The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.11 WHO IS LYING?! Donald Glover, Cancel Culture, James Charles, Blackmail Accusations, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 So two things, two things, there it is. One, yes, for the month of May, I've seen all the requests, fine. We'll reinstate the subscriber love tour for the month of May. Randomly, one already existing subscriber and one new subscriber for the month of May will get $5,000 each at the end of the month.

Starting point is 00:00:15 And two, as of tomorrow morning, if you want, you're getting more of my dumb face. As of tomorrow in the mornings, I'll be uploading an under 60 second recap of the day before to try and get you in the know. Though, I don't think you'll actually get notifications for them. You'll be able to view them on the youtube.com

Starting point is 00:00:27 slash DeFranco channel page, or actually right here at the bottom of your app on your phone. If you close out your YouTube app and you reopen it right there at the bottom, you should see shorts. And this is obviously not a full on replacement for the Philip DeFranco show,

Starting point is 00:00:38 but I've been diversifying more and more. It's why we have tens of thousands. I think we're gonna crack 100,000 soon on the mailing list. That'll have a completely different audience in this under 60 second thing, but yeah. That said, welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. It is Tuesday, May 11th, 2021. Hit that like button, subscribe,

Starting point is 00:00:52 and let's just jump into it. And the first thing that we're gonna talk about today is we have James Charles back in the news. Of course, he's a massive creator, also a very controversial creator right now. And essentially, James is back in the news because he came back from a social media break that he was taking because of another controversy,

Starting point is 00:01:07 specifically that one around misconduct allegations with him and minors, to make a video that appears to be him trying to get ahead of a story that's gonna come out about other allegations. Saying in this video that he felt cornered and that he needed to make another public statement because he feels like he's being blackmailed. So what's happening here is that there's this lawsuit

Starting point is 00:01:22 that he's apparently been dealing with for two years from a former employee. Saying that it's not something that he's apparently been dealing with for two years from a former employee. Saying that it's not something that he's talked about himself, right, because of ongoing litigation, but saying that he felt the need to address it because the former employee is talking about it now. Essentially, the way he sets this up is he says he hired her

Starting point is 00:01:34 when he first started in LA, first as an editor, then promoting her to a producer with a salary of $72,000 a year, but she was let go after six months. And saying that now he is facing a lawsuit. But it basically alleges that she was wrongfully terminated, overworked and underpaid, all of which are untrue. James going on to say that cases like this are common,

Starting point is 00:01:51 but rarely make it to court because it's a long and expensive process, so usually people settle, but he refuses to settle. He says this is because he was recently contacted to give comment for an upcoming article that's about what it was like to work for him. And he says that she is talking to the press and making defamatory and ridiculous comments about him. And adding that he thinks that she is doing this to pressure him into a higher settlement offer.

Starting point is 00:02:08 These claims range everything from I was so lazy she had to force me to get out of my bed and brush my teeth and without her I would have never made a single video or a single dollar, but also things much more serious and disgusting such as that I used to say the n-word around her all the time. Claiming that the last bit was just kind of perfect timing because there was a Twitter account that he's not used since 2016 that was allegedly hacked, which has been posting tweets with the N-word in. Essentially saying that even though these allegations would go away if he just settled, he doesn't want to. Contrary to popular belief, I have never ever paid anybody to speak

Starting point is 00:02:37 or to not speak about me, and this will not be the first time that I do it. It just won't. So he says he has no choice but to pursue this legally, but in the meantime, he has to deal with a court of public opinion, which is why he posted this video. And he said, you know, it's not really on my side right now. And to me, this sounds kind of like James saying, because I'm getting so much heat for accusations involving minors, public opinion is not on my side.

