The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.25 Shane Dawson Wins, Anti-Vaxxers Lose, R. Kelly Arrested, & Venezuela's Aid Crisis

Episode Date: February 25, 2019

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. The first thing we're gonna talk about today are two bits of industry news. One about taking away money and the other about creating new money. The first being that we saw two YouTube titans joining together in a new business venture. And those two stars are Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson, which is a very interesting evolution of that relationship. Of course, Jeffree Star was kind of the focus of a multi-part docu-series by Shane Dawson. They then became friends, and that has now evolved into them releasing collaborative eyeshadow palette.

And while I am not the target demographic here, I am personally excited just because I want to see what the names are. Jeffree, what the fuck? Red, as well as a- Are you serious? Aquamarine, as well as some recycled pizza purple, and most likely the new favorite, Petty Pig Pink. And it also appears that they are filming this, so it'll be interesting to watch this journey especially because right now Shane Dawson is just on a completely different level. His video that did bad comparatively to the other out of the two videos that he recently released got 25 million views.

That's gonna be interesting to watch, very fascinating and most likely incredibly lucrative. But on the polar opposite end of this story, we do not have people making money, but money being taken away. And here, while there are several stories regarding demonetization and claims and all that, and we're gonna be covering more and more in the future, what I'm talking about here is that YouTube has pulled ads off of anti-vax channels. And the reason for that is YouTube sees that content

as dangerous and harmful, and I personally agree with them. YouTube reportedly telling Buzzfeed News, "'We have strict policies that govern "'what videos we allow ads to appear on, "'and videos that promote anti-vaccination content are a violation of those policies. We enforce these policies vigorously, and if we find a video that violates them, we immediately take action and remove ads. Also, in this BuzzFeed News article, they got a quote from Larry Cook. They describe him as the anti-vax leader behind an organization I don't even want to mention.

Reportedly, he responded via email saying, "'It is unfortunate that YouTube does not see the value "'in advertisers reaching a very large "'and thriving demographic who believe "'in alternative medicine, holistic health, "'and natural remedies. "'Shutting down monetization on alternative health channels "'just means that alternative health advertisers "'will go elsewhere to reach their intended audience.'" But around that comment, I would say two things.

One, it was noted that advertisers had a problem that their ads were appearing on these videos. And two, once again, I wanna reiterate, I agree with YouTube that anti-vax content is harmful and dangerous. This isn't like you believe that the earth is flat so you're just stupid and no one else is harmed. We're talking lives at stake.

As we've talked about previously on this show, vaccine hesitancy has been listed as one of the top 10 global threats of 2019 by the World Health Organization. And it feels like every single day we are seeing a new story about measles popping up when it should just be gone. I mean just look at headlines today. Two new measles cases in Vancouver as outbreak spreads to Edmonton. Measles returned to Costa Rica after five years by French family who had not had vaccinations. Meanwhile, we have some places like Arizona trying to expand vaccine exemptions.

And so here I personally say I applaud you two. I applaud them for not caring about the potential money lost from monetizing this misinformation. It's taking away some of the incentive from promoting this misleading BS. But, that said, it's not going to stop the stupid. If anything, it's going to allow anti-vaxxers to act depressed, twisted to act like they're brave enough to go against the mainstream. But understand, when they say the mainstream, what they're actually saying is science and facts. But yeah, that's where I'm gonna end this one, and also a hello to the anti-vaxxers that always bombard my videos when I mention it. You spamming dislike and or sending me crazy hate-filled messages, it doesn't add any weight to your claims.

But hello, thank you for the view. And then let's talk about this R. Kelly situation. If you didn't see, prosecutors in Illinois announced sex abuse charges against R. Kelly this last Friday. They charged him with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17, between 1998 and 2010. The alleged victims were his 24-year-old hairdresser, a girl he met at a restaurant while she was celebrating

her 16th birthday with her family, a 16-year-old fan who asked for Kelly's autograph at his 2008 trial, and a 14-year-old girl who appears in a sexually explicit video with Kelly. Also, it should be noted, of course, these charges are coming in the wake of that six-part docu-series called "'Surviving R. Kelly',"

that we talked about on the show a while back. It detailed decades of alleged abuse by R. Kelly, and as you may remember, after the docu-series aired, Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx issued a statement asking anyone with information to come forward. Foxx later said that her office had received numerous calls and they were investigating the information they had received, and all of that led to this last Friday,

where she announced the news of the indictment. Earlier today, Robert Kelly was indicted before a Cook County grand jury on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims. Also involved in this situation, you have celebrity lawyer, Michael Avenatti, representing some of the accusers.

