The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.21 The Truth About Emma Chamberlain's Scandal, Bad Bunny, Deadly Fungal Infections, Vice & Today's News

Starting point is 00:00:00 Emma Chamberlain is under fire, Vice is dying, seven deputies were caught on camera killing a man at a mental health facility, people are freaking out about this new deadly fungal infection. We're gonna talk about all that and so much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, so buckle up, make sure you're subscribed, and let's just jump into it. Starting with, we need to talk about 45-year-old dentist from Colorado, James Craig. Because the reason James is in the news is that he and his wife Angela had been married for 20 years, they had six children together, but then seemingly out of nowhere on March 6th, Angela wasn't feeling well. She gets dizzy, she can't focus her eyes, her body just wasn't reacting right, and so they go to the hospital,

Starting point is 00:00:31 where they then hospitalize again from March 9th to the 14th, and again last Wednesday. When going into the hospital the third time, she has a severe seizure and she's declared brain dead, with her then ultimately being taken off of life support on Sunday. And it's just this horrible, sad situation, but then there's a red flag. James, for some reason, insists that his wife not be autopsied. But luckily, he doesn't get his way. And the reason I say luckily, is that one of James' business partners ends up telling a nurse

Starting point is 00:00:54 about a shipment of potassium cyanide that James had received at his office. And saying that was a red flag, because there was no reason to have that in a dental practice. So the nurse reports it to police, kicking off an investigation into Angela Craig's death. And as it turns out, over the course of weeks before and during Angela's hospitalizations, James had ordered three different poisons online. Those including arsenic, potassium cyanide, and oleandrine. But not only did he order these poisons, James's Google history is something to

Starting point is 00:01:17 behold. With his reported searches including things like top five undetectable poisons that show no signs of foul play, and how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human. And according to his arrest warrant affidavit, James was poisoning his wife's protein shakes to kill her so he could start a new life with a different woman. Since all of this was discovered, he's been arrested for murder. And as it turns out, one of the craziest things with this story is this wasn't even the first time that he poisoned her. And this time, Angela recognized the symptoms, even reportedly texting her husband on March 6th, I feel drugged. With James reportedly replying at that time, given our history, I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn't drug you. I am super worried though. Yeah, that's where we are. James has yet to enter a police. We're going to have to keep an eye out, but I don't imagine a world where he is not

Starting point is 00:01:55 in a box, whether it be prison or underground in the very near future. And then Carson Breer, you know, the guy that pushed down that wheelchair? While a lot of what happened was in the court of public opinion, he has now been legally charged. With him specifically getting hit with three misdemeanors. Criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief. And the other guy in the video who's now been identified as Patrick Karasi, he has also been hit with those same three misdemeanors. Then we've got the news that there's a deadly fungal infection rapidly spreading in US health facilities.

Starting point is 00:02:22 But before you go thinking that The Last of Us is a documentary, do not freak out yet. While yes, according to the Washington Post, a deadly and highly drug-resistant fungus is spreading at an alarming rate in long-term care hospitals and other health facilities, it is reportedly not a threat to healthy people whose immune systems can fight it off, and according to Megan Lyman, a CDC medical officer and lead author of the paper detailing the fungus' spread, there are a few antifungals in the pipeline, so that gives us some hope.

Starting point is 00:02:43 And adding, we are glad to report it does not cause people to turn into zombies. Because that is apparently something a medical professional had to make clear. So I want you to be aware that this is happening, and obviously it's important that we all keep an eye on this. But I also thought it was important to include it on today's show, because if you look on social media, a lot of people are just kind of fear-mongering for clicks right now. And then, you had Emma Chamberlain being dunked on for reportedly charging fans $10,000 for an Instagram DM, with people appearing to have taken screenshots from her merch shop that appear to show just that. For $10,000, or an installment plan where you're paying $902.58 a month,

