The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.24 David Dobrik Jason Nash Assault Accusations, Vlog Squad Fallout, GTA Bill, & More News

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

Start your free trial today: http://www.Squarespace.com/Phil & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!  WATCH Matthew Mercer Podcast: https://youtu.be/HM9viQbti-0  -- 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 - David Dobrik Allegations 05:36 - YouTube Announces New Control Settings 07:12 - Sponsor 08:04 - Stupid Illinois GTA Law Proposed 10:32 - 5 ERCOT Board Members Resign & Griddy Lawsuit Over Bill Spikes 12:31 - Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Rising In Canada -- ✩ 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 ✩  Seth Francois Says He Was Assaulted by Jason Nash on Video: https://roguerocket.com/2021/02/24/seth-francois-david-dobrik/ YouTube Is Expanding How Parents Can Control What Their Kids See on the Platform https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/02/24/youtube-letting-underage-users-onto-platform-with-parental-supervision/ Illinois Rep. Files Bill To Ban Video Games Like “GTA” Amid Carjacking Spikes https://roguerocket.com/2021/02/24/illinois-rep-gta/ All Five Out-of-State ERCOT Board Members Resign https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2021/02/23/4-ercot-board-members-to-resign-wednesday/ Texas Utility Company Griddy Sued for $1 Billion https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-electric-retailer-griddy-sued-for-1-billion-accused-of-price-gouging/2561574/ Anti-Asian Hate Crimes on the Rise in British Columbia: https://roguerocket.com/2021/02/24/anti-asian-hate-crimes-on-the-rise-in-british-columbia/ ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩  Former Capitol Security Officials Blame Intelligence Failures for Insurrection: https://roguerocket.com/2021/02/24/capitol-security-officials-insurrection/  Tiger Woods Recovering From Surgery After Serious Car Crash: https://roguerocket.com/2021/02/24/tiger-woods-recovering/  ——————————     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 ———————————— #DeFranco #DavidDobrik #CorinnaKopf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So on a Wednesday Philip DeFranco show like this, I would normally have named it something like Matthew Mercer Exposed, because the fantastic Matthew Mercer of, among other things, Critical Role fame, was on my podcast, A Conversation With. And hey, if you're a critter, right, you're a fan of Critical Role, you're a fan of D&D,

or you're just interested in checking out an interesting person, definitely watch that top link down below. But the first thing that we have to talk about today is a genuine controversy and scandal that is happening in the YouTube community right now. So talk about today is a genuine controversy and scandal that is happening in the YouTube community right now. So if you haven't seen, there are accusations

that have come out against David Dobrik, Jason Nash, and kind of the general group called the Vlog Squad. Though I do also want to note that it feels weird calling everything allegations because there's literally video of some of the things. And so essentially those uninitiated to the kind of YouTube world, David Dobrik, massive creator, people he has around him,

the people he's brought up, referred to as the Vlog Squad. And in recent weeks, several former members have gone on the H3 podcast to air their concerns and accusations. With some creators like Nick Keswani, otherwise known as Big Nick, saying that kind of the group was toxic, it was cult-like, saying he was bullied and felt forced to participate

in jokes making fun of his size at his expense, which led to other people thinking they could make fun of him for those reasons as well. But from there, the accusations get far more serious. And that's because we saw former member Seth Francois coming out and saying that he was assaulted during a prank that David pulled on him with Jason Nash in 2017.

And as far as what is being described as a prank here, you have David asking Seth, "'Would he be comfortable in a video kissing Corinna Copp?' But seemingly for this vlog is kind of the joke, Corinna would be wearing an old person mask and a costume, which Seth says, yes, he's new to the group. He wants to help David. Maybe also he's open to kissing Corinna.

But instead of sending out Corinna to kiss him, David puts out Jason, who was a 45 year old man at the time. And they end up actually making out for what feels like a while. It's then revealed, oh, Corinna's over there. Oh, you've been making out with Jason Nash. Everyone in the room's laughing. He's freaking out, oh, Corinna's over there. Oh, you've been making out with Jason Nash. Everyone in the room's laughing. He's freaking out.

Also, it appears that most viewers at the time might've thought this was kind of another scripted segment, a fake thing, which is why we actually saw David Dobrik in the comment section saying, "'For the people saying this is fake, "'are you out of your mind?'' Jason Nash in the comments congratulating Seth on what he called his vlog initiation.

So with all of this, you had Seth saying to Buzzfeed News now, because this story has picked up more and more traction since the initial podcast, that yes, it did feel wrong at the time, but then the more that he thought about it, the worse it was. So he said he ended up calling a sexual assault hotline, explaining, they said it directly to me.

They said, I'm sorry you were sexually assaulted and I broke down. I called my mother and some of my close friends and I said, I can't believe that happened to me. This is also not the only time that Seth got tricked into kissing Jason Nash without his consent. So that's around 2018, David kept asking him what it would take to make one of those videos again,

but Seth kept refusing, saying he didn't like that video, that he didn't want to deal with that situation again. And so then one day David asked Seth to be in what he thought was a beef jerky commercial. Seth's excited, thinking this is a huge opportunity. And on the set, you had people dressed like gorillas with Seth then told to make out with one of the gorillas who turned

Out to be Jason Nash. Even though David knew Seth wanted no part in it He did it again in this in part ultimately led to Seth moving out of Los Angeles with Also the jerky brand that was using that fake ad having to come forward to clarify that they were not in a partnership with Dobrik And they do not condone what happened. Also to be clear with this coverage. We're not even covering every claim every accusation I mean even with Seth he said other things like he was made to participate in videos where racist jokes were made as well as bits where stereotypes were used that he felt were insensitive, made him feel uncomfortable.

Because while obviously that is still important, the primary focus is on the largest accusation, an assault accusation, which I mean, actually on that note, you had Seth explaining to the insider why it was important to talk about this, saying his goal hasn't been to cancel anyone and that he actually tried to solve the situation privately with David by messaging him before he went on H3, but he never received a response.

With him also reportedly saying that he never wanted to pursue legal action, but it's starting to feel at this point it might be his only choice. With him also saying, people were saying I betrayed David, but I feel like he betrayed me. I was very hurt and even right now talking about it, it really makes you want to cry.

They profited off of causing me a lot of mental trauma, which is something that really hurts to know. And as far as David and Jason side of things, right now it doesn't appear that they're responding, at least as of recording this video. Buzzfeed and Insider saying they reached out, they haven't gotten a statement. I have also reached out to the two,

have not received a response, which I will say it feels like is in general how David Dobrik handles controversies, just not addressing things, right? I mean, he has previously issued more general apologies for past offensive content, but this is in a different category. So it ends up making you wonder, I mean,

one, what does a legal situation look like with Seth? But also two, will Jason Nash and David Dobrik realize that the seriousness of this situation is different? It's in a different category. This is something that needs to be addressed and there may actually be pressure on him to do so, even if he doesn't want to. Because at the same time that this story is blowing up,

we also see David in the news because his company Dispo, right, that social network that he's trying to launch, according to Axios, they just raised $20 million at a $200 million valuation. But with that said, that is where we are with this story now. And of course, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on all of this? I've seen a lot of different reactions.

Some saying this is incredibly serious. It needs to be handled. Maybe even the authorities involved. Others saying this is kind of overblown. Personally, I land on this as a very serious issue. I think some of the people that might not see this as a big deal, just swap some of the things that happen. Double standards are real.

It sucks that we even have to do this, but what if Seth was a woman? Or you tricked some young girl into making out with a 45 year old guy. Then does consent matter to you that a person's choice was taken away from them for an intimate act? Because you could say that David was younger then,

he was dumber then, but if what Seth is saying is true, there is still a victim in this situation and everything that the way that it's been described, it just feels like a complete scumbag move. But like I said, that's a story, now some of my opinion, and I pass the question off to you. I'm really interested in what your thoughts are here. Because remember, this is the Philip DeFranco Show.

You do not need to agree with me, and whether you do or you don't, I'm always interested. Also in another YouTube story, the way less intense, you had YouTube announcing today that they'll soon be implementing more nuanced parental control settings designed to allow children to navigate parts of the main platform rather than just YouTube Kids.

The project will be launching in beta form in the coming months, and it will reportedly offer three different settings. Explore, which will feature videos generally suited for viewers nine and older. Explore More, which will feature videos suited for kids 13 and older, and most of YouTube, which is geared to older teens

and will only block age-restricted videos. And I imagine because YouTube did not want to be sued again, several key features will also be disabled with each of these categories. Things like targeted ads, in-app purchases, the ability to post videos, and the ability to leave comments. Though YouTube did say they may integrate

some of these features in the future. And I will say as both a creator and a dad, I think this makes sense if it is implemented properly, because it does feel like there is this big gap of appropriate and inappropriate content for seven to 13 year olds. For example, my kid's a fan of Zach Scott games. Zach's videos, I think in general are not on YouTube Kids.

Even though every like Nintendo playthrough I've seen, nothing but PG goodness. I think it's because on his channel and other videos, he plays kind of more violent games here and there. So if we're gonna watch those, we have to use main YouTube, but then I don't wanna use main YouTube because there's a lot of bad stuff there. I don't wanna deal with those nightmares

and or those weird parent-teacher conferences. But also I will say, YouTube offering these programs is not a replacement for a parent being aware of what their child is looking at. Also with this and in general, YouTube needs to make clear how our videos are kind of age gated or rated. It kind of feels like we're playing darts blindfolded,

but we can't even take the blindfold off after we hit the target to see what happened. Then I guess it's that time again, let's blame video games for real world violence. And the reason that we're talking about this is that Democratic Illinois State Representative Marcus Evans has filed a bill that if passed would ban the sale of violent video games

to anyone in the state. And while yes, the bill does address the frequent debate around whether gun violence in video games inspires real world violence, Evans is actually filing the bill primarily in response to a series of carjackings in Chicago. In fact, the bill was largely conceived with Grand Theft Auto in mind.

With Evans saying, "'Grand Theft Auto and other violent video games "'are getting in the minds of our young people and perpetuating the normalcy of carjacking. Carjacking is not normal and carjacking must stop. And as far as what the carjacking situation looks like there, according to the Chicago Sun-Times,

Chicago saw 1400 carjackings in 2020, which is double that of what they saw in 2019. With it now continuing into this year with already 241 people accused of committing carjackings in the city. In fact, just Monday, we saw a 13 and a 14 year old charged with stealing a man's car after holding him at gunpoint.

Also, in addition to this bill restricting the sale of violent video games to all age groups, Evans also wants to update the definition of violent video game under state law. With the goal being that it includes games that quote, perpetuate human on human violence in which the player kills or otherwise causes serious physical

or psychological harm to another human or an animal. As well, it brings us to the Grand Theft Auto part, motor vehicle theft with a driver or passenger present inside the vehicle when the theft begins. And as far as my opinion and reaction here, it's unsurprising though. I guess it's specifically aimed at Marcus Evans here. Don't be stupid, stupid.

Violence in video games does not make people violent in the real world. Cause I can steal a car in Grand Theft Auto, doesn't mean I'm gonna jack someone's car on the side of the road. Cause, oh, well I did it in a video game. How about maybe focusing your time that you put on the Grand Theft Auto bill

into things that actually affect violence like education reform? Maybe, I don't know, address poverty. We see this almost everywhere it happens. When people don't have opportunities, they usually have to make the worst choices. This is you blah blah blah-ing out of your ass, shuffling around papers and trying to act like you're doing something that's changing anything, but you're not. If this bill is any indication about who you are as a person, you're a misguided fool. And I feel bad for the people that you represent. And that's where I'm going to leave it.