And just hours after the indictment was handed down, he announced that he would be holding a press conference where he would discuss evidence and new developments in the R. Kelly case. And during the press conference, Avenatti claimed that he was responsible for the break in the case. He claimed that he had a videotape that allegedly depicts Kelly with a minor. Also tweeting photos that he says are screen grabs from the video. And this is what we saw and recovered a videotape of over 40 minutes in length. The tape was shot in the late 90s, approximately 1999. It depicts two separate scenes shot on two separate days within Mr. Kelly's residence at the time. CNN, who said they had seen the video, reported that the girl refers to her age six times,

and at one point Kelly even urinates on her. Also, if this sounds familiar to you, it's because the acts in the video mirror some of the alleged acts that Kelly was arrested for during his high-profile child pornography trial. In that case, the girl was identified by several witnesses, but refused to testify. Kelly's lawyers argued that her identity could not be known for certain, and he was eventually acquitted in 2008. Well, according to the Cook County State Attorney, this tape features that same girl, though reports say there is no indication that she has changed her mind about testifying. Regarding the tape, reportedly that was given to Avenatti by someone who has been in contact with Kelly.

You've also seen Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, bring up a point of contention against the video, saying, One of the charges appears to involve the same alleged victim from the earlier case and double jeopardy should bar that case. But Avenatti says that because the acts in this tape are different than those at the center of the child pornography case, this does not create an issue of double jeopardy. Also as far as where R. Kelly stands right now, on Friday he turned himself into police in Cook County, Illinois. He then appeared in bond court on Saturday where a judge set his bail at 1 million dollars. So what that meant was to leave police custody, he would have to pay 10% of that total, which is $100,000. Also under the terms of his bond, Kelly is to surrender his passport and is forbidden from having contact with anyone under the age of 18.

And after that bond was set, R. Kelly's lawyer actually said, We're very happy with the bond that the judge set. I think it's fair and reasonable given the allegations. We hope that Mr. Kelly's able to get the money together and post bond sometime today or over the weekend and he'll be released. However, R. Kelly actually spent the weekend in jail because he couldn't pay you the $100,000. With Greenberg saying that Kelly quote, really doesn't have any money at this point and that is due to mismanagement, bad deals and hangers on. Also adding that R. Kelly is still trying to get the money together but that he doesn't have it quote, sitting in the bank. And here we saw multiple outlets reporting that Kelly has deep money problems. According to reports, Kelly owed more than $169,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife as of February 6th.

Regarding that, Greenberg told CNN, Kelly, quote, "...does not have to pay the child support before getting out." And we've also seen reports that Kelly also owes $166,000 in unpaid rent for his Chicago studio. But with all that said, we fast forward to today when Kelly was set to appear in court in the sex abuse case. During the court hearing, Kelly's case was assigned to the judge who would preside over the trial, Judge Lawrence Flood. We also saw Kelly's attorney plead not guilty to the charges on his behalf. And during that hearing, Greenberg said that confidants are making arrangements to pay the $100,000 to free him. Adding, he has to rely on others acting on his behalf and it's just not that easy because Kelly's in jail.

So for now, Kelly will keep going back and forth between Cook County Jail and a Chicago courtroom until he posts bail. And as far as the charges, aggravated criminal sexual abuse can carry a sentence of three to seven years in prison for each count. And so with ten stacked against him, Kelly is facing a very, very large sentence. But, of course, he would need to be found guilty first, and his next court date isn't even set until March 22nd. That said, this probably won't be the last that we hear about this case in the coming days. In fact, just this morning, Avenatti said that he will be giving prosecutors yet another video that he says shows Kelly sexually assaulting a minor. Also tweeting, I can confirm that we will be providing a second video showing R. Kelly engaged in sexual assault of a minor to prosecutors this morning.

This tape was recently uncovered in connection with our ongoing nationwide investigation on behalf of victims. Justice must be done. And as far as the specifics around this tape, according to TMZ, this tape is a 55 minute long VHS that shows Kelly having sex with the same 14 year old girl. This one was reportedly shot in 2000 and includes more references to her age as well as Kelly coaching her through various sexual situations.

And here, TMZ also reports that Kelly is seen choking the girl during intercourse. And on top of all of that, they said that Avenatti's team is in the process of getting their hands on a third tape. With all of this happening, it's been very interesting seeing the reaction online to all of this. We saw a lot of people cheering that it appeared that R. Kelly would finally be held accountable.

