The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.4 Liam Neeson Revenge Controversy, 21 Savage, Austin Jones Guilty, Content Thieves, & More

Episode Date: February 4, 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 is I am sick. I am genuinely sick, not I hung over from watching the Super Bowl sick, although no shame to anyone that is because someone had to make that game interesting for non-Patriot fans. Main point, I only want your pity for one second. And now with that stated, on with the show. And from that, let's talk about Liam Neeson being in the news for a reason

I didn't expect waking up today. Reportedly he was doing an interview with The Independent. And in the interview he talks about a woman he knows who was raped. He says, do you know who did this? She says, no. He says, what color were they? She says, black.

And he goes on to say this. I've been up and down areas with a kosh, hoping I'd be approached by somebody. I'm ashamed to say that. And I did it for maybe a week, hoping some black bastard would come out of a pub

and have a go at me about something, you know, so that I could kill him. It was horrible, horrible when I think back, but I did that, and I've never admitted that to, and I'm saying it to a journalist, God forbid. Holy shit. It's awful.

But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, what the fuck are you doing, you know? And following this being released and spreading, you had a lot of people saying that Liam Neeson is just a racist. You had people calling for him to be banned by the Oscars. But at the same time, you had some people that seemed to try and sympathize with Liam Neeson. One writing, I feel like Liam Neeson is trying to admit that he had a massive emotional and psychological breakdown, but I can't tell.

And some of the top comments on articles about this reading, A million years ago, he had an irrational thought. If I am judged for everything I did when I was younger, I'd be banned from taking in oxygen. Stop the madness. Another writing, what he did was wrong and that is literally the point of his story. That he thought like that and behaved like that and now realizes it was unacceptable.

People saying that he opened up about a time where he was younger, where he acted irrationally. Even when speaking to that journalist, acknowledging how horrible and wrong it was. It's been really interesting to see what the reactions to the story have been, how there's way more of one reaction depending on which place you go.

So connected to that, I wanted to ask you here, what are your thoughts around it? Where do you land and why? Then let's talk about the latest backlash against Jerry Media and the massive Instagram account, Fuck Jerry. For those who don't know, Fuck Jerry is a meme account that was created by Elliot Tabeli back in 2011.

It now has over 14 million followers. The FuckJerry team says that they curate content, which essentially means that they find jokes and memes they think are funny, and then they repost them. This isn't a new story. I mean, for years the Jerry Media guys have faced backlash from comedians and social media users for reposting content without asking, crediting, or compensating the original creators. You know, you'd have people saying they basically just screenshot memes and tweets and crop out the original creator's handle from the photo. And after years of backlash, it eventually forced them to include attributions in their posts. And so still, despite all the controversy and the hurdles, they've managed to turn their account into a pretty successful business. They've even launched their own merch, their own brand of tequila, the popular game What Do You Meme? Additionally, they've run ads for big brands like Burger King,

Hinge, Jack in the Box, reportedly making as much as thirty000 per post. But if you've watched Netflix or Hulu recently, they also sound familiar for a different reason. Jerry Media promoted Fyre Festival and ran its social media accounts in the months leading up to the event. And the reason I say Netflix and Hulu is because they both recently released documentaries about the festival, but what you probably didn't know

unless you did watch the Hulu one, Jerry Media actually co-produced the Netflix doc with Vice, which was another reason why it was such a big deal that Hulu essentially just surprise released their fired doc a few days before Netflix's. The main point, what we've seen in the week since the doc's release is that hate against Fuck Jerry has picked up again, with things really escalating

late last month when writer Meg Wright published a piece with Vulture. In the article, she points out that Fuck Jerry and Comedy Central were using other comedians' jokes as captions to advertise Comedy Central shows like Broad City, Corporate and the other two. With the report saying that these have been formatted with no attribution to the original creators the way Fuck Jerry used to promote jokes in the past. And in the article Meg writes, There's just something about advertising on an Instagram account that got successful for posting stolen jokes and spending ad money to run sponsored posts stylized like stolen jokes, no less, that feels antithetical to everything

Comedy Central stands for, especially considering that the network likely employs comedians and writers who have had their jokes stolen by Fuck Jerry at some point. And along with this article, Meg started a thread where she points to specific examples of joke stealing that the Fuck Jerry team used in ad posts. And so attention to this story around Fuck Jerry

continued to pick up, and we started seeing other comedians posting about jokes the company had stolen from them. Jen Lewis, including screenshots, saying these ancient screenshots are from back in the day when Fuck Jerry first started to create ads around stolen jokes. It made me feel like garbage then and it still does now and I'm so grateful for what Meg Wright has started. Ingrid Ostby saying I would have loved to get 250k for this post instead of having it stolen by Fuck Jerry who gets paid that much per post. Adding it was at the time one of the first 100 or so most viral tweets of all time. Where's my money, sweetie?

But Vic Berger saying back in 2016, Fuck Jerry and their chief content officer James Ryan Oligar, aka Crispy Shorts, stole a bunch of videos from him. Also then attaching ads to the end of those videos that they had stolen. Even had the likes of John Mulaney and Colin Hanks getting into the mix. John Mulaney writing, It's not the most pressing issue of the day. But yeah, unfollow this garbage account.

They have stolen jokes from me and many other comedians and profit off it. Hashtag unfollow fuck Jerry. Colin Hanks specifically aiming that this is not just one person. Saying fuck Jerry isn't just some guy. It started that way but now it's actually a marketing agency that can command thousands of dollars for a single IG post. A company that has profited from stealing jokes and content from comedians and not giving proper credit. And that unfollow campaign picked up some steam with the FuckJerry account losing thousands of followers, specifically going from 14.3 to 14.1 million. And something else people online noticed was that the account ended up

deleting over 200 posts. And what we ended up seeing is that by February 1st, all of Comedy Central ad posts were removed from the FuckJerry account. And in a statement to Vulture, a spokesperson said, Comedy Central requested to have any existing ads pulled from the FuckJerry account, and adding, And as far as a reaction from Jerry Media, what we saw Saturday was the company's founder, Elliot Tabelli, releasing a statement on Medium addressing this new wave of backlash.

And in it, he says he knows that he's made enemies over the years for not properly crediting creators, saying, saying in the early days of FuckJerry, there were not well-established norms for reposting and crediting other users' content, especially in meme culture. Adding in the past few years, he has made a concerted, proactive effort to properly credit creators for their work.

But also referring to it as not having been a perfect system. And hitting his big note that it is clear that attribution is no longer sufficient, so permission will become the new policy. And then going on to apologize to those they have wronged. But the question I want to leave you with this story is, what are your thoughts around curation channels? Do you feel like they've been a valid part of the ecosystem online or no? Do you just think that it is pure content theft? I ask because I feel like it's been a long time since we've talked about a similar topic I think the last time was probably the fat Jewish

I'm just interested to see if public opinion is changing. Then let's talk about the situation around 21 Savage And if you don't know he's a rapper who started making waves in Atlanta a few years ago He's known for his vivid portrayal of gritty street life He has that infamous dagger tattoo that ruts between his eyes. During his rise, he collaborated with artists like Drake, Cardi B, Post Malone, Future. Right, he's a Grammy-nominated artist.

He had actually also just dropped a new album called I Am Greater Than I Was. However, based on what happened yesterday, it seems unlikely that he'll be able to attend the Grammys at all. That's because 21, whose real name is Shia Bin Abraham Joseph, was taken into custody on Sunday by ICE.

Right, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the agency accusing 21 of being a citizen from the UK. With Nick Valencia of CNN tweeting yesterday, "'Breaking, ICE spokesman tells me 21 Savage "'was taken into custody by ICE. "'His whole public persona is false. "'He actually came to the US from the UK as a teen "'and overstayed his visa.'"

And specifically, ICE alleges that 21 entered the US legally in July of 2005 when he was 12 years old, but stayed in America after his visa expired in 2006. And while all the details of the arrest aren't yet clear, CNN allege that 21 was not the target of the arrest, but rather he was just with another rapper who was apprehended. However, there is some disputing that version of events.

