The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.30 The "Influencer Bubble" Is Not BURSTING, Israel Election Chaos, Disney Georgia, & Cardi B

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you have a fantastic Thursday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today is celebrities, liposuction, and money. At the center of this story and debate, you have Cardi B. And just to tell you at the top, a lot of what people have been talking about this story, I don't care about. So Cardi B, Grammy award-winning rapper, she's had to cancel performances, concerts. That appears to have been in connection with her undergoing several cosmetic procedures. Most recently, liposuction and breast augmentation. Reportedly, earlier this month while on stage, she said,

Starting point is 00:00:28 quote, I should've canceled today because moving too much is gonna fuck up my lipo. But bitch, I'm still gonna get this motherfucking money bag. Let's go. And now more recently, with these cancellations on an Instagram live, she apologized to fans for canceling, explaining, Like my doctor was like, Yo, you cannot be doing all these shows because you're not fully healed.

Starting point is 00:00:46 And I keep telling you this. And then if something happens to you, you're going to try to blame me. But I just really wanted to apologize to my fans. Because I saw, like, in El Paso, Texas, like, it was in the news. And there was people saying, like, oh, we drove this, this, and that. And that's why I told the people that booked me, like let people know ahead of time that I'm gonna cancel these shows. But I don't know how things work with promoters and stuff. I just wanna say, I'm sorry guys,

Starting point is 00:01:13 but it's like, I gotta get better. You know, I hate canceling shows because I love money. I'm a money addict. Well, reportedly there were a good number of fans saying, yes, take care of yourself first. We're gonna still be here. There were also those that were less accepting, saying, you know, I'm buying these tickets.

Starting point is 00:01:27 We want to support you. We want to see you. Some questioning her desire and decision to get cosmetic surgery. Some calling her lazy, which we saw Cardi in that live stream say, What I want, I do whatever the fuck I want with my body. Let me tell you something, bitch. I do what the fuck I want.

Starting point is 00:01:40 I don't have the time a day like you do. Like, my job as an entertainer is a 24-hour job, bro. So, no, I don't have the time of day like you do. Like, my job as an entertainer is a 24-hour job, bro. So, no, I don't have time to work out, and I wanted specific things that I know that no matter how much I work out, it's not gonna get fixed. And so that's where a lot of the debate has been. My personal opinion is if you wanna get plastic surgery,

Starting point is 00:01:59 you do you, I don't care. Doctors say you're mentally well enough, you're healthy enough, you do you. It's your life. And in fact, I think one of the only ways that this story could really bother me is if Cardi B goes back to hawking that bullshit detox tea. Because the only thing that bothers me more about people promoting these companies where it's like, Hey, do you want to have diarrhea? You'll lose some weight. Is when you have a celebrity or a very large influencer who has obviously had cosmetic surgery to deal with whatever weight issue that they had

Starting point is 00:02:25 or what they're advertising something that can help another with. Especially for Cardi, specifically looking back to her sponsorship, she hawked for it hard. Writing, if you spend money on anything, it better be this. Getting this mama bear bod right, you need this fucking detox. That's it, I just don't wanna see more fake ass bullshit.

Starting point is 00:02:39 We just already have enough of that. That said, the not enough time thing, I can sympathize with that to a certain point, but then I look to the likes of Kevin Hart. Like he's a comedian. A lot of people for the longest time didn't even know that he was all about fitness, his body. But he made the time also because he's a smart businessman.

Starting point is 00:02:52 He made it part of him being an entertainer. He had videos and posts about fitness. He got a Nike deal as a comedian. And because of course he did, he's also now launched a multivitamin company. And also people could argue, Hey, Cardi, you're saying, you know, health is wealth. Probably lose less money if you didn't have to cancel shows

Starting point is 00:03:07 because of surgery. If you made some different life choices in your day to day that would very likely not actually hurt how much money you're making. Once again, it's ultimately her body, her choice. I don't give a damn as long as she's not being a fraud. But that's my takeaway from it. Of course, I pass the question off to you.

Starting point is 00:03:20 What are your thoughts? And then actually kind of connected a little bit as far as people promoting. I briefly talked about this on Twitter, but there's this story that's going around right now and I'll just read one of the headlines. Business Insider's headline reading, an Instagram star with two million followers

Starting point is 00:03:31 couldn't sell 36 t-shirts and a marketing expert says her case isn't rare. Fox News also covered the story and included a quote that said, the influencer bubble is bursting. And my response to that quote is, no it's not. The fake influencer bubble may be bursting. But just know, here are just some basic facts. All audiences are not created equal.

Starting point is 00:03:48 They vary in age, which affects their spending ability, their spending habits, their loyalty to a brand. Even their gender and connection to the person they're watching affects their ability to buy or their desire to buy a certain thing. We've even seen other large creators like MrBeast, who's just massive on several platforms responding. It's funny, there