We also saw some arguing that this took so long because the victims were black girls. And there, like we've seen with other charges and controversies, there's this internal debate regarding the kind of discounting of black women and their allegations in the pursuit to protect black men. But of course, also at the same time, R. Kelly still has fans who support him,

both in the social media realm, as well as, according to reporter Will Lee, a Chicago court clerk's office has received multiple calls from female fans of R. Kelly inquiring as to how they can post his bond. That's a thing with this story as well. But yes, for now, that is where this story is. It's gonna be interesting to see

what other information comes to light. And of course, like with every story, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. What do you think will happen? Are you happy that it's happening? Are you furious? like with every story, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. What do you think will happen? Are you happy that it's happening? Are you furious? Any and all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you. Then let's talk more about what is happening in Venezuela.

And we've covered the situation in Venezuela a lot in the last few months, but if you haven't seen that, or maybe you missed some pieces, here's essentially a TLDR. Juan Guaido, who was the head of the opposition, he was the head of the National Assembly, which was essentially the last democratically elected group in Venezuela.

It's also the same assembly that definitely not a dictator, wink wink, Maduro stripped of power when he made his, essentially a constituent assembly, which was just a group of yes men. But that said, with the power granted to them by the Constitution, the National Assembly named Juan Guaido interim president until new presidential elections can be held.

A move which has been supported by more than 50 world leaders including the United States, Canada, many European nations, and most of South America. But it's not all countries, there are other countries like Russia and Cuba who support Nicolas Maduro and they've criticized the United States for attempting to start what they describe as a coup in Venezuela.

We've also seen thousands and thousands of protestors taken to the streets of Caracas amid calls from Guaido for demonstrations. And since we last talked about this, there was another wave of protests in the capital on January 29th. And again, we saw hundreds of thousands of protesters pouring into the streets to show their support for Guaido. And there we saw some experts estimating that the turnout was at over 800,000 people. And in fact, this past weekend, we saw even more protests against Maduro. But this time, the protests weren't in Caracas, but instead at the borders of Venezuela shares with Colombia and Brazil.

These protests are also different from the ones we've seen in the past. These protests come as Maduro has directed the military to prevent millions and millions of dollars in humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela. When the borders were first closed, shipping containers were placed to block them, but since then troops have actually been deployed to actively block crossings. Now Maduro's refusal to accept humanitarian aid, it's not really a new thing. Maduro has continually refused humanitarian aid throughout Venezuela's economic crisis But in contrast, Guaido has repeatedly promised that he will get Internationally promised aid to Venezuelan people. Earlier this month, Guaido asked the international leaders who support the opposition to send food and medicine to Venezuela

And since then we've seen the US pledge 20 million, Canada pledge 40 million in humanitarian aid. As far as Europe and the rest of the Americas, we've seen them making aid contributions almost daily. Despite Maduro's continued efforts to refuse help, the previously mentioned countries still sent aid to neighboring Colombia and Brazil to wait until they could be shipped into Venezuela. As far as why Maduro would block this aid, it's very likely because of the optics.

Because all of a sudden you have all of these countries that are trying to send in aid and maybe they care about the people. Either way, the situation looks incredibly bad for Maduro who is trying to hold on to power. If he accepts all of this humanitarian aid from, in large, countries that say that he should not be in power,

then he is admitting that he has failed his people. But at the same time, if he denies this humanitarian aid, he's going to be seen as cruel. There is no denying about the chaos in Venezuela. There is no denying the suffering that the people have been going through. And yet to save face, to preserve power, he withholds this aid. He stops it from coming in. And as far as that being broadcast, I mean, in response to the blockade, Guaido said he would hold Maduro and the

military responsible for, quote, directly and indirectly murdering the citizens of Venezuela. And since then, we have only seen this conflict escalate. On Thursday, Maduro closed Venezuela's border with Brazil entirely. This came after an announcement on Wednesday that Maduro would block air and sea travel between Venezuela and three Caribbean islands where the opposition was planning to receive aid. And in that same announcement, Maduro also threatened to shut down Venezuela's border with Colombia as well. What we saw this last Friday is this standoff came to a breaking point on the Brazil border when Venezuelan military forces opened fire on the Pomones. They're an indigenous group with autonomous rights and two of them were killed. Two civilians were killed, marking the first casualties of the aid delivery attempt.