The main point we ended up seeing Ice confirm that Mr. Abraham Joseph is presently in ICE custody in Georgia and has been placed into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts. And we also saw Dina LaPolt, 21's lawyer, responding to the arrest stating, "'We are working diligently to get Mr. Abraham Joseph "'out of detention while we work with the authorities

"'to clear up any misunderstandings.'" And also throwing in there that Abraham Joseph is a role model to many young people in the US, especially in Atlanta. Which I will say, on that note, I mean, 21's connection to Atlanta is a constant theme in his music. So this revelation about his past came as a shock to tons of fans. I mean, his genius page dubs him a rapper from East Atlanta, Georgia, and his songs often mention his experiences growing up in Atlanta, specifically in Zone 6,

which is slang for East Atlanta. For example, in his song, Bank Account, he states that he is straight up out the 6th. I will also add, yes, I do think that is the lamest way anyone has ever said straight up out the six. We're making history. But with all of that said, of course, in addition to the shot, you had all of a sudden internet detectives

looking into 21's past. It set Twitter ablaze, and of course it inspired countless memes. And so as soon as the news broke, you had clips of 21 beginning to circulate as people were trying to uncover the truth, such as this one from Vogue where he says, he quotes, I would probably wear this jacket on my way to have tea

and crumpets on a beautiful Monday morning. And others digging up tweets from March of 2017 stating, why am I hearing 21 Savage is from Brixton? Sorry, I find that funny AF. There was also another from April of 2018 saying, oh, it looks like the beans have been spilt then, but yeah, 21 Savage grew up in Brixton Hill. Not a joke because I'm friends with somebody

who's close veterans with 21's brother. And of course, as I mentioned, in addition to this, there were also so many memes. And with that, we saw controversy strike in a few places. One was Demi Lovato tweeting, 21 Savage memes have been my favorite part of the Super Bowl. Which then prompted a ton of people all over social media to just drag her in the comments for her past history of drug abuse. And this came from just general users, as well as people like rapper Wale, who tweeted in response to Lovato,

"'Why is somebody's freedom funny? I don't get the joke." To which then Demi Lovato tweeted, "'FYI, this is the shit I'm laughing at. Not the fact that anyone is getting deported.'" Referencing this meme. Also tweeting out, "'If you're gonna come at me for making a joke, try coming at me with something original not involving drugs.'" That then followed by, "'Fuck Twitter. This is why I don't tweet anymore.'"

And she then suspended her Twitter account and apologized on Instagram saying I was laughing at who the fuck Knew 21 was British literally no one that's it. It doesn't go deeper than that I'm sorry if I upset people truly we saw others such as a member of Migos and 21 Collaborate or offsets speaking up against the memes as well writing all the memes and shit ain't funny when somebody going through some we also saw The internet relationship that appears to just keep on Giving Tommy Lahren and Cardi B. Tommy Lahren tweeting I got one two three four five six seven eight ICE agents ready to deport you. If you're not familiar She's playing on the chorus from 21 song bank account which Cardi responded

Don't make me get my leash Referencing a previous tweet where Cardi threatened to dog walk Tommy Lahren. With this you also had people pointing out that Lahren had posted videos Of her dancing to bank account in the past. With this, you also had people pointing out that Lahren had posted videos of her dancing to Bank Account in the past. Also on the lighter side of the story, you had Anthony Fantano, the needle drop on YouTube. He tweeted, honestly, this makes 21 Savage the greatest English rapper.

And right now it's sort of a wait and see story. What I will say though around this story is that it's weird that this is just now popping up. I mean, 21 was convicted of felony drug charges back in 2014, so how was this not discovered then? But ultimately, that is where we are here, and I do want to pass a question off to you. I mean, obviously you can always chime in on any part of the story, but what are your thoughts regarding the- the joking, the reaction to Demi Lovato? Do you find that to be overblown, or do you see that as someone being checked?

Yeah, just really any and all thoughts. And then let's talk about the Austin Jones situation. Now for those of you that don't know, Austin Jones was a YouTuber, a singer with a huge following among teens. His covers of pop hits garnered millions of views on YouTube. And so back in 2015, Jones, who was 22 at the time, was at the height of his online popularity. He was about to join the Vans Warped Tour, but in spring of that year,

an anonymous 15-year-old girl started a Change.org petition asking that Jones be removed from that lineup. That girl writing, "'Austin Jones is now taking advantage of his fame. On numerous accounts he has pressured girls as young as 13 into sending him videos of them twerking. As a 15 year old girl I find this disgusting. These kind of actions are not okay and should not be taken lightly. Well that petition ended up pulling in 9,000 of the requested 10,000 signatures. Also following it Jones backed out of the

