The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.15 "TOXIC & UNSAFE!" Twomad Death Fallout & Reactions, MrBeast TIME Scandal, KC Parade Updates, & More

Episode Date: February 15, 2024

There is so much we have to talk about... Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL Daily Dip newsletter subscribers can win up to $1,000 in SeatGeek credit so make sure you’re subscribed: https://www.dailydip.co/ Go to https://hensonshaving.com and enter DEFRANCO at checkout to get 100 free blades with your purchase. (Note: you must add both the 100-blade pack and the razor for the discount to apply.)  Buy The New https://BeautifulBastard.com Drop While You Can! –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Allegations Mount After the Death of Twomad 04:00 - MrBeast Employees Allege Toxic Workplace in New “Time” Profile 07:15 - Migrant Children Are Getting Injured & Worse While Working on America’s Roofs 12:23 - Sponsored by SeatGeek 13:26 - 20+ Injured In KC Parade Shooting 17:31 - Sources Say Russia Is Developing Space-Based Nuclear Weapon 21:26 - Sponsored by Henson 22:36 - The Consequences of 10-Year-Olds’ Obsession With Skincare 28:00 - International Economies Shake Amid Recession Fears 30:00 - Your Thoughts on Yesterday’s Show Time Profile on MrBeast: https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-series/6693255/mrbeast-interview/ ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  Associate Producer on Child Roofing: Star Pralle Associate Producer on Tween Skincare: Maddie Crichton ———————————— #DeFranco #MrBeast #Twomad ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards! You're watching the Philip DeFranco Show, and we got a lot of news to talk about today. We're talking about everything that we know so far with the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade shooting, the reactions and accusations following YouTuber 2Mad's death, insights and allegations around Mr. Beast following his time profile, the threat of a Russia space-based nuclear weapon, and we dive into this tween skincare controversy. And then there's even more in today's jumbo-sized show, so buckle up, hit that like button to let me know you like these long shows, and to let YouTube know you like these daily dives into the news, and let's just jump into it.

Starting with... In the wake of the news breaking about YouTuber 2Mad's death, we are seeing a lot of different reactions and a lot of allegations. Right, and if you don't know, 2Mad was a 23-year-old content creator. He was actually pretty big. He was found unresponsive at his home in LA on Tuesday after a welfare check. And apparently his death is being investigated as a potential overdose with foul play not currently suspected. With that, you have outlets like E! News noting that nothing is final here and a cause of death has been deferred thus far. And so what we saw, you know, with this news breaking is, yeah, you had a lot of people saying rest in peace, talking about how young he was, talking about how this is another story about being careful

about drugs, how it can ruin your life. But then this also is others in the space levied some incredibly serious and heavy allegations. With, for example, the most viral tweet around this coming from creator Jameski, who said, I can finally say it. Too Mad was a rapist and a pedophile. Over the past few years, he tried to murder me multiple times for helping the police and detectives in multiple states to investigate a lot of horrible things he's done. I mean, Too Mad wanted to take out lives by driving while high. Jameski also saying that despite all that, he tried to help law enforcement make sure that he was safe.

But still continuing with the allegations, saying Too Mad preyed on the vulnerable even after the police got involved, including a 13-year-old in mental hospital. And saying the tragedy doesn't excuse any of his actions. Also adding that he will address more at a later time. With that, you had people like longtime creator Rubber Ross responding,

saying eyewitness firsthand Too Mad's threats on James's life during TwitchCon. Others also having their own stories with similar claims. Streamer Zestella, for responding, saying, I witnessed firsthand 2Mad's threats on James' life during TwitchCon. Others also having their own stories with similar claims. Streamer Zestella, for example, saying, 2Mad harassed me for months on my socials and spammed me with dozens of messages saying how obsessed he was, and claiming that he said he wanted to rape her sometimes,

even saying with a minor. And all this coming as he had been accused of sexual assault in the past. He also had people noting they'd been posting a lot of weird things in the days leading up to his death, including a tweet where he referred to himself as a rapist, as well as tons of photos of guns, and then other strange things. But also, as we saw new claims coming up after his death, you know, there's been some mixed responses to that. Some saying things like,

it seems incredibly irresponsible to tweet out such serious allegations within an hour after someone's death without a shred of proof provided. I hope you have good evidence for these claims. As well as creator JustaMix saying, too mad stalked her, but responding to Jameski's post saying, as someone who experienced it firsthand and spoke about it, I think this tweet is fucking insane. Not even 10 minutes after he announced his passing. He doesn't deserve respect,

but his family is mourning. Though there's notably as many people supported people coming out with these claims. So as we saw those debates playing out, we also had people like Moise Critical chiming in. Moise actually had a connection to Too Mad a while ago because he worked with his agency selling him ads. I'm kind of shining a light on what people were saying in the space, what people had experienced, talking about the various things he heard about

2Mad over the last few years, and especially regarding drug use. He went down a really bad path and he never recovered from it. So he would say some f**k up things and he just i guess kept getting worse and worse and worse and i don't i'd heard like things from other youtubers about him like in real life and it was all really pretty horrifying stuff but i didn't know the extent of it until like a ton of creators came out today to tell their experience with him it's f***ing awful whatever he found destroyed his mental state and created a monster and his allegations have mounted people have used that as kind of a green light to mock his death to make tons of memes and jokes about it and if you search up his name on x and some of the first stuff that you'll see which has sparked a whole different layer of conversation and debate about whether

that's okay warrants it appropriate or or just outright horrific. You know, as of recording, a lot of this is still playing out. And so in the meantime, especially if you are people that were familiar with Too Mad, the space, the general scene, I'd love to know your thoughts on this situation and also your response to the reactions that we've seen thus far. And then Time Magazine just put out this very in-depth profile of Mr. Beast, and it paints a very big and, like, adventurous, but also messy and concerning picture. They dive into the insanity of his schedule, the success, all the numbers. And with that, sharing an image of a Jimmy Donaldson that's just going from one thing to the next. Like, at one point, they talk about producer Kyle Bennett, and he's explaining the Thousand Spider Challenge, but then all of a sudden, he stops and looks around, and he's lost his audience.

Jimmy Donaldson, saying he has just quietly left the room with Bennett saying classic. With time going on to say Donaldson is supposed to be showing a reporter and a film crew of one around the set for the next in his series of wildly popular videos. Going on to describe all the things that are set up and saying Donaldson's not happy. He's been away on another shoot for 11 days and he's not thrilled with the progress of this one. With Jimmy saying I'm not really good at these things. With the times the piece touching on not only the crazy, but the schedule that they're putting these videos out on, and also the scale of those videos. And then with that, the time piece kind of pivots. With him saying, Time spoke to a dozen former Mr. Beast employees, and while all admired Donaldson and his vision, they found

that the company's attention to detail slipped when it came to adhering to safety norms or maintaining a healthy work culture. And adding, many had signed NDAs and would not go on the record for fear of angering a powerful company. But with it, you had one creative producer who worked with Mr. Beast in 2023 saying, they view safety as like being overly cautious or a weakness. Saying that he helped produce the train versus giant pit video and was concerned about safety there. And when he suggested using OSHA protocols, he claimed, I was told we don't need to worry about that. And while you had others claiming they were asked to work with explosives and heavy machinery with little training on little notice. Also saying one person would even update a board days without an accident every day.

Several producers also saying there was pushback around hiring stunt experts. With one person even claiming to have been let go from their job for pushing for safety. Though notably a spokesperson for the company said no one's ever been let go for that reason. That spokesperson also adding safety is incredibly important and taken very seriously. Noting that there are medics on every set and saying that the company is OSHA compliant. So that was a big aspect of the piece, but there were also people saying that while they had no issues with Jimmy, the company culture itself is toxic. One producer saying that there was a lot of bullying, saying people are experiencing enormous amounts of

stress. There's a lot of fear that you can be fired at any moment. Because clear feedback isn't given, it's hard to know whether that's going to happen. The piece also talks about Mr. Beast's mom actually working for the company herself as the chief compliance officer. Though in this piece, many said that she's really akin to HR. Though notably, a spokesperson said she is not. You also had one filmmaker who worked with Mr. B saying he actually approached her to say, quote, I'm going to tell you right now that if the company keeps treating people the way it's been treating people, Jimmy is going to have no one left to work for him.

Though notably with all this, you had a spokesperson for the company telling Time, the company has high standards for performance and not everyone is best suited for this work. Though also with this, it is worth noting that like this wasn't some mega hit piece. They talked about a lot of stuff in this and there are things that people are like pulling from it. But you also have things like with people like Chris Tyson. And Chris, who transitioned last year, told Time, this building we're in was one of the first places that I was able to feel comfortable enough to present as my authentic self. There are also interesting aspects about Mr. Beast's life and business. Noting that his fame has taken a toll on how he lives his life. He barely goes out in public much to avoid mobs and crowds. He also doesn't see himself as rich, but that's also because with

everything that he makes, he's reinvested. And his production company, that actually didn't churn a profit in 2023. Apparently, they don't expect that to change this year. And in fact, saying that 70% of revenue comes from Feastables. But ultimately, you know, that is where we are on this. And the profile is very big. So if you're interested in a true, true deep dive on this, I'll include a link to the article down below. But I also, I want to leave you with the question of what are your thoughts on this? I know there are a lot of things that are touched on and, you know, there we also have, you know, accusations from poor employees, denials from the company. Yeah, let me know. And then, stalling roofs on businesses and homes is incredibly dangerous. One slip, you could be dead. But despite there being federal

regulations prohibiting anyone underage from working this job, countless migrant children are building roofs at the risk of their own lives. In fact, the New York Times didn't just find 100 kids who are working on America's roofs right now. That was the number they spoke to, some of which who started when they were elementary school age. We're talking about kids moving heavy bundles of shingles

up ladders without safety gear, balancing on steep inclines for hours at a time, and working through heat waves on black tar rooftops that scorch and blister hands. And on social media, they're called rooferitos, often sharing videos from the roofs of houses and that steep drop downward. And in the case of one, Antony Padilla,

his fall didn't kill him, but it did leave him with severe brain trauma. His memory and body left in shambles. You know, Antony, he spent most of his childhood in Honduras with his family, living in a one-room house with his four siblings. He's been working since a very, very young age. And once he was 15, he left Honduras

and he came to the States in 2021. You know, Anthony found work in South Carolina as a roofer. He was making enough money to cover room and board at his uncle's trailer nearby and sending as much as $300 back home to his family every month. But last spring, when he was working on this massive beach house,

he slipped while collecting shingles, falling 30 feet onto the cement patio below. He fractured his skull, punctured a lung, and he was bleeding internally all while breathing through a tube in his neck. His family called in from Honduras to say their goodbyes, and the surgeon wrote that his outcome did not look good. But three months after that fall,

Anthony woke up and he was discharged. But no rehabilitation center would take him without insurance. So he was just sent back to his uncle's trailer, unable to speak or even stand, and he stayed inside for months. And after five months, he still couldn't lift his arm. He was unsteady on his feet

and he couldn't understand basic questions. Like he couldn't remember what state he was in or even his father's name. Well, eventually he could speak again. Once that happened, he began asking when he could go back home to Honduras. With that, you had his parents who had no idea how they were gonna support him

for numerous reasons, but also they live hours from the type of medical care that he needs. So you've got them also asking him to stay put until there's some foreseeable path forward for his care. And so now at 17, Anthony spends his days scrolling through TikTok, seeing countless videos like the ones he used to take. Rooferitos on the tops of buildings with steep drops just steps behind. And a big

thing is that there are so many others like Antony. With labor organizers and social workers saying they're seeing more and more migrant children getting seriously injured on roofing crews in recent years. And you're the New York Times finding several. A 16-year-old in Arkansas fell off a roof and shattered his back. A 15-year-old in Florida got burns all over his body when he slipped from a roof onto a vat of hot tar. A one kid in Illinois stepped through a skylight and fractured his spine. When these kids get hurt, contractors often refuse to pay for their medical bills. Or like in Anthony's case, he would likely qualify for workers' compensation, but the company hired to do the roof subcontracted the job out to a smaller company who subcontracted it again, which just left three companies arguing

for over a year about who's actually responsible for Antony's workers' comp. In fact, as I'm recording this, they are still in the process of settling the case. But even with that, I mean, we're talking about the kids who survived. According to the Department of Labor, 100 roofers die on the job every single year, mostly from falls.

And the big thing here is we don't actually have the data for how many child roofers sustain injury or die. That's because the child roofers aren't supposed to exist. But here's the thing we do know. Children working on construction sites are six times more likely to be killed compared to those working in other positions. With roofing being the second most dangerous job for kids behind agriculture. Like in one case, you had a 15-year-old who was installing metal roofing on a plant in Alabama

when the insulation that he was standing on gave way and he fell to the concrete down below. And after his death, OSHA found that the crew working on that roof had nine workers and only six safety harnesses. Now with everything that we've talked about, of course, it brings us to a question. If U.S. federal law bans anyone from under the age of 18 from roofing, how are these kids not only getting, but keeping these jobs? Well, according to reports, subcontractors are struggling to find adults to fill these positions. And this is you have roofing industry experts saying that the South has seen residential building booms while the industry battles a labor shortage.

So then these subcontractors, they turn to kids, who then oftentimes say that they're 18 and those in charge just don't ask for any proof. It doesn't hurt that they're cheaper to employ. Now, in some cases, crew bosses keep kids on the ground out of a concern for their safety, or having them pick up loose shingles or lifting bags up the ladders. But in many places, being on the roof pays nearly double what working on the ground does, which ends up being a strong incentive for these kids that are trying to support themselves and their families. Interestingly with this, you had one crew boss saying that she hires underage workers because she doesn't like turning away kids in need,

notably going on to say that she isn't worried about inspectors. Same. They only visit certain neighborhoods, and sometimes they let you know when they're going to show up. In the Department of Labor, who's in charge of enforcing child labor laws, they've done very little to address labor problems within the roofing industry. I mean, they brought an average of seven cases per year in the last decade. And that, while you had the Times saying they spoke with 20 child migrant workers as young as 13 years old on day labor sites, and that was just from one small city. Also, regarding the investigators,

one career investigator told the Times that while she responds to all tips regarding child labor, she just isn't going to chase it down, saying, I'm not going to make it my duty to go out and look for it. You know, even when OSHA does respond to accidents where kids are killed or they're seriously injured, inspectors sometimes fail to follow their own policy and alert child labor investigators. Sometimes they let the cases drop entirely. Now, worth noting, after the Times started looking into this, the Labor Department's saying they're revisiting some of these cases,

so hopefully we see something from that. But in an ideal world, especially as more and more of these fucking newspapers are shutting down, the Times or any outlet would need to pick up this story for people to do their job. Because really all we're talking about at this point is how many cases are being swept under the rug. It's not an if. And unless something's done, these contractors are going to just go on hiring kids. But as we wait to see if any sort of meaningful change can happen here, are being swept under the rug. It's not an if. And unless something's done, these contractors are gonna just go on hiring kids. But as we wait to see if any sort of meaningful change can happen here,

I gotta pass the question off to you. Not only generally, what are your thoughts on the situation, but specifically, whether you're a contractor, a subcontractor, or you've just worked on job sites. Because when I was young, I worked on some job sites

and there's a lot of fucking sketchy under the table shit going on. But I'd love to know your thoughts, your experiences, and also what do you think is gonna happen here? And then, we've got basketball, hockey, concerts, the theater shit going on. But I'd love to know your thoughts, your experiences, and also what do you think is going to happen here? And then, we've got basketball, hockey, concerts, the theater, and everything.

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you get $10 off any purchase. And you could be one of our weekly winners like Sydney. Also, awesomely, Daily Dip newsletter subscribers get double entry and double the winnings. $1,000 in SeatGeek credit. So make sure you're subscribed today. And then we need to talk about the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting yesterday and everything we've learned since. Because it happened at around two in the afternoon near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Chiefs players had just finished addressing their fans and around a million people at a rally celebrating their Super Bowl victory. Just minutes later, you had gunfire ringing through what was a festive atmosphere, turning the parade into a stampede with thousands of people running for their lives as multiple

shooters sprayed bullets through the air. And I'll just let the survivors who were there describe what it was like. It all started off as a celebration. You know, it was fun. Everybody was in good spirits. Everybody was happy to be, you know, celebrating that two-peat by the Chiefs. When all of a sudden people started crushing forward, everybody started running. There was screaming. There was a woman crying, saying something about somebody had been shot. We thought they were firecrackers at first. There was just kind of blood everywhere. You could definitely hear the pop, pop, pop. Thank God there was somebody that helped me get to safety with my vision. I am legally blind, but a young man helped me. SWAT teams jumping over the fence.

This is our America these days. By the end of it all, we have reports that at least one person was killed and 22 injured, with around half of those wounded reportedly being children as young as eight and no older than 16. You also have the city's fire chief saying that of the wounded, seven had life-threatening injuries and eight more had immediately life-threatening injuries. And this is according to the mayor. All chiefs, players, coaches, and staff have been accounted for. Now, as far as the person who died, she's been identified as

43-year-old Lisa Lopez Galvan. She was a mother of two, a radio DJ, and the host of Taste of Tejano, with the station putting out a statement saying, this senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC community. And a legislator who knew her saying she was a member of a very large family of civic leaders actively involved in the city's Latino community. And I think she was the light at every party. She was oftentimes the voluntary DJ when everyone needed one for a community event. Also with this horrific situation,

you have another person who's been widely praised as a hero and that being 46-year-old Paul Contreras. Right, he was just a father who was walking back to his car with his three daughters when the shooting started. And with that, him saying that he saw one of the alleged shooters running and heard someone screaming to stop him. And so he just leapt into action, telling CNN.

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You don't think about it. It's just a reaction. He got close to me. I got the right angle on him. When I hit him from behind, I either jarred the gun out of his hand or out of his sleeve. With then a second man jumping in to help, and Paul holding down the shooter's upper body,

and the other guy restraining his legs. He's just fighting to get up, but we're fighting to keep him down. And then a third bystander rushing over to pin the shooter, followed by then a swarm of police who finally detained the man. And actually, now as of today, police have reportedly taken three people into custody, and two of them identified as juveniles. But other than that, with what the police are officially putting out there,

we have very little information on who these alleged shooters are. Though we do know that Paul Contreras' daughter told News Nation the one her father tackled was an African-American male. Now with all this, so far the police chief has said that there is no indication of nexus to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism. They're adding that the shooting appears to have been a, quote, dispute between several people that ended in gunfire, that also appearing to be backed up by one survivor who was shot in the ankle, telling CBS that he overheard an altercation prior to the shooting in which a girl told someone else, don't do it, not here, this is stupid. And then, according to him, his wife and daughter saw someone draw a gun. So apparently these three

suspects were not targeting the parade itself. Now that said, as far as any other suspects, reportedly police initially questioned 10 people. The status of the other seven who aren't in custody is unclear. And as of recording, I understand this is still a developing situation. No charges have been announced yet. Now, all that said, while we're waiting to get more information online, you may have seen that there's another big question floating around with people now in the wake of this saying, why didn't the more than 800 cops policing the parade stop this sooner? We're saying, why did three consecutive civilians have to risk their lives tackling a gunman before law enforcement caught up? You know, as we wait to hear more, of course, people have been sharing their responses. And that includes both everyday people and even the

president of the United States. With President Biden posting, how many more families need to be torn apart? It's time for Congress to finally act to a ban, assault weapons, limit high capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, and keep guns out of the hands of those who have no business owning them. But with all that said, as we wait to see how this plays out, and of course, I'd love to know your thoughts here. I do want to end today by focusing on those brave bamfs who, without a weapon, risked their lives and acted. Because people really never know how they're going to respond to a situation like that until they're in it. When the shit hit the fan that none of these people should have had to be a part of, they acted and possibly saved numerous lives.

And then, America is facing a serious national security threat. That is what Representative Mike Turner, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a cryptic and alarming statement yesterday. With that, saying that the committee had made intel on that undefined threat available to members of Congress and called on Biden to declassify it for the public. And in a letter to other members, Turner and the Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Representative Jim Himes, elaborated a bit, saying that their panel had identified an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability that should be known by all congressional policymakers. And unsurprisingly, that got people all riled up, freaked out, got people looking up to see if the sky's falling, with many wondering,

you know, what could this threat possibly be? It must be so incredibly important to make a public statement like this. And then later in the day, you had sources telling outlets the answer. Russian space nukes. Specifically, you had sources saying that the U.S. had gathered information that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear anti-satellite weapon. And anti-satellites are pretty much exactly what they sound like. Weapons aimed at taking down other countries' satellites. And in this case, specifically, the U.S.'s satellites. With the New York Times reporting,

Such a satellite killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communication, surveillance from space, and military command and control operations by the United States and its allies. And adding, according to a former official, the U.S. doesn't currently have the capability to counter a nuclear anti-satellite weapon and defend our satellites from it. Which, yes, sounds really fucking bad. But don't panic, or at least not yet. Because multiple outlets reported that the sources who informed them of the weapon said it's not operational yet, and Russia doesn't seem close to deploying it. You know, so it's not currently considered an urgent threat. And that was also echoed by top lawmakers, though. Notably, they did not confirm that Turner was talking about a Russian space nuke, without even including Turner's Intelligence Committee counterpart, Representative Himes, who explicitly said this is not a panic now issue, and adding it is a serious national

security issue in the medium to long term that the Congress and the administration need to focus on, but no need to buy gold. And you had a whole slew of other lawmakers making similar points, without even including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told people to calm the fuck down, telling reporters, I want to assure the American people there is no need for public alarm. We are going to work together to address this matter as we do all sensitive matters that are classified. But that said, understandably, you had people going, Okay, but if this is not an immediate panic situation, why did a top Republican, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, say,

Because you have intelligence officials telling the Times, this isn't the kind of intel that requires a warning to the public about immediate threat. And beyond that, there are serious concerns that disclosing this kind of information could create serious problems for the government to actually deal with this situation, which is why it's not surprising that the Times reported that Turner's statement infuriated White House officials who feared the loss of important sources of information on Russia. That same sentiment was also expressed by an aide who told the Washington Post that Turner's disclosure could actively make the response harder if it revealed any kind of information about how the U.S. obtained this intelligence. Notably, that same aide was also pissed off about the timing because lawmakers apparently in both the House and Senate have actually had this information for weeks.

But for some reason, Turner chose to release this statement a day before the briefing between White House officials and a group of top House lawmakers called the Gang of Eight, with the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee confirming they've also been tracking the issue Turner was referencing and also cautioning about, quote, disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action. And during a press briefing, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also took an aim at Turner's timing, noting the Gang of Eight meeting and adding, that's been on the books. So I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today in advance of a meeting on the books for me to go sit with him

alongside our intelligence and defense professionals tomorrow. With all this, as far as why, you had one official telling the Times that maybe he blew this out of proportion as an effort to push the House to pass the $95 billion that would go to give aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Because the Senate has passed that bill, but the measure is stalled in the House under Speaker Johnson, with many Republicans opposing additional funding. But supporters, including Turner, argue that one of the number one reasons the U.S. should pass this bill is to help Ukraine fight threats from Russia that go beyond the region. Which, hey, I very much agree that there is a reason the United States should help Ukraine fight Russia. If not just to fight a mad dictator and warmonger in Putin. And if he

is successful, there's no reason for him to stop. And that puts our allies and us at bigger risk, not only of money, but having to risk more and more of American lives right down the road. But regarding if Turner's way of getting attention for this was the way to go about it, not only of money, but having to risk more and more of American lives right down the road. But regarding if Turner's way of getting attention for this was the way to go about it, it seems to very much not be the case. But we got to wait to see how this plays out. And in the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts here. And then we'll get back to more news you need to know in just a second. But y'all, I think I found the best razor I've ever used. And it's from a family owned aerospace parts manufacturer, like for the International Space Station and the Mars Rover.

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By the time many of these kids are 10 years old, they're convinced they need to start anti-aging skincare routines, which sounds potentially harmless until you take a closer look. Because in no way is it a secret that skincare is a huge market online, especially on TikTok. I mean, just on TikTok, that hashtag alone is over 300 billion views. And the related sub-search is also incredibly popular. And when you dive into that,

you'll find people showing their moisturizing routines, doing face masks, trying new cleansers. But you'll also see videos like this. There's some things that I do to slow down the aging process as a 14-year-old. I started doing most of these things at 12. With that girl going on to do a multi-step routine that she apparently does twice a day.

And last year, she told The Cut that she actually isn't obsessed too much with aging and that this is actually a precaution against concerns she's seen from creators and skincare tutorials, which she started watching at a young age. And the one big thing that she took from all those influencers and celebrities

was that when it comes to anti-aging, they always say the younger you start, the better. And she is not alone here, right? It's why girls even younger than her are spending gobs of time and money on skincare. You got little kids asking Santa to bring anti-aging moisturizers in his sleigh. You've got Sephora's packed with kids who buy creams they can't even spell. With a New York-based dermatologist telling CNN, we've now actually started to see 9 to 13-year-olds in the office for cosmetic consultations on a somewhat regular basis. If you're looking at this like I

was initially when this story was pitched to me and you're like, well, what's the deal here? Like, I wanted proactive when I saw those commercials when I was young. What's the big deal? I wish I started moisturizing when I was younger. Well, it turns out that's not quite what a lot of today's tweens are doing. You've got kids as young as 10 rating Sephora in search of high-end brands like Drunk Elephant, which if you're unfamiliar with is like giving a toddler a Rolex. Or they sell creams for $70, serums that can be over $100 as well.

Some anti-aging products that kids shouldn't be using. Because anti-aging products, they're meant for people who are aging. It's in the name, not prepubescent. Because while adults might benefit from things like retinol or vitamin serums, a teenager's skin, that's a different climate. They have more hormones and more collagen, so that means that they have different needs. Which is why you have tons of dermatologists now trying to get the word out, warning that these 10-step wrinkle prevention routines, they're not only unnecessary for them, but they can actually include ingredients that are bad for tweens and teens. For example, dermatologist Dr. Sharon Wong

telling Vice, at that age, they should definitely be nowhere near retinols. No exfoliating acids, no vitamin C, none of that is required for children of that age. In young children with acne, it's very easy to overuse active ingredients, and then you end up over-drying the skin, causing breakouts, eczema, and sensitivity. Even adults will have issues if they just pile on all the actives at the same time. Right, noting that too much can crack your skin and open doors for infection, or even to develop allergies to products you were not always sensitive to. And a big thing, this is especially true of thin, immature skin. And yes, there are exceptions to every rule,

but if you are dealing with hyper-specific skin problems, you should probably contact a dermatologist, not TikTok. Now that said, there are a few things I gotta say. I know cost can be a limiting factor. One of the reasons people may go to social media for advice probably contact a dermatologist, not TikTok. Now that said, there are a few things I got to say. I know cost can be a limiting factor, or one of the reasons people may go to social media for advice rather than a dermatologist, money, expenses. And yes, you can seek out information, but you got to be careful. There is so much money being made and spent in this space. Like it's hard to know who to trust. You have to be careful. You got to do your due diligence. Also, a big thing is I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a skincare routine if you're young.

It is totally healthy for tweens and even preteens to start a skincare routine with puberty on the horizon. But a small and really basic one is where that should likely start and stop. With dermatologists largely agreeing that a gentle cleanser, moisturizer, and then some SPF gets the job done for most young people. And that also means young kids do not need

to be shelling out hundreds of dollars on this bullshit. Though mom, dad, it's your money, do what you want. Though why people are overspending on this is connected to another concern. Or the fact that kids as young as nine years old are afraid of aging and are concerned with maintaining their appearance. And of course, a lot of that goes back to social media and the amount of time they spend on it. Or you've got celeb kids out there like Northwest having skincare videos going absolutely viral. Meanwhile, tweens see tons of people their age doing makeup and skincare hauls or get ready with me videos, reviews of skin trends, and all of these kids, they're convinced they should be participating. And on that note, columnist Holly Thomas writing,

the modern rebranding of beauty products to skincare, reminiscent of diets to lifestyles, implies that simply leaving your skin alone is tantamount to negligence. And then on top of all that, like I briefly mentioned, a lot of these influencers have something to gain when promoting these products, especially because in the world of skincare and makeup, the margins can be fucking huge, which means not only so much money that can go to the companies that make these products, but so much money to the people that will promote them to you. And a lot of the promotion, it's based on two things, aspiration and fear. With Renee Engle, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, telling The Cut, beauty products sell best when they create a feeling of fear and vulnerability.

The sooner they can get young girls worried about another thing that might go wrong with their appearance, the more they can sell. And sell they do. With a survey from Piper Sandler finding the teen spending on skincare went up 20% just between 2022 and 2023. I mean, we have elementary kids out here worried about aging, which is why we're now seeing a lot of dermatologists trying to take to TikTok in hopes of balancing what people are consuming on the app. Doing things like telling parents that it's okay to bring their kids back down to earth, starting and talking about good habits that make sense for their age. But cynically, I will say those dermatologists and parents in general are going to have an uphill battle. Because again, this industry has just so much money. When there is a money train just chugging

along, they don't hit the brakes for no reason. And the reason is usually not having to do with morals or concern for your well-being. But hey, I'd love to know your thoughts on this situation and story. Also, any experiences you have yourself or with kids you're seeing now. Because it's one that is concerning in its own ways on its own and also is concerning as it connects to just young people and their self-image related to social media and what that's going to mean for their lives. And then in huge international and finance news, let's talk about recessions because not one, but two incredibly important countries have now slipped into recession. Starting with our friends

across the pond or the daddy we emancipated ourselves from a long time ago, or the UK releasing official figures showing their worst gross domestic product performance since 2009. With it showing over the last three months of 2023, their GDP falling 0.3%, according to the Office for National Statistics. And according to ONS Director of Economic Statistics, across 2023 as a whole, the economy has been broadly flat. Which definitely doesn't bode well for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the ruling Conservative Party. With Sunak's pledges of generating economic growth seemingly ringing a bit hollow. And this is the opposing Labour Party's already enjoying a commanding lead in opinion polls as the UK gears up for their national election this year.

However, at the same time, there are some saying that calling this a recession is a leap, with the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics saying, it's overly dramatic to label the decline in economic activity in the second half of 2023 a recession, given that employment continued to rise, real wages rebounded, and measures of business and consumer confidence returned to levels consistent with rising activity by the end of the year. And notably, the UK is not the only country dealing with a slipping GDP right now. Japan also today announced that they've seen two consecutive quarters of contraction,

which is the broad definition of recession. And in fact, this has actually caused them to fall from their position as the world's third largest economy, with that spot now being taken over by Germany. And according to a Tokyo-based strategist at Japan Macro, the decline in private consumption played a considerable role here, saying private consumption was particularly weak and market expectations was for it to be flat. And adding, unfortunately, this will get worse in January following the sea of Japan earthquake. People stopped spending in times of natural disasters. But all of this is some are holding out hope for improvement. One senior economist saying that the first quarter of 2024 will likely see a rebound in the GDP and adding there that private

consumption should improve with the stabilization of inflation and expected wage growth and arguing that strong corporate earnings coupled with demand for IT will also play a role in recovery. So there are big changes. We're going to have to wait to see how long these trends continue. If we see rebounds, like with a lot of things, the past few years have been a shakeup. It's just a question of how big and how long lasting. But then finally today, we're going to end on yesterday today. The part of the show that makes having this community so amazing because we dive into the comments on yesterday's show and we see what y'all had to say. And then sometimes I'd nod my head and agree. And other times I push back. Like yesterday, I found myself agreeing with a lot of the comments

about that cop, the one that got spooked by an acorn and just started unloading his clip into the back of his car where there was a handcuffed suspect, with Coppery Fox saying, the delusional cop is terrifying, and J No Thanks saying, thankfully, they'll have qualified immunity

so they can protect themselves from an acorn. If you're that jumpy, you shouldn't have a gun, ever. Though, there was also this one popular comment that I was actually more divided on. As a non-American, it's fucking terrifying to me that the police officer's response to not hearing shots, but just hearing her co-worker say shots fired, was to immediately open fire on a vehicle with a cuffed and unarmed man inside and with no one else around. The cop who screams shots fired at a falling acorn is stupid, but it's

terrifying that they're both taught to immediately open fire without a second of hesitation or to process what genuinely could be happening. Now again, the officer who confused an acorn falling for a gunshot and who then thought, I guess, he got shot because he did a weird like roll twice. So stupid. But I personally feel like the other officer, right? The female officer is less at fault, right? There is probably no reason for her to think,

hey, my partner is unloading into the back of a car with an unarmed man who is not attacking him. And so this other cop has told her, we're in a life or death situation. And in a job where you have to make split second decisions. I understand her point of view more than the other guy. She's guilty of believing her partner who said not only shots fired, but that he was shot. But hey, luckily, thank God, the police officers either had stormtrooper aim or this guy had plot armor. So again, I mean, none of this should have even happened. And I hope that what often happens doesn't happen here where this cop just lands with another department.

Because I don't know how you ever trust that guy again. And I agree with revenge. He said, the fact that the cop had to resign instead of getting fired is the biggest scandal of this entire incident, to be honest. How can we trust people who are routinely shown as above the law to actually uphold said law? Also, we covered so much news yesterday.

Like, I can't even get to all the comments. It was a 32 minute show. We got the most comments we've gotten in weeks. You missed it. Definitely go check it out. And that is where today's Daily Dive into the news is going to end. As always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll actually see you Tuesday because Monday is President's Day. I'll miss you just a little. I don't want you to get an ego about it.