Starting point is 00:02:55 More people are gonna believe the allegations against me. So I need to get ahead of this. And while the specific article in question here has not been released as of recording this video, we do know that the former employee has been allegedly identified in numerous reports as Kelly Rocklin. Regarding what she has said about James online,

Starting point is 00:03:08 some are pointing to this tweet from April where she said, "'Watching the same people who screwed me over massively "'end up in deep scandals isn't news to me. "'It's karmic debt.'" Also, you have this tweet where people believe she's referencing the lawsuit with James, as well as one she already allegedly won with Erica Costell saying,

Starting point is 00:03:21 "'1-1, going two for two, "'because I'm all about law and order.'" Also regarding the article coming out, we saw insider reporter Kat Tenbar, she broke the story about the allegation against D "'One, one, going two for two "'because I'm all about law and order.'" Also regarding the article coming out, we saw insider reporter Kat Tenbars, who broke the story about the allegation against Dirty Dom, sharing James's video saying, "'Absolutely not, story coming soon. "'Literally cannot believe this.

Starting point is 00:03:34 "'Okay, well yeah, you paid your creative director 72K "'after a raise. "'We'll start there since you're the one "'putting it out, more soon.'" Also writing, "'Blackmail is a criminal allegation "'and a really crazy and stupid one to make.'" Though she later deleted those tweets and then said, we're reporting everything out, story will be coming soon.

Starting point is 00:03:48 And so yeah, ultimately that is where we are. We're kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop with the other shoe being the insider article. And you know, that's part of the reason why I can't really add an opinion to the end of this story because we don't fully have it yet. But I mean, kind of to summarize this story, you have someone going, I didn't do it.

Starting point is 00:04:03 And we're all kind of going like, you didn't do what? Now I'm interested, what happened now? And so, I mean, actually part of the story ends, you have someone going, I didn't do it. And we're all kind of going like, wait, you didn't do what? Now I'm interested, what happened now? And so, I mean, actually part of the story ends up being a little bit of a test case. I mean, was this a good idea to try and get in front of this? Because one, you would have your supporters already kind of maybe on your side, expecting to see something, maybe they're not blindsided.

Starting point is 00:04:19 But at the same time, you've possibly made it so that people that were not going to be aware of the story are now ready and waiting and primed to read that story, actively looking for it. And so while we're in this holding pattern, and actually that's the question I have for you. Do you think it was a good idea that James went out and made this video,

Starting point is 00:04:33 or do you think that he just made the situation worse for himself? Then we had most relatable woman, 10 years running, Gwyneth Paltrow in the news. And this because while on a podcast, she talked about hitting a new special low during the quarantine. During quarantine, I was drinking seven nights a week

Starting point is 00:04:48 and making pasta and eating bread. Like I went totally off the rails. I mean, who drinks multiple drinks seven nights a week? Like that's not healthy. You know, here's the thing. I am someone that I love to dunk on Gwyneth Paltrow because she is so not a regular human being. Like Gwyneth Paltrow feels like a caricature

Starting point is 00:05:06 of what we think a disconnected rich person is like but that's who she is as a human being. But I feel like the reason she got so much backlash with this specific quote is because the Guardian ran a headline reading Gwyneth Paltrow broke down and ate bread during quarantine. What was your lowest point? So essentially that headline, at Gwyneth Paltrow's darkest moment, she turned to carbs, isn't that horrible? When really, when you listen to the actual podcast and you hear the quote, yes, she mentioned pasta and carbs, but it sounded like she was like,

Starting point is 00:05:33 I was driven to drinking every night, which was not normal for me. Which I would argue is the most relatable thing Gwyneth Paltrow has ever said or done. Even Queen's scammy, foo-foo bullshit, McGoop face was driven to drink. That was, that means something. But Queen's scammy, foo-foo bullshit, McGoop face was driven to drink. That was, that means something. But for that exact reason,

Starting point is 00:05:47 though lesser than what Gwyneth was receiving, the Guardian received backlash for their headline, many saying that it was misleading. Guardian also has since changed that headline, I guess realizing their mistake, but it also doesn't completely change the quote or the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow, yes, is a not human lizard person.

Starting point is 00:06:03 Though for legal reasons, I'm gonna say that is a joke. And then our final bit of entertainer slash entertainment news involves Donald Glover. And this because after a rather long hiatus, he returned to Twitter last night to start a conversation about new Hollywood projects. In a series of tweets, he said, saw people on here having a discussion

Starting point is 00:06:18 about how tired they were reviewing boring stuff, TV and film, and adding we're getting boring stuff and not even experimental mistakes because people are afraid of getting canceled. So they feel they can only experiment with aesthetic. Also because some of them know they're not that good. And there's been a debate about what he meant here, people interpreting it differently.

