The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.24 IT GOT WORSE... What Vanderpump Rules Scandal Really Exposed, Ali Tate Cutler Shamed, Ron Desantis &

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards! Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the news, and let's just jump into it. Starting with, should you be able to choose when and how you die, and also what is the appropriate way to talk about it? Those are questions millions of people are split over right now after Victoria's Secret model Allie Tate Cutler put out a massively viral TikTok about euthanasia. Right because her 85-year-old grandma who lived in Canada and had terminal cancer chose to go out by the country's Medical Assistance in Dying program. With that being an option there for

Starting point is 00:00:24 adults who have a serious condition, disease, or disability, an advanced irreversible state of decline, and are enduring what's been described as unbearable physical or mental suffering that can't be relieved under conditions the patient finds acceptable. Though that notably was later loosened to allow patients who aren't terminally ill. So Tate Cutler flew up to Canada for one final week with her grandma before the procedure and documented their time together on TikTok. One of the videos showing them getting dolled up before going out to their last dinner at a restaurant together. Another showing her interviewing her grandma about the process.

Starting point is 00:00:49 What are your thoughts as you move closer to the day? It's like the light at the end of the tunnel. Are you nervous? Are you excited? How do you feel? Looking forward to it. Just putting an end to being dependent. No control. So as the day approaches, is it something you're thinking about every day? No. Just it's going to happen when it happens. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:01:10 When I'll be ready, I'll know. Yeah. I've always made my own decisions for myself in living. I trust I will in death. I do believe my husband is there saying it's above time. And I'll say, hi, I'm here. The grandma adding that the doctors made sure that her illness was terminal confirmed

Starting point is 00:01:27 that she really wanted euthanasia and stressed that she could always change her mind. And so that's why with this, there were a ton of people who expressed their support and empathy for her decision. Also at the same time, we saw two different types of backlash against Tate Cutler here. The first being a group that was just generally opposed to euthanasia on the grounds that people should die

Starting point is 00:01:41 naturally and we shouldn't be supporting suicide. And to that, she says she was initially opposed to the practice until she saw how much pain her grandmother was in. Explaining that for her and her family, it's about allowing the person to choose on their own terms how and what they want to do with their body and how they want to leave the world. With her adding, we spent time talking and laughing together, going over memories. Watching her die well has been the biggest gift. But there was also a second, more viral criticism here about her decision to publicize all this on social media. With some saying what she was doing was tasteless, accusing her of just doing it for clicks and attention. But to that, she says that she did all this to start a conversation about death and show how beautiful it can be to watch someone die.

Starting point is 00:02:13 Which I will say, if I just heard that with no context whatsoever, I think that's a very weird sentence. But when you have ever seen or experienced someone in chronic, debilitating pain, I think it's much easier to then understand what a peaceful death, what a gift that actually is. And on this topic, Tate Cutler also talking about how death, it's this taboo subject in Western societies and people don't like to talk about it openly because it's sad and also scary. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't talk about it.

Starting point is 00:02:37 But with now all that said, arguments heard, I wanna pass the question off to you. Because if you go to any corner of the internet, you see people reacting to this story, but I wanted to fully explain it and then also get people's opinions because i feel like a lot of people just like saw a screenshot and they just started sounding off and with everything on the table let me know what you're thinking in those comments down below because it's my i just re-watched the fucking videos that was a mistake

Starting point is 00:03:01 because my opinion is that, that Allie Tate Cutler should not be getting any backlash for this. I'm very thankful that she, she shed some light with her grandmother, but that's where I'm going to leave it. Literally just for the sake of, I don't want a full blown cry, whether you agree or you disagree with me in those comments down below, let me know your thoughts here. And then we're going to talk about this professor right here. Cause they appeared not in just one viral video, but two viral videos in the same month. The first happening a few weeks ago

Starting point is 00:03:29 at Hunter College in New York City. You see her approach in an information booth run by an anti-abortion student group on campus, and the footage speaks for itself. This is bullshit. This is violent. You're triggering my students. I'm sorry about that.

Starting point is 00:03:41 No, you're not, because you can't even have a fucking baby. So you don't even know what that is. You don't even know what this is. Get this shit the fuck out of here, you know? This shit. So that interaction spreads like wildfire, people calling her the crazed woke professor.