And as the violence on the Brazil border continued, the Venezuelan government closed three key border crossings with Colombia by Saturday morning. Around 8 a.m. on Saturday, a violent confrontation broke out on both the Santander and Simon Bolivar Bridges, connecting Colombia and Venezuela. Reportedly, Venezuelan military forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, who then in turn threw rocks at the troops. Reportedly, Venezuelan military forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters,

who then in turn threw rocks at the troops. Reportedly, at the Simon Bolivar Bridge, protesters fled for cover when pro-government militias arrived and opened fire at protesters. And there were even reports that Venezuelan troops were conflicting with protesters on the Colombian side of the border. And regarding this point,

we saw Senator Marco Rubio tweet out, "'Maduro regime has fired into territory of Colombia. "'Receiving reports of injuries after this attack "'on sovereign Colombian territory, the United States will help Colombia confront any aggression against them. And according to Colombia's foreign minister, by the end of Saturday, 285 people were injured

and 37 hospitalized on just the Colombian side, while the numbers within Venezuelan territory were extremely hard to pin down. We know that at least two more died on the Brazil border after confrontations with pro-government militias, bringing the total up to at least four dead But in the middle of all of this chaos there was the question of well Did any of the aid ever get through the border kind of for example between Colombia and Venezuela?

They partially got it now is because upwards of 60 Venezuelan troops reportedly deserted their post to flee to Colombia But they were eventually stopped by security forces and the aid was burned We also had situations like at sea the governor of Puerto Rico claimed that a ship sent from the island of Venezuela with 200 tons of aid was threatened by the Venezuelan Navy and was forced to turn around, so that aid was denied. But you also had situations like on the border of Brazil where at least one truck got through after the Pomonas

managed to partially get control of a border crossing. Although at least two trucks that left Brazil were stopped just inside the border. So then, following the events on Saturday, Guaido hinted that he'd be open to stiffer intervention in Venezuela, tweeting, "'Today's events forced me to make a decision, "'to pose to the international community in a formal way

"'that we must have all options open "'to achieve the liberation of this country "'that is fighting and will continue to fight. "'Hope was born not to die, Venezuela.'" And while allies within the Lima Group aren't keen on military action yet, the US reaffirmed that all options are still on the table. At a meeting in Bogota with other leaders of the Lima Group this morning, Vice President

Mike Pence posted a photo of himself with Guaido and the President of Colombia. With the caption, To President Guaido of Venezuela, it is a great privilege to share this moment. I bring you and President of Colombia a very simple message from Trump and the United States of America. We are with you 100%. And while at the Lima Group Group we saw Pence announce this. As the world watched, the tyrant in Caracas danced as his henchmen burned truckloads of food and medicine and murdered civilians. In the days ahead as well, the United States will announce even stronger sanctions on the regime's corrupt financial networks.

We will work with all of you to find every last dollar that they've stolen and work to return it to the Venezuelan people. As we continue to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on the Maduro regime, we hope for a peaceful transition to democracy. But as President Trump has made clear, all options are on the table. Also over the weekend we saw National Security Advisor John Bolton commend the 60 defectors we previously talked about. And Bolton's tweet, as well as Pence's meeting, is especially significant given a speech

made by Trump last week where he said this. We want to restore Venezuelan democracy and we believe that the Venezuelan military and its leadership have a vital role to play in this process. Trump then goes on to say the military has two paths, to support the process or support Maduro, saying if they support Maduro.

You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit, and no way out. You will lose everything. As far as any other developments, I mean this weekend we also saw South Korea finally recognize Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, the latest country to do so as of recording this video. But ultimately with everything we talked about today, that's where we are right now and as far as what happens next I mean, we really don't know I mean one what happens internally with the country to as far as the international community in general What kind of pressure do we see but also specifically to the United States? What is the United States willing to do here because all of the language that we have seen is incredibly strong, right? No safe harbor no easy exit and no way out, right?

Will we see a military response? Yes, no, if so, what kind? But ultimately we're gonna have to wait to see what happens and of course, like with every story we talk about, I'd love to know your thoughts on this one. And that's where I'm going to end today's show. And remember, if you like this video, you like the way we try to dive into the news

every single day, let us know. Hit that like button, it also helps out the show for free. Also, if you're new here and you want more of these videos hit subscribe definitely ring that bell to turn on notifications Also, if you're not completely filled in you can't even wait till tomorrow's extra morning news video You want to catch up on the last Philip DeFranco show the last extra morning news deep diving click or tap right there to watch Those but with that said of course as always my name is Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow