacy groups have said that their most urgent goals include reforming the police, broad overhauls of the criminal justice system, and fighting voter suppression. Then in other news,

we should talk about a Trump appointed federal judge in Texas blocking President Biden's 100 day deportation ban in a ruling yesterday. Right, that ban which Biden had signed the same day that he was inaugurated was challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. With Paxton arguing that the move violated federal law and an agreement Texas signed

with the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration. And in his decision, Judge Drew Tipton granted a temporary restraining order to stop the Biden administration from enforcing the order for 14 days while he considers what to do next. Arguing here that the Biden administration had failed to, quote, provide any concrete reasonable justification

for a 100 day pause on deportation. Though notably here, according to the Associated Press, while the rule temporarily stops Biden's moratorium, it does not require deportations to resume at their previous pace. Still, this does have many experts noting that this defeat shows how Biden's many executive actions will be subject to a court system stacked

with hundreds of Trump appointees. Because as we talked about during the Trump presidency, what has happened with the Supreme Court and the number of federal judges, it is game changing for Republicans. So really we should expect, you know, what we're seeing here just to be the beginning of what is to come.

The last thing that we'll talk about today is definitely not crazy and or dangerous person, US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is arguably one of the most controversial new members of Congress, which is saying a lot. Greene has made headlines in the past for becoming the first member of Congress who openly supported QAnon.

While she has tried to distance herself from the belief, she has still continued to promote many other widely debunked conspiracy theories. She's been condemned by both Democrats and Republicans for making disparaging remarks about black people, Jews, and Muslims. She has also supported the conspiracy theories of the Parkland Massacre, Sandy Hook,

the 2017 Las Vegas attack, and other mass shootings for false flag operations meant to encourage the public to support more gun control. And again now, you have Greene in the news for a different reason. And that's because according to reports, the people did a review of hundreds of posts and comments from her Facebook page.

And they found that she had repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019. According to the report, Greene liked multiple comments on Facebook posts, calling for speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi to be killed. Notably, many of the posts that are being flagged and linked out in the article are no longer able

to be accessed either because she has deleted them or changed her privacy settings. In one screenshot, Greene liked a comment saying that a bullet to the head would be quicker to remove House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. CNN also reporting that around that same time, she liked a comment that said, "'Through removal or death doesn't matter

as long as she goes.'" It's also not just about Pelosi. Reportedly in one post from April, 2018, a commenter asked Greene, now do we get to hang them? Referring to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. To which she allegedly responded, stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient.

This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off. And there's more like Facebook lives kind of hitting on that same note saying that Pelosi is gonna suffer death or time in prison It's also been reported that in a 2018 Facebook post Green endorsed a conspiracy theory known as Frazzledrip that theory claiming that Hillary Clinton And her aide were videotaped mutilating and murdering a child as part of a satanic ritual and that they then ordered a hit on a Police officer to cover it up There's also a video now going around of her following and yelling questions at David Hogg

And he's a coward. And ultimately, as far as Green's response to all of this, she posted a statement on Twitter where she described this as a hit piece on me, focused on my time before running for political office. But also, notably, she doesn't deny that the posts and her responses to them were real, saying, "'Over the years, I've had teams of people manage my pages. "'Many posts have been liked, many posts have been shared.

"'Some did not represent my views, "'especially the ones that CNN is about to spread across the internet. They're taking old Facebook posts from random users to try to cancel me and silence my voice." Then going on to accuse CNN of coming after her because she is a threat to their goal of socialism. That response also sparked criticism,

including from members of Congress, like Representative Don Beyer, who responded to her tweet writing, "'You aren't denying you called for the deaths of political leaders. You aren't taking responsibility. You aren't apologizing. Youfor the deaths of political leaders. "'You aren't taking responsibility. "'You aren't apologizing. "'You aren't even saying it was wrong.

"'You're just blaming others. "'Your conduct does not reflect credibility on the House "'and you should resign.'" With the spokesperson for House Minority Leader and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California telling Axios that Ms. Green's newly surfaced Facebook posts were deeply disturbing and that they planned to have a conversation with Ms. Green about them.

Which, I mean, this is my opinion here. I think just a lot of words that don't mean anything. I greatly doubt that she's going anywhere, that there will be any sort of accountability or decency here. She, if anything, is a fantastic example of what could be around the corner, especially for Republicans that are gonna get primaried

for not being full-on Trumplicans. Stay engaged, otherwise you will fall victim to your own complacency and people like Green's extremism. There's more where that came from. And whether it be this story or anything else I talked about today that stood out to you, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below because this is where today's show ends.

As always, thank you for being a part of my daily dives into the news. If you're looking forward to watch, you got yesterday's show here, or maybe you want to watch the brand new podcast I did with Daniel Sloss, you can click or tap right there to watch that right now. First episode of 2021. But with that said, thank you, of course, for being a part of this. And this has been news that matters for people that care.

I'll see you tomorrow.