tour. Also posting a video called setting the record straight on his YouTube account where he admitted to making mistakes but denied any serious charges. following it, Jones backed out of the tour. Also, posting a video called setting the record straight on his YouTube account where he admitted to making mistakes but denied any serious charges. In those videos, he said nothing ever went further than the twerking videos he asked girls to send him. Which, if at this point this sounds familiar, we talked about this back in 2017

when Jones was actually arrested by authorities at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. And then later being charged with coercing lewd sexual material from underage fans. And he ended up facing two counts of felony child pornography. And the specific accusations including having conversations online with teenage girls, some as young as 14. And in those chats, then 24 year old Jones would encourage his teenage fans to send him sexually explicit videos.

And in one specific exchange with a minor, Jones even told the teen that sending sexually explicit videos was a way to prove that she was the biggest fan. According to the federal indictment filed against Jones in 2017, he used Facebook and iMessage to communicate with these fans, and using this to quote, "'Request and receive videos depicting the genitalia "'of minor females knowing that they were only 14 "'or 15 years old.'" Which brings us to the news that we saw over the weekend.

On Friday, Jones, who is now 26 years old, pleaded guilty to coercing six underage female fans to send him sexually explicit videos and attempting to do the same with as many as 30 other victims. According to the Chicago Tribune, Jones admitted in a 27-page plea agreement that he had online conversations

with six 14 and 15-year-old girls between the years of 2010 to 2017. And in those conversations, Jones encouraged the girls to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves, including dozens of images of them performing graphic sexual acts, according to the plea deal. In some instances, Jones had also told the girls to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves, including dozens of images of them performing graphic sexual acts according to the plea deal. In some instances, Jones had also told the girls that he had modeling opportunities for them. Also, regarding their age, reportedly he also instructed several girls to talk about their age while they perform sex acts for him.

And so because of all of this, Jones is now facing a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison with a maximum of 20 years. And as far as when we find out what his sentence will be, his sentencing is currently set for May 3rd. Also, according to the documents filed in federal court by his attorneys, one of his doctors wrote in a letter to the court that after his arrest in 2017, Jones entered in what he called treatment to better understand the root of inappropriate

negative behaviors he had engaged in, as well as to process underlying traumas that he had yet to address in any healthy complete way Court documents also revealing that Jones was sexually abused by a close relative and also dealt with the unexpected death of a sibling at an early age and I mentioned this because while prosecutors pressed for Jones to be taken into custody as he awaits his sentencing on the third the Judge actually allowed his release so that he could continue to seek psychiatric counseling and ultimately that is where we are with the story right now I wanted to make sure we updated it, but that's where I'm gonna end it. I just, I don't have the emotional energy

to deal with this story today. It's no question, is this horrible and disgusting? Yes. Should he be punished as much as possible? Yes. I feel like we're all on the same page here. So to take a break from stuff on the internet is horrible. There's some kind of cool on the internet.

For example, we had the huge YouTuber, MrBeast, and his buddies take the meme that is sub to PewDiePie to the Super Bowl. You may have seen them several times in the game because they were directly behind the goalposts. Rocking five shirts tell the world to sub to PewDiePie. One thing I will say looking at this picture is I wonder how many questions the guy wearing the dye shirt got. Which also, side note, now looking into the monitor, my shirt does not say death, it says Death Valley National Park. Just a quick aside so you didn't think that I was walking around today with a shirt that said death. It's something I thought was kind of fun. I always loved seeing stories of the internet bleeding out into the real world.

And also it appears that this wasn't actually Mr. Beast's plan A. He tweeted in response to a fan saying, My plan was to sell sub to PewDiePie shirts and use the money to buy the commercial like a 10 second one But once I started setting the plan into motion I learned that the network might deny the ad and I got scared I'd raise lots of money and get stuck with an ad egg there Pretty strict on what they show and saying he essentially didn't want to accidentally scam people by not being able to deliver But yeah with that said that's where we're gonna end today's show Not on the worst of notes for once. Remember if you liked this video you like the way we dive into the news hit that

Like button also if you're new here, hit that subscribe button, maybe ring that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you missed the last Philip DeFranco show or extra morning news deep dive, click or tap right there to watch those. 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.