Starting point is 00:03:54 Then yesterday, the New York Post sent a reporter and a photographer to her apartment to question her about it. When she opened the door, the Post says she threatened to chop the reporter up with a machete and then held the blade to his throat. Let's get out of here. You can't do that. Though it also did not end there because she came back and chased them out of the building with the machete and then held the blade to his throat. Let's get out of here. You can't do that. Though it also did not end there because she came back and chased them out of the building with

Starting point is 00:04:08 the machete, yelling at them to get the fuck out. Even chasing these guys in a circle around their car. And then she allegedly kicked the reporter in the shins as he tried to climb inside before she finally went back into the building. And then, do you or someone you know watch trash TV, or more specifically, trash reality TV? Arguably, I don't even need to say trash there, I'm getting redundant. But I ask because there's more and more talk happening around the human cost around reality TV. And not just among the people that consume it, but even the producers of a show called Vanderpump Rules

Starting point is 00:04:31 are saying that the show is exploding everywhere amid a cheating scandal that happened among the cast. And for those unfamiliar, I'm about to burn a few of your brain cells, so prepare yourself. Vanderpump Rules is a reality TV show that follows this friend group in Los Angeles. But really for this, you only need to know three people,

Starting point is 00:04:43 Tom, Ariana, and Raquel. Because Tom and Ariana, they've been dating for nearly a decade they bought a house together they were in it for the long haul but earlier this year as season 10 of the show was airing reports broke that tom had actually been having a months-long affair with raquel one of ariana's closest friends and this news broke off a part of the internet caused a massive uproar tons of people furious at tom and raquel it wasn't just like some online reaction you had people sharing like them going to a place where he owns part of it, yelling, fuck Tom.

Starting point is 00:05:08 And that's just one example, right? We saw numerous of like the internet bleeding into real life. And then last week's finale episode, everyone got to see Ariana as she discovers the affair and confronts Tom about it. And while the situation has seemingly been a disaster, at least emotionally for everyone involved, it's been absolutely fantastic news for the show.

Starting point is 00:05:22 At least if you're talking about numbers, right? The viewership went huge, even reaching series high ratings last week during the finale episode. And now that that highly anticipated episode has aired, Ariana's on this massive press tour about the situation, speaking to outlets like the New York Times, the Today Show, clips of her on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper doing some numbers. Bring me to the moment where you come across realizing he's cheated on you with Raquel. What were you thinking in the stall? I was like shaking, like full body.

Starting point is 00:05:48 And in these interviews, even though like ultimately what we're consuming as us, it's just content. What you have is also a human being trying to unpack the biggest betrayal of her life. And of course, with all this, people are just eating it all up. And why wouldn't they? I mean, society has trained us that people are just content. But it's also important while the little gossipy bitch in our head who's gorging herself on all of this scandal is very happy. It's also important to remember there are real people involved. And you actually just recently had

Starting point is 00:06:13 producers speaking about that in an interview with Variety. They're saying it's not all fun and games behind the scenes. This is a real thing that happened to someone with Alex Baskin saying, it's hard. There's a human cost, not a joyous celebration where we can send a note out to the cast and celebrate how well we're doing. And Lisa Vanderpump, who's a producer that also stars in the show, who's close with the cast, chimed in as well. Because when she was asked if she thought this season might get Emmy attention, she responded, I don't like to think of it like that at all because it's still a very painful experience. But it's been an extraordinary series over the years. It has had many highs and so many lows and we've stuck with it. And I don't

Starting point is 00:06:40 really have a clean out to this story because even so many years in, I never know how to actually feel about any of this. And that's in large part due to the just general dumpster fire of reality TV. Are you consuming something as content, but they're also real people, but you also know a lot of places, fake things. So then you question reality because you don't want to feel bad or feel, have like an emotional connection to someone. If it turns out, oh, they were actually lying to you. They were just doing like a script bit. So it's safer to just treat someone or see them as a character rather than a real person, especially because we're already so deep into reality TV. When you think back to early reality TV, most of those people didn't know what the fuck they were doing. There was no, as gamers or strategists might talk about,