Cause why am I going to make the five minute argument that I have to make so many times each that I've had to make for like over a decade. It's so dumb anyway. Next up, let's talk about Texas starting with ERCOT. And that is because five board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas resigned today, saying that they did so to allow state leaders a free hand

with future direction of the company and to eliminate distraction. ERCOT, which controls Texas's main power grid, has faced national scrutiny since last week's Texas snowstorm, which at one point caused more than 4 million people to lose power amid record-setting low temperatures. And since then, we've seen Governor Greg Abbott

calling ERCOT's reform a top legislative priority. In addition to that, last week, State Representative Jeff Leach announced that he's drafting legislation to restrict ERCOT board membership solely to Texans. With that being that because among many other things that we've since learned about ERCOT, five of its 15 board members were found

to have lived outside of Texas, including one from Canada. Notably, all five that resigned today were part of that group. So now only Texans currently remain on the board. But also note there, the people that resigned also include the board's chair and their vice chair. So right now those roles need to be filled. But that is not the only bit of Texas snowstorm follow.

We're also seeing that the electric retailer Gritty is now the target of a $1 billion class action lawsuit. That lawsuit accusing Gritty of price gouging electricity prices as demand surge during last week's storm. Gritty's rates are connected to the wholesale price of electricity. Usually that's supposed to help keep costs low for customers, but last week those prices

hit astronomical highs. In fact, some people have even reported electricity bills as high as $17,000. With his lawsuit, the lead plaintiff was actually charged $9,000 saying, "'It went through my mind, how are we going to pay this? What are we going to do? This is life-changing.'"

With her attorney also saying, "'I think the state of Texas should get involved. State law is clear. You cannot charge excessive and exorbitant prices for fuel, electricity, et cetera, during a natural disaster. And that's exactly what we had here.'" Which actually regarding this,

a number of Texas lawmakers, including Governor Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, have said that customers should not have to pay these bills. While no aid has been fully guaranteed yet, we have seen Texas prevent electric companies from being able to shut off power for people who have not paid their bills on time.

And as far as gritty side of things, they have called the lawsuit meritless, saying that they plan to vigorously defend themselves. And then let's talk more about anti-Asian hate crimes because, you know, on previous shows, we've talked about specific incidents. We talked about the outrage we've seen for many about the mainstream media not covering these stories.

And in the United States over the last year and since the start of the pandemic, we've seen municipalities like New York City reporting upwards of a 1900% increase. And while I know, yes, some people have pushed back against that percentage saying, well, that's because you're going from one anti-Asian hate crime reported to at least 20

by September, 2020, that is still a massive spike. And ideally those 19 other people wouldn't have gotten hate crime. But the reason I bring this up again today is that the United States isn't the only place dealing with this issue. In fact, just last week, a report given to the Vancouver Police Board

found that in 2019, there were just 12 incidents of anti-Asian hate crimes reported by the city. But in 2020, there were 98 of them, a 717% increase. Also, to be clear, crime overall has been on the rise there, likely fueled by struggling local economies, dealing with the ongoing pandemic. But on the upside,

the report has caused Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to push local prosecutors to more seriously pursue hate crime charges. Because while Vancouver police have received reports of many, many hate crimes in their city, prosecutors often decline to seek hate crime charges as they can be difficult to prove and they'd rather get the easy W,

which is likely the reason why over the last year, British Columbia, right, the province that Vancouver is in, has just approved a single hate crime charge, despite police providing evidence otherwise. And these incidents have led to a push for more strict anti-racism legislation in the province, which is actually something that John Horgan, the British Columbian premier,

similar to a governor, said was coming. But ultimately with that, that is where I'm going to end today's show. Thank you once again for watching this daily dive into the news. I appreciate you hitting the like button, subscribing, all the good stuff. Also, if you're looking forward to watch,

remember I got that brand new podcast with Matthew Mercer. You can watch or listen to it. 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.