Starting point is 00:03:13 you can get a personalized DM from Emma Chamberlain, with the general response being, this is tone-deaf and disgusting. Now for me, I personally agree that if this is real, it's one of the most tone-deaf things I've ever seen a creator do. And I say, you know, if this is a real offering, because right now I can't go to the product page. The site has since been taken offline. With it currently being under construction and BuzzFeed News reporting that a representative for Chamberlain did not immediately respond to

Starting point is 00:03:33 BuzzFeed News' request for comment. And there's part of me that's hoping that there's an explanation that's not, I'm trying to get $10,000 for an Instagram DM. Maybe it's like someone on her team made a demo page that they wanted to show Emma and it happened to go live. And maybe they even priced it at $10,000 so no one accidentally purchased it. But also, having done this for 15 years, I've seen a lot of people, uh, blow up, get so high up on the mountain, that is social media fame, that, uh, the air is thin and, uh, the oxygen starts, uh, not going to their head anymore. But actually, fantastic news that broke right before I was about to upload this video. Emma's merch company just issued a response to Mashable anymore. But actually, fantastic news that broke right before I was about to upload this video.

Starting point is 00:04:05 Emma's Merch Company just issued a response to Mashable, and it's actually kind of close to what I was hoping. With them saying that these are false and inaccurate claims, and explaining back in 2018, Emma's Merch Company was testing a prospective reward program related to Emma's Merch without her knowledge, and saying in testing, they created an outrageous never-activated reward level that was not intended to be active or purchased. Noting these reward ideas were never run by Emma,

Starting point is 00:04:24 since they were not meant to be available for sale or reward, but simply intended for internal testing purposes. And then it gets very juicy with them saying, to be sold or purchased. The test product was never discoverable on the main page or product listing site, which is another reason that Emma had no knowledge of this. And saying, with the internet's tendency to create false narratives around sensationalized stories, we wanted to provide you with the truth firsthand and from the source. The site is currently down for internal review. Well, I know everyone gets to have an opinion on this, right? Do we believe it? Do we not?

Starting point is 00:04:56 I personally believe this narrative. Or because the $10,000 Instagram DM thing, it would just be so uncharacteristically stupid of her. Which also, just for transparency's sake, so my bias is out there, even though I'm not her main demo, I'm a Chamberlain fan. I don't know if I believe the bad actor narrative. I think someone might've just seen something and believed it, but that part also gets into proving intent, which I think is often hard to do. But hey, that's a situation. Now I've heard from the other side and I'll pass the question off to you.

Starting point is 00:05:19 What are your thoughts here? And then musical artist Bad Bunny is getting sued by his ex girlfriend. Her name is Carly's de la Cruz Hernandez. And according to the Associated Press, she is now seeking $40 million, claiming that Bad Bunny used a voice recording that she made before he was famous in his work without her permission. In it, according to the lawsuit, she says, Bad Bunny, baby, and it's featured in two of his songs. As well as in promotions, concerts, television, radio, and social and musical platforms. And also claiming that since it was used, you have people referencing it whenever she goes out in public, which causes her to feel worried, intimidated, overwhelmed, and anxious. Very notably, all this happening after May of 2022, where Bad Bunny's rep offered her $2,000 for the recording of her voice. She declined at that time, so Bad Bunny's record label reached out to her, but a deal was never reached. But still, the recording was used without her consent,

Starting point is 00:05:58 which is why the lawsuit argued, "...its publication constituted an act of gross negligence, bad faith, and, worse still, an attack on their privacy, morals, and dignity, since all parties had and still have knowledge of these facts, and even so decided to be reckless and break the law. And as far as Bad Bunny, he hasn't commented on this lawsuit so far. And then, yesterday, you may have seen headlines like Amanda Bynes placed on psychiatric hold after roaming streets naked. TMZ broke the news, and it is true, but a lot of people have taken issue with the outlets angling here because per TMZ's own report A witness told them that Amanda was walking around downtown Los Angeles without clothes and she flagged down a car Letting the driver know that she was coming down from a psychotic episode But they're then calling 9-1-1 herself and being taken to a police station where mental health professionals said that she should be placed in a

Starting point is 00:06:38 5150 cycle she was apparently not injured and is receiving care and will continue to be in the hospital for several days That's why you had a number of people on Twitter saying things like, I find it really disrespectful that the headlines say Amanda Bynes was found naked and alone and placed on a psychiatric hold, removing her agency. She was able to recognize that she was in psychosis, asked someone for help, and called 911 herself. That's fucking impressive. And saying these headlines portray her passively as if all this happened to her without her participation. They make it sound like she needed the police to decide how to handle her crisis,

Starting point is 00:07:05 and she played no role in that decision process. Others saying the fact that she even identified her situation and took action gives them a lot of hope. And personally, with Bynes, I just wish her well. This is heartbreaking. And also, I mean, the timing's notable. Just around a year ago, she was released from a conservatorship

Starting point is 00:07:19 that she was under for nine years, which some of you might remember she ended up getting into after all those incidents back in 2013. And I will say, if there is like a silver lining to this story, seeing the public conversation around this was kind of inspiring. I don't know if inspiring is the right word. It gave me a little bit of hope that for many of us, I'm including myself in this, that we're viewing mental health issues in a different way. Because there definitely was a

Starting point is 00:07:38 time where Amanda Bynes' struggle and her suffering, she was kind of used like as a prop for other people's enjoyment to laugh at. And seeing kindness that would not have been there years ago, that makes me feel positive. And then we're currently looking at some drug shortages right now. The American Society of Health System Pharmacists saying that drug shortages are the worst they've been in a decade. And Axios reporting some concerning specifics, noting that cancer drugs have been hit especially hard in recent months. Noting short supplies of an injectable chemotherapy drug and one of several generics produced by an Illinois-based pharmaceutical company that had to shutter operations last month due to bankruptcy, manufacturing delays and increased demand also leading to shortages of several cancer drugs, and Pluvicto, which is used to extend survival among patients with metastatic

Starting point is 00:08:16 prostate cancer, it's gonna take months for that to be made available to patients again. With Jonathan McConathy, director of the Division of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics at the University of Alabama, saying, in no uncertain terms, people will die from this shortage for sure. And especially with the cancer drugs, you have the FDA saying, hey, we're doing what we can to help companies meet the demand. But reportedly with these specific drugs, there are special challenges. With the Associate Director of the FDA's Drug Shortage Staff saying, they need to be made on very specialized manufacturing lines due to the nature of the manufacturer. And saying, not only are we working with those companies to increase production, we're also working with them to qualify additional suppliers

Starting point is 00:08:46 and sites and anything else they can do to increase supply. But in the meantime, there is going to be a very real human suffering. And then California lawmakers right now are setting up a showdown with Silicon Valley with them planning to introduce legislation this week that would force companies like Facebook and Google to pay publishers for news content. And their so-called journalism usage fee would apply whenever they place a digital ad next to news content and force outlets to reinvest 70% of that cash into hiring journalists. And if any of this sounds kind of familiar, it's because, you know, similar laws have been introduced to Congress at various points. And or it's probably because places like Australia have famously had this showdown years ago and passed the law anyways.

Starting point is 00:09:17 And so this California law, likely to get similar pushback. With digital media companies like Meta threatening to just pull news completely from their platforms if the law is passed. With Meta saying that this law unfairly disregards any value we provide to news outlets, and generally arguing that news outlets wouldn't have the reach that they do if their articles weren't able to be freely posted across the web. But many outlets don't feel like it is a fair trade and feel that places like Facebook profit off of their work, saying most of those news places they only get paid when readers actually read the article on their website. And based off how these social media platforms showcase these news articles, you could actually just read most

Starting point is 00:09:44 of the article there, and saying that people are often just reading snippets of the article on the social media platforms. Right now, it's unclear whether the California law actually has a chance. And then Vice, the huge media outlet, is apparently dying, where there are being reports that not only are they struggling to pay its vendors, but its staff as well. And according to one person who spoke to Insider about the situation, staff were told by former CEO Nancy Dubik that they, quote, needed to hit the numbers and then we can pay the bills. But clearly, Nancy could tell that the writing was on the wall because she abruptly bounced from the company last month. And her departure sent a clear message that since then, others like Jesse Angelo, Vice's president of