Starting point is 00:06:33 Some saying that he's talking about TV shows and films being canceled in the traditional sense by networks and executive boards. But on the other side, you have people saying that he's talking about cancel culture as far as public criticism of actual content itself. Or perhaps it makes it both, right? Because networks are more likely to cancel shows

Starting point is 00:06:46 over low ratings or bad reviews, which could also come from outrage over certain creative choices. You know, my reaction to this news is I will agree with whatever Donald Glover thinks if he'll give us season three of Atlanta next week. Yeah, I mean, both interpretations are kind of true. One, most studios for TV and movies

Starting point is 00:07:00 are not gonna be taking risks everywhere. They might take some, but not a ton. They're gonna be more inclined to put out things that they know have worked kind of in the past so that they can make money. Even Donald Glover himself in the past said he had to kind of Trojan horse his version of what Atlanta was into FX.

Starting point is 00:07:13 And on the other hand, with the other interpretation, I mean, we've seen plenty of examples of someone said something somewhat edgy in a piece of content and it resulted in like huge campaigns against that show. And then, yeah, I mean, with the other interpretation, you might have creatives worried about any sort of backlash they might get

Starting point is 00:07:27 for trying something different or edgy. But yeah, I do wanna know, what is your interpretation of what Glover is saying here and do you agree with him? And bonus points if you have things that you can point to that back up what you believe. But from that, I wanna take a quick second to thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show, Raycon.

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Starting point is 00:08:27 or go to buyraycon.com slash defranco to get 15% off your order today. And don't forget they have a 45 day free return policy. So what are you waiting for? Then we should definitely talk about this landmark study that was published yesterday by the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that found that air pollution from farms leads to 17,900 deaths

Starting point is 00:08:44 in the United States each year. According to the study, which is notably the first major report to connect air pollution deaths to specific food items, the worst emitter is animal agriculture, which alone composes 80% of deaths from food production related pollution. The researchers explain that there are two overarching kinds of pollution associated with manure and animal feed that create particles that can drift hundreds of miles. First is generated when farmers till or burn crops or when livestock kicks up dust. And the second less prominent,

Starting point is 00:09:08 but more problematic pollutant is produced when emissions from farms combined with other gases in the atmosphere like ammonia, which is produced by manure and is incredibly toxic when combined with other pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur compounds. And those emissions add up to make animal agriculture the most deadly by far with the study finding

Starting point is 00:09:23 that accounts for a total of 12,700 deaths a year, which is absolutely huge because it means that these emissions now make up more annual deaths than pollution from coal power plants. But as places like the Washington Post note, while pollution from power plants, factories, and vehicles is restricted under the Clean Air Act, there is less regulation of air quality around farms.

Starting point is 00:09:41 Right, and that is very, very notable because while many environmental scientists and advocates have praised this study as a key first step to crafting regulations and laws, major meat industry leaders immediately condemned the study, arguing that it was based on faulty assumptions and claiming that they have not found significant air pollution problems.

Starting point is 00:09:55 And while obviously, yes, that would be their response, it's the one that we expect, I think it's very important to know with this story that the meat industry has massive lobbying power, not only in Congress, but also among the public. I mean, just look back, what, a few weeks ago, you had Fox News lying about Biden banning burgers. You have everyone flipping out on this thing

Starting point is 00:10:10 that's not happening. So clearly any kind of regulations are gonna hit massive roadblocks. And while the study did find that farmers could cut their air pollution in half by changing certain practices, the biggest power in this situation is ultimately gonna lie with consumers.

Starting point is 00:10:21 Even as the post explains, if Americans switched to a flexitarian diet, getting at least half their calories from fruits and vegetables, and limiting animal protein to just a few meals per week, air pollution mortality from agriculture would fall 68%. And if I was a gambling man, I'd put more money on, it just has to be a societal change over time.

Starting point is 00:10:37 I mean, we're even seeing big business investing more and more money with the understanding that they think that more people are gonna go to meat alternatives. But I share that while also not coming for your burgers. Then in the battle against COVID-19 news, we have the FDA now officially authorizing the Pfizer COVID vaccine for adolescents 12

Starting point is 00:10:53 to 15 years old yesterday. With FDA officials saying in the news briefing following the announcement that the decision was clear and straightforward because clinical trials show that the vaccine was safe for the group and that the response was even better than 18 to 25 year olds. It's gonna be very interesting to see what this does

Starting point is 00:11:06 to the vaccination numbers because it opens eligibility to now 17 million more children. But the polling that we have seen on this topic is very mixed. We've seen surveys like from April that showed only 52% of parents of a child under the age of 18 said that they were likely to vaccinate their kid once eligible.

Starting point is 00:11:20 Also a Kaiser Family Foundation poll published a few days ago showed that many parents, including those who were eager to get their own vaccines were more reluctant to vaccinate their children. So how many of those 17 million get vaccinated? That remains to be seen and we'll keep an eye on. Then we should definitely talk about the big news that President Biden has ordered the Labor Department

Starting point is 00:11:35 to ensure that any American will lose their enhanced federal unemployment benefits if they do not accept what is referred to as a suitable job when offered. Saying in those same remarks that he would direct the agency to work jointly with states to reimpose the requirement that people collecting joblessness benefits must show that they are

Starting point is 00:11:48 actively looking for work. Right, notably this comes just days after the latest jobs report showed way fewer positions created than expected. With the labor department reporting that just over 260,000 jobs were added last month even though you had economists predicting that number would be around a million.

Starting point is 00:12:01 Right, so while things are opening up more and more, Americans are getting vaccinated, some employers have reported that they're having a hard time finding workers. Right, and Republicans have largely argued that this is because of the additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits that Americans are collecting from the last stimulus package. But regarding this, in his address,

Starting point is 00:12:15 Biden hit back at that claim, saying that the White House does not see much evidence that benefits have deterred people from taking jobs, which is actually a fact that is supported by numerous studies on pandemic unemployment benefits. And so instead, you had Biden adding that corporate America has to do more to encourage people to come back to work. And that argument is one that we've been seeing Democrats

Starting point is 00:12:31 making more and more. If Republicans are so worried that Americans are making more money with an extra $300 a week than they would if they were working, that is an incredibly poor reflection on the state of the American job market. Which is why yesterday we saw Biden hitting hard, placing the responsibility on employers, and especially those who have accepted federal relief. Calling on them to raise their pay,

Starting point is 00:12:48 protect their workers from the virus, and help them gain access to vaccination so out-of-work Americans can feel safe going back. But my expectation is that as our economy comes back, these companies will provide fair wages and safe work environments. And if they do, they'll find plenty of workers. And we're all gonna come out of this together better than before. And while yes, we have seen some companies starting to do this like Chipotle,

Starting point is 00:13:11 which announced yesterday that it was raising its average wage to $15 an hour to address the labor shortage. It is also very possible that many big companies might just wait it out. And in part, they might feel more comfortable doing that because a growing number of Republican led states have been rejecting the idea

Starting point is 00:13:23 of increased federal unemployment money because of this argument. I mean, just yesterday, you had the governors of Alabama and Mississippi joining Montana, South Carolina, and Arkansas announcing that their states would be leaving the programs by mid June and that more are likely to follow. So we're essentially kind of in this standoff, right? Whether it be Democrats and Republicans,

Starting point is 00:13:38 not seeing eye to eye on this issue, as well as corporations or small businesses facing off with their would be workers. The last thing that we're gonna talk about today is the situation between Israel and Palestine escalating. Now, like most things between Israel and its neighbors, the situation is complicated. It builds off of decades of unresolved issues,

Starting point is 00:13:54 but what we can say about this most recent bloodshed is that it began because of two situations. The first being what Palestinians describe as Israeli restrictions on religious and cultural practices during Ramadan, and the other involves the looming evictions of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Eastern Jerusalem. Right, so the religious clashes began about a month ago

Starting point is 00:14:10 at the start of Ramadan when Israeli security forces put up barriers to stop people from hanging out at the Damascus Gate, which is a popular spot during Ramadan. The situation was also made worse when Israel imposed a 10,000 person limit on prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is one of Islam's holiest sites. And that 10,000 person limit meant that tens of thousands

Starting point is 00:14:25 of Palestinians were turned away or forcibly removed in a series of raids into the mosque and compound. The most recent of which actually caused a massive fire. And all of that led to massive protests, which Israel tried to deescalate by removing the barriers at the Damascus Gate. Although that didn't really help much. While all of that was happening,

Starting point is 00:14:39 you also had people protesting in Jerusalem over the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah. That neighborhood was built back in the 50s by Jordan when it controlled that part of Jerusalem as part of an agreement with Israel. And part of that agreement was that the families living there would be allowed to keep the homes after three years. Now Jordan eventually lost control of that area.

Starting point is 00:14:53 And you fast forward seven decades and an Israeli court has ordered Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah to leave their homes. That Israeli court agreeing with the accusation that the homes were illegally built on Jewish owned land and should be returned to Jewish residents. Leading to Israeli settlers moving in and effectively stealing homes. Obviously people getting kicked out of their homes were illegally built on Jewish owned land and should be returned to Jewish residents. Leading to Israeli settlers moving in and effectively stealing homes.

Starting point is 00:15:06 Obviously people getting kicked out of their homes has led to its own massive protest for weeks. And this weekend was no different, leading to many injuries on both sides. Also of note, this entire situation was supposed to be settled at least legally during a Supreme court hearing on Monday, but that ended up being postponed to an unknown date, leaving many to feel

Starting point is 00:15:22 that this situation will not be resolved and it just fuels the protest further. Also, in response to all of this, you had Hamas and its territory of the Gaza Strip deciding to issue an ultimatum for Israel to leave the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex and the Sheikh Jar neighborhood, or that it would launch rockets.

Starting point is 00:15:35 When 6 p.m. on Monday rolled around and that had not happened, Hamas decided to launch a massive rocket attack of over 400 rockets into Israel. Now, many rockets reportedly fell short or were stopped by Israel's Iron Dome defense system, but many also found their targets, injuring at least 10 Israelis and killing two.

Starting point is 00:15:49 Israel then responded by conducting airstrikes against Gaza, according to the AP. Since sundown Monday, 28 Palestinians, including 10 children and a woman, were killed in Gaza, with the Israeli military saying at least 16 of the dead were militants. Both sides have also continued to bombard the other through the last 36 hours with promises

Starting point is 00:16:04 to escalate the situation further. You know, this is still a developing situation. We're waiting to see what happens next, but also this is an incredibly polarizing situation. And I think a great example of that is the reaction to Andrew Yang's tweet yesterday. He wrote, I'm standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks

Starting point is 00:16:17 and condemn the Hamas terrorists. The people of New York City will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere. Well, yes, you had people supporting Yang saying that, supporting that narrative. You also saw a ton of backlash. With people like Stephanie Weiss tweeting, "...as a proud Jewish New Yorker, please fuck all the way off with this vile pandering to right-wing zealots when most Jews are repulsed about what the Israeli government is doing

Starting point is 00:16:38 to the Palestinians. This is repugnant. Hashtag not in my name." Which actually, on that note, you had people like Ben Bram saying that this is Yang's misguided grab for the Jewish vote of New York. Others also saying, Mr. Yang, sir, I'm kindly begging you to please get fucked. I mean, you get the point. But also unfortunately, while that debate happens over the next few days, it is incredibly likely that the death toll will rise.

Starting point is 00:16:56 The bloodshed will continue and it will be used as its own excuse to continue the violence and continue the cycle in the region. Yeah, ultimately with this story and also with anything else that stood out to you, even if it wasn't one of the heavier stories today, I'd love to know your thoughts

Starting point is 00:17:08 because this brings us to the end of the show. As always, thank you for watching, liking, subscribing, all the good stuff. If you're looking for more to watch, I get covered right here with a brand new podcast, some more news. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco.

Starting point is 00:17:20 You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.11 WHO IS LYING?! Donald Glover, Cancel Culture, James Charles, Blackmail Accusations, & More

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