Starting point is 00:07:14 there was no meta or there was no template or archetype that you could mimic. And now when I come across reality TV shows, I'm like, I don't even buy it. Whatever the plot is, I don't buy it. Whatever the concept of the show is, I don't buy it. I automatically just think I'm watching a bunch of influencers that are like, how can I use this to be able to shill products on Instagram? And so that's a big part why I try to talk about this in a conversational manner rather than trying to villainize anybody. Because the situation, the industry, it provides a very justified reason to close oneself off from being vulnerable to having a feeling or a connection to someone. Though connections, people have because of the parasocial relationships that have resulted

Starting point is 00:07:47 from this show, but also many others. Wild. But even that connects to people being seen as characters, right? How many people are on the fuck you Tom train because he represents someone that fucked you over? And this gets to be that safe public flogging of a person that represents a person that hurt you. But hopefully something of what I was just vomiting made sense to you or connected to you.

Starting point is 00:08:05 Because once again, this is not an argument. This is more of a conversation I want to have on this topic. And then, do you ever feel like dads get the shaft when it comes to Father's Day gifts? Are we still giving out ties and socks? Well, thanks to the fantastic and longtime partner of today's show, Ridge, I've got you covered. Y'all, Ridge has redesigned the wallet

Starting point is 00:08:19 with over 30 colors and styles to choose from. Its sleek design expands to hold up to 12 cards, has room for cash while remaining as slim as possible, and it is RFID blocking, all with a lifetime guarantee. And for those that tend to lose their wallets, Ridge has the option of AirTag, so it's not lost for long. They also have tons of reliable products, like their durable key case that holds up to six keys, right?

Starting point is 00:08:37 No more jingle with this guy. As well as cool knives, backpacks, seriously, so many things. You gotta check them out. With over 3 million customers, 50,000 plus five-star reviews, the Ridge team is so confident that you're going to love it. They're going to let you test drive it for 99 days. You don't love it,

Starting point is 00:08:50 you just send it back for a full refund. So from this dad to you, go find the best Father's Day gift right now using my link, ridge.com slash DeFranco and save up to 40% through June 15th. That's ridge.com slash DeFranco. And then the world of streamers right now

Starting point is 00:09:03 is getting so frustrating with some things affecting your bank account, some just being annoying. Like one of the biggest shifts dropping yesterday That's ridge.com slash defranco. And then the world of streamers right now is getting so frustrating. With some things affecting your bank account, some just being annoying. Like one of the biggest shifts dropping yesterday with Netflix officially cracking down on password sharing in the States. Releasing a statement saying a Netflix account is for use by one household. And with that, sending an email out to subscribers, warning them of the change, telling them to see what devices are logged into their account to sign out of the ones that shouldn't have access. Also giving instruction on options regarding out-of-household users. And there, there are two choices. One, transfer a person's profile so they can make their own Netflix account. Or two, pay an out-of-household member fee on your account, which costs $8 per month. Though notably, the price can add up really

Starting point is 00:09:34 fast. But if you're on Netflix standard, you add one person, that ends up being $23.50 per month. Or if you have premium and you add two people, that's $36 a month. Which I will say, with those prices, I have to feel like Netflix is counting on other streamers to follow them, right? Because we're talking about numbers that are way more than other streaming services now, and the others don't have strict password sharing rules, at least yet. Or think of it along the lines of Twitter deciding, hey, you can get verified for $8 a month. No one else was out there doing that, but then all of a sudden, because the door was open, we started hearing murmurings, oh, Instagram's going to do this. You know, with this new Netflix announcement, you had people saying, hey, I'm going to cancel my subscription, arguing they're

Starting point is 00:10:04 about to find out how their near monopoly on streaming was only held up by everyone just having Netflix and how that will dry the fuck up as people cancel when they can't share with friends and family. But also in positive news for Netflix, everyone wasn't just focused on Netflix yesterday.

Starting point is 00:10:16 They were focused on HBO Max, which is no longer HBO Max. It is just Max, an HBO streamer. Or it's essentially a rebrand to incorporate both HBO and Discovery content. Because, you know, people were like, what if we took all the premium content from HBO Max and also threw in a bunch of garbage? People will be good little piggies and eat up all that garbage content as well.

Starting point is 00:10:34 Also, it was how this went down. Many users knew this change was coming, but you also had the company saying, hey, a large portion of HBO Max accounts are automatically going to update to Max. But many users, including myself, actually had to download a new app. With Gizmodo saying that might've prompted the tech issues. You also have people slamming the app for crediting directors and writers under a generic creator's label.

Starting point is 00:10:50 Right, so if you watch Raging Bull, for example, instead of the film saying, hey, it was directed by Martin Scorsese, it just lists the name as creator along with the producers and writers. With at least one person seeing this and writing, now directors like Tim Burton or content creators just like Pew Pew whatever the fuck,

Starting point is 00:11:03 which I think is referencing PewDiePie, which if that the case Felix I think that's that's got to be your new name pew pew whatever the fuck but with that last thing you had outlets understandably saying you know this erases proper credit and it can also be misleading places like Mashable noting that if you go to an episode of a show like Succession you see over a dozen names listed as creators it includes producers directors but Jesse Armstrong is the sole creator of Succession there's no label or indication of who did what for the show. So you've got writers saying, in addition to the confusion, it's just insulting and minimizes the work being done. It's something very, very sensitive for a lot of writers right now who are on strike.

Starting point is 00:11:33 But some saying things like, the studios don't want anyone to know our names. It's easier to pay us nothing if we're faceless. And treating artists as the amorphous creators of content is not going to raise the bar for storytelling for you, the viewer. Disrespecting our work, trying to replace us with algorithms and working against the artistic process, none of this will usher in great, well, anything. But we did get an update this morning from Max and the service saying that it'll be changing this amid the backlash. And giving the statement, we agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized. Calling this an oversight in the technical transition and saying they apologize for that

Starting point is 00:12:02 mistake. But as far as how things will play out, at the end of the day, it really is going to come down to, is there any meaningful shift in money? Do people cancel more? Is adoption down? That's the only thing that will actually have an impact here because reactions, outrage, none of that really matters if there's not any sort of follow through. And often I feel like we see more examples that we live in a complainer society rather than a do something about it society And then, there are layers to this news, so listen up. Because Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is calling for Republican Speaker of the House Dade Phelan to step down. Which immediately alarm bells. What could he have done to make it so that he's actually being held accountable by a member of his own party?

Starting point is 00:12:38 Or we live in a time where candidates openly say, I could shoot someone on the street and my poll numbers wouldn't go down. Actually, that was several years ago and things have only gotten worse. What appears in this instance is because the guy was absolutely fucking sloshed out of his mind while presiding over the House floor. Now, I'm going to ask my editor to try to transcribe what this man is saying, but I don't have hope for it. Mr. Campbell, since the amendment is acceptable to the author,

Starting point is 00:13:00 is there objection to the opposite amendment? The chair has adopted. Amendment is adopted. The chair recognizes Mr. Johnson of Harris. Mr. Johnson of Harris to speak in opposition to the bill. All right, so main thing, not a good look. With that video, which is from Friday, circulating widely on social media over the last few days, which also prompted Paxton to issue a statement

Starting point is 00:13:27 yesterday calling for him to resign at the end of the legislative session. With an accusing Phelan of presiding as he described it in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication in writing, his conduct has negatively impacted the legislative process and constitutes a failure to live up to his duty to the public. And adding, his failures as Speaker have created a credibility crisis for all Republican candidates and for our entire party. Well, I hope Speaker Phelan will get the help he needs. He has proven himself unworthy of Texans' trust and incapable of leading the Texas House. With that, Paxton calling on the Texas House Committee on General Investigating to investigate.

Starting point is 00:13:54 With that, as recording, Phelan has not personally addressed the situation at all. But a huge key thing is just hours after Paxton issued that statement, that same House Investigations Committee announced that it was probing Paxton. And that because Paxton requested the legislature approve $3.3 million in taxpayer dollars to pay a settlement with four former staffers who would accuse Paxton of firing them for accusing him of bribery and corruption and reporting him to the FBI. And with all that, you had a spokesperson for Phelan making a statement yesterday referencing that investigation, which, very key thing,

Starting point is 00:14:21 she said had been going on since March and claiming, the motives for and timing behind Paxton's statement today couldn't be more evident. Mr. Paxton's statement today amounts to little more than a last ditch effort to save face. Oh my God, if this is how it's starting, I can't wait to see the fallout. Are you kidding me? Grab the popcorn. And then just when you thought Lauren Boebert could not get any dumber, she was like, we're not even close to my final form. I left a prescription at a pharmacy once. I went to get birth control and I was there at the counter and went to pay for it. And the price was very, very high. I said, wow, is this a three, six month prescription? No, ma'am, this is one month. And I said, it's cheaper to have a kid. And I left it there. And now I have my third son, Caden Bobert. And so so I'm actually, it turned out to be a really great thing.