Starting point is 00:10:14 news and entertainment, have departed as well. A rumor on the street is that they're not the only high-level staff that are leaving the sinking ship. And it's wild that we're talking about this today because Vice went from like one of the most valuable new kids on the block to this situation we're talking about today. Back in 2014, they scored two investments from Disney worth $400 million and were in tentative talks for a $3.5 billion buyout. Those talks fizzled, but possibly that was for the best. Because then CEO and co-founder Shane Smith managed to score a $450 million investment from the private equity firm TBG, putting Vice's valuation at $5.7 billion. But then it started to go to shit. In 2018, Smith handed the company over to Nancy,

Starting point is 00:10:48 whose job it was to find a buyer before Vice needed to start dividend payouts to TPG in 2020. With Nancy initially averting disaster by getting TPG to agree to accepting stock instead of cash, with part of that including a promise that Vice would be profitable by 2022. And that definitely did not end up being the case.

Starting point is 00:11:02 By the end of the year, it missed its $700 million revenue goal by $100 million. And since then, the company has been downsizing. Vice, Fran shut down back in February, killing off 30 jobs, with layoffs now reportedly common throughout the rest of the company. And even last week, they cut down video editors jobs, which is a pretty bad sign considering that their videos were some of their best work. So now Vice is desperate for a buyer, but it's likely going to be a hard pill to swallow. Right, the most recent offer came from Groot Black, and they offered just $400 million. And remember, that's less money than a round of investment

Starting point is 00:11:28 they got at a $5.7 billion valuation. Additionally, other bids that are allegedly in the works are in about that $400 million price range, even including one from former CEO Shane Smith and the Greek broadcaster Antenna Group. They've invested in Vice in the past. However, I don't know how far that partnership's going to go. But ultimately, that's where we are.

Starting point is 00:11:43 We're going to have to wait to see what happens and make sure you're subscribed so you can stay in the loop. And then any of you focus on getting your business off the ground, creating a place to share your homemade goods, new favorite hobby, current obsession, or even a personal blog to get all those thoughts out of your head, I got a solution for you. And it comes from our fantastic sponsor, Squarespace. I've been partnering with Squarespace for years now, and I have to say it is still so incredibly easy. There's nothing to ever install, patch, or upgrade. And creating your beautiful website with Squarespace's own platform has never been so simple. It's incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Plus, with their mobile-optimized

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Starting point is 00:12:31 to get 10% off your first purchase. And then we now have video of seven cops killing a man in a mental health hospital. Right, and what we're talking about here is the death of 28-year-old Irovo Otieno. The video of his death was released today. There is a lot to unpack. Also, to be clear, this is so graphic, I can't show it on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:12:48 But know that it is out there available for you to find, and we're going to break it down. So on March 6th, Otieno was taken to Central State Hospital, a state-run mental health facility to be admitted. And during his admission, Otieno reportedly became combative, and the video begins with him being hauled into a room by the deputies. He's then placed onto the ground, and eventually, all seven deputies pile on top of him to restrain him while he was still in handcuffs and leg irons. With him reportedly holding him on the ground for 11 minutes, and during that time, Otieno died. At one point in the video, you can see an officer checking Otieno's neck for a pulse, and they stood around for a minute, then shaking his body, trying to get a response.

Starting point is 00:13:19 They get none, and then they stand around for a minute. And it's not until several minutes after they pile off of him that a hospital employee comes over and begins CPR. And after about an hour of CPR, Otieno was pronounced dead and they laid a white sheet over him. So with all this, you have the office of the chief medical examiner releasing a preliminary report noting the cause of death to be asphyxiation, which backs up what the prosecutor said in a hearing for charges against the deputy saying they smothered him to death. And Otieno's mother also adding in a news conference with the family's attorneys last week, my son was treated like a dog worse than a dog I saw with my own eyes in the video

Starting point is 00:13:46 He was treated inhumanely and it was traumatic and it was systemic now as far as the seven deputies and three of the central state Hospital employees they have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder The prosecutor also saying that more arrests and charges may be on the horizon all this after all seven deputies involved in otn I was death turned themselves in to state police and replaced on administrative leave during the investigation All the hospital employees also placed on leave pending their legal proceedings. And in addition to the state police investigation, the sheriff's department these deputies work for is also conducting an internal investigation. With the sheriff, Alyssa Gregory, saying, The events of March 6th at their core represent a tragedy because Mr. Otieno's life was lost.

Starting point is 00:14:18 This loss is felt by not only those close to him, but our entire community. However, the local police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, through their support behind the deputies, saying on Facebook, policing in America today is difficult, made even more so by the possibility of being criminally charged while performing their duty. The death of Mr. Otieno was tragic and we express our condolences to his family. But adding, we also stand behind the seven accused deputies now charged with murder. So as far as what happens next, you have a grand jury set to review the case today and the prosecutor's office saying that they're seeking an indictment for all 10 defendants. So we'll see what happens there. There may also be another

Starting point is 00:14:47 layer to this case because there's some controversy regarding the video from the hospital. Because when I say the video was released, that may not be the most accurate way to describe it. OTNO's family and attorneys, they saw the video last week. They wanted it to be shared with the public. But you had the defense filing a motion against its release saying that it would allow the prosecutors to influence the jury and prevent the defendants from having a fair trial. However, the Washington Post actually found the video in a Dropbox link in the public filing from the prosecutor, which is why you had at least one attorney for the defense expressing their displeasure, saying, we are concerned that this response was filed by the prosecution with the intention of making the information available

Starting point is 00:15:17 to the media and public after having received a motion by the defense seeking to prevent just such a disclosure. And the defending attorney saying that they are, quote, considering all legal remedies. So we wait to see how all this plays out, I'd love to know your thoughts here. And then, Emmanuel Macron just barely avoided getting kicked off his throne of baguettes. Right, so the French president, deeply unpopular right now. And that in part because of his incredibly unpopular

Starting point is 00:15:36 pension reform bill that he absolutely insists on shoving through the government. With one of the key things being that it raises the retirement age for most people from 62 to 64. Right numbers that might not sound crazy to outsiders, like in the US, UK, and Germany, it's said it's 65, 66, and 67 years old. But for many in France, 64, just not acceptable. Right, under the new reforms, you wouldn't get your full pension unless you work at least 43 years. So that means that many people would have to wait much longer, especially if you spend time in school or take breaks for birth and child care.

Starting point is 00:16:01 Which is why two weeks ago, we saw more than a million people pouring onto the streets of Paris and other cities to protest. And trade unions shutting down trains, schools, and oil and gas facilities. But Macron has plowed ahead anyway, arguing that the reforms are necessary to shore up a projected funding deficit for state pensions over the next quarter century.

Starting point is 00:16:16 And all this getting to a point where last Thursday, he made what many consider an undemocratic move, invoking Article 49.3. That being a special constitutional power that lets him push the bill through parliament without a vote. A key thing, that same article specifies that lawmakers can file a no-confidence motion in response so long as it's within 24 hours.

Starting point is 00:16:31 And if that succeeds, not only is that bill dead in the water, the government has to resign as well. So they did just that with one motion put forward by the far-right National Rally, drawing only 94 votes of approval. But also another motion from a group representing various small parties was even more threatening, receiving 278 votes Which is just nine short of a majority so McCrone absolutely escaped by the skin of his teeth though Very importantly the opposition is now appealing to France's Constitutional Council which will have up to a month to decide whether to block part or all of the law and while all that's Happening the nationwide protests are continuing with big demonstrations already taking place over the weekend

Starting point is 00:17:01 But even bigger ones exploding after the votes failed. You have people chanting in the streets, police arresting hundreds and pushing others back with tear gas. This all happening while trash collectors have been on strike for the past two weeks, so there's literally thousands of tons of garbage crowding the streets, which have also proved to be very convenient fuel for protesters looking to set Paris on fire, even leading to this game of whack-a-mole for firefighters. And understand, this is just the beginning. Unions are preparing for a nationwide general strike on Thursday, so it doesn't seem like things are letting up. And then, over the weekend, Putin apparently visited two occupied Ukrainian territories, Mariupol and Crimea, for the first time since the war began, and it did not go well. Right, with Mariupol, he tried to make himself seem like a man of the people coming to greet his thankful subjects,

Starting point is 00:17:39 even driving himself through the city, though, of course, avoiding all the areas that were decimated by Russian bombing, with people identified by the Kremlin as local residents reportedly treating him as their savior, praying for him and calling their new home a little piece of heaven. You know, the totally natural and spontaneous response that you'd have if your city was besieged and bombarded for several months. But then, when absolute bamf of a woman got close enough to the cameras to pop Putin's bubble, or just as he's about to speak, you can hear her shouting in the background, it's all untrue, it's all for show. With Putin's PR team then absolutely seeming to fuck up because they left the heckler in the video that they uploaded to the official Kremlin website.

Starting point is 00:18:13 Only later, taking it down and replacing it with an edited version two days after people noticed and made fun of him, but that's not where this ends. Because now you also have this debate raging online about whether that's even Putin in the video. With an advisor to Mary Pole's mayor suggesting that it may have actually been a body double, as well as an advisor to the internal affairs minister in Kyiv, who posted three side-by-side photos of Putin, or at least what appears to be Putin, apparently highlighting discrepancies. And look, all of that, that's very speculative.

Starting point is 00:18:37 I'm not a big fan of the tinfoil hat. But also, it is worth to note that Ukraine's head of military intelligence has claimed to know of at least three doubles for Putin that used to stand in for him only on special occasions and since the invasion have done so as more of a normal practice. And even adding that they got plastic surgery for the job, but that you can tell them apart by differences in height, body language, and earlobes. But to be clear, I am not saying that, and you can decide if you think that's true or not. Also of note, with Putin, though, it is a different one. Last week, the International Criminal Court put out an arrest warrant for him, alleging that he's responsible for war crimes, particularly the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Now, a thing to keep in mind is this is not going to have any concrete effects outside of maybe restricting his travel abroad, right, since Russia lies outside the court's jurisdiction. Right, so it seems more about, like, for show and

Starting point is 00:19:18 posturing, but also that is part of the reason we saw Moscow opening its own criminal case against the ICC prosecutor and the judges who issued the warrant. Also, while this is happening, he and President Xi of China are getting closer and closer to a meeting this week, and it's especially important because it's the first time that Xi has gone to Moscow since the invasion, signaling China's support for Moscow, which has kind of remained this ambiguous thing, but now you have the leaders calling each other dear friends and expressing desire to deepen ties between their nations. The key thing Xi's saying here here that China is ready with Russia to stand guard over the world order based on international law,

Starting point is 00:19:48 seeming to show solidarity against the U.S. We can cooperate and work together to achieve our goals. And then, a Fox News producer was coerced into giving misleading testimony in the $1.6 billion Dominion lawsuit. Or at least, that's what's now being alleged in a pair of lawsuits filed in New York and Delaware by Abby Grossberg, who has worked as a senior producer for Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson. With the Delaware suit claiming,

Starting point is 00:20:09 Fox News attorneys acted as agents and at the behest of Fox News to misleadingly coach, manipulate, and coerce Ms. Grossberg to deliver shaded and or incomplete answers during her sworn deposition testimony, which answers were clearly to her reputational detriment but greatly benefited Fox News. And adding that the concerted efforts and actions of Fox's legal team prompted Grossberg to give testimony in the Dominion suit that presented the actual facts in a false light in order to shift culpability away from senior Fox executives in the Fox Corporation. And that's actually very, very notable here,

Starting point is 00:20:35 because as CNN notes, the Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, they've asked to be dropped as a party in Dominion's lawsuit by arguing that it does not play a big role in coverage decisions at the network. But also beyond that, Grossberg alleges that this was all part of an attempt to ship the blame from the election lies that Fox willingly spread away from prominent male executives and hosts and onto herself and Bartiromo, with her arguing that the effort to blame the women stemmed from a deep-rooted culture of sexism and discrimination over at Fox. And specifically, Grossberg claimed that Fox's lawyer coached her in a coercive and intimidating manner before her

Starting point is 00:21:03 deposition in the Dominion suit and directed her to make statements that made her look inept, with this including by encouraging her to give these vague answers and discouraging her from explaining that Bartiromo's team was unable to properly vet claims made about Dominion on air because it was so overstretched and understaffed. A fact that Groesberg specifically blamed on Fox's blatant disregard for women, noting that she was the only full-time employee dedicated entirely to Bartiromo's Sunday show, and her explicitly arguing in the New York suit that she left the deposition prep sessions with Fox's lawyers without knowing that by giving such false, misleading, and evasive answers like the ones Fox's legal team reacted to positively during the prep sessions, she not only opened herself up to civil and criminal liability for perjury,

Starting point is 00:21:37 but was subtly shifting all responsibility for the alleged defamation against Dominion onto her shoulders, and by implication, those of her trusted female colleague, Ms. Bartiromo, rather than the mostly male higher-ups at Fox News who endorsed the repeated coverage of the lies against Dominion onto her shoulders, and by implication, those of her trusted female colleague, Miss Bartiromo, rather than the mostly male higher-ups at Fox News who endorsed the repeated coverage of the lies against Dominion. Now, of course, with all this, this is in no way the only time Fox has ever been accused of having a sexist and discriminatory workplace culture, but some of the specific claims Grossberg makes are fucking wild. For example, Grossberg offered numerous horrifying details about how openly sexist the men who worked at Fox are, saying she heard her prior male superiors and colleagues at Fox News spew misogynistic phrases at her or with an earshot

Starting point is 00:22:08 on a constant basis, saying that a senior male producer and another male executive used sexist tropes to describe Bartiromo, including hysterical, diva, crazy bitch, and menopausal. Beyond that, she also claimed that she was denied promotions and generally treated way worse than male co-workers, even alleging that her boss at Tucker Carlson's show literally told her she was paid less than her male counterparts. And to that point, a ton of her specific allegations here center around her work for Tucker Carlson, who's also named in the suit along with members of his staff. For example, Grossberg claims that on her first full day of working for Carlson, she discovered that the show's workplace was plastered with large pictures of then-house speaker Nancy Pelosi wearing a plunging bathing suit revealing her cleavage. Then the next

Starting point is 00:22:42 day, her new boss asked her if Bartiromo was having sex with Kevin McCarthy. She also alleged that Carlson's staff would make racist jokes about Jews, use vulgar terms for women, and once held a mock debate to determine which female candidate for Michigan governor they would rather have sex with. And Grossberg saying that things got so bad,

Starting point is 00:22:55 she actually complained about harassment from two male producers on Carlson's show. But when she did, HR pulled her into a meeting to tell her she was not performing her duties. Now with all of that from her side, as far as how Fox has responded to all of this, we've seen the network seeking a restraining order to prevent Grossberg from sharing privileged information and placing her on administrative leave, and a spokesperson saying in a statement that the company has engaged an independent

Starting point is 00:23:14 outside counsel to immediately investigate the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg, which they claim were made following a critical performance review. And adding, her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless and we will vigorously defend Fox against all of her claims. But we also saw her lawyer pushing back on the claim that this is only all happening after she received a bad performance review. Now, with all that said, as far as how this is going to play into the broader Dominion suit, experts say that it could actually bolster their case by giving them an opening to raise questions about the credibility of key testimony from Fox employees who were deposed. But ultimately, to see how this plays out, we're going to have to wait. But that is where today's show ends. Thank you, as always,

Starting point is 00:23:44 for being a part of my daily dives into the news. Hopefully, it made today a lot more digestible. But as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.21 The Truth About Emma Chamberlain's Scandal, Bad Bunny, Deadly Fungal Infections, Vice & Today's News

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