Starting point is 00:15:05 I don't even know where to start. Actually, I do. The whole story is based on her being unable to afford birth control when she already had two kids. But yeah, I'm sure that having two kids has nothing to do with the fact that maybe you were strapped for cash in this definitely real story that happened. And the thing is, I don't even know why Boebert tries to talk about facts. I mean, it feels like it goes without saying that buying birth control is cheaper than having a fucking child, especially a third child. I've heard the jump from two to three is actually the hardest of jumps, whether more or less. But because we're dealing with Boebert, it's less of a question of if she's wrong. Rather, the better question is,

Starting point is 00:15:35 how wrong is she? So let's examine that, because for some people, it does not go without saying. So just looking at numbers, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, it costs an average of more than $300,000 to raise a child in the U.S. over the course of 18 years. By contrast, access to free birth control has been made so much easier over the last decade since the Affordable Care Act mandated that most insurers must cover a range of contraceptives at no cost. In fact, government data shows that in the year after the ACA's contraception mandate went into effect, people saved an average of $255 annually on birth control pills, and the total out-of-pocket savings were around $1.4 billion. Additionally, according to Planned Parenthood, birth control pills cost between $0 to $50 a month, but they are totally free with most health insurance plans or if you qualify for some government programs. And at the end of the day, even if someone is not insured and they are paying on the higher end of the range, we're talking $50 a month, that is still just $600 a year or $10,800 over 18 years. Or to make it even clearer, if you are paying the highest possible amount for birth control for 18 years,

Starting point is 00:16:31 it is still only around 3% of the amount you would pay to raise a whole ass fucking human being. And this whole situation would be even less dumb if it wasn't specifically coming from you. Because you, as an individual in Congress, have used your position to try and make access to birth control even harder. With among other things, Boebert voting against the Right to Contraception Act, which would have codified access to birth control. Also the first bill Boebert introduced in this most recent session of Congress was a measure to defund Planned Parenthood. And she's also voiced support for repealing the thing that has made it so so few people actually have to pay for contraceptives. And then the last thing I have to mention today, because it's either breaking as my video is uploading or just after, Ron DeSantis is officially seeking the Republican

Starting point is 00:17:08 nomination for the 2024 presidential election. We've kind of known that it's coming. We started also seeing reports there was going to be an announcement this week. His wife yesterday kicking out a teaser video. We started seeing reports that he was going to make this announcement in a Twitter space with Elon Musk today. But as of recording to put even the slightest of doubts to bed, Ron DeSantis has now officially filed the paperwork today. And so this is going to be a wild one. Trump v. DeSantis is officially underway. Because until this moment, it's really been just a one-sided affair with Donald Trump kind of just lashing out or making these random swings at DeSantis.

Starting point is 00:17:36 And in response to this point, we've seen DeSantis kind of hitting back in literally the softest of ways. And so we're about to see. Is there a massive shift in tone, though? Who knows? Will DeSantis, with officially announcing swing the polls his way, can he move enough of the base? Even though Donald Trump has just a stranglehold on part of his base? I mean, we'll see. DeSantis is probably the biggest Republican challenger to Trump we've seen so far. But hey, for now, get your predictions in. What are we about to witness? Does DeSantis swing the party to him,

Starting point is 00:17:59 or does Donald Trump do what he's done to pretty much every other Republican and bully them into submission? And that's where I'm going to end today's show, though I do want to note, one, if you're looking for more news, I got you covered here, but also, our buddy Zedd has put out a special extra bonus video today over at youtube.com slash at Zedd to Bonnie. If it's up in time, I'll link it here in the description. But hey, with that said, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, 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 5.24 IT GOT WORSE... What Vanderpump Rules Scandal Really Exposed, Ali Tate Cutler Shamed, Ron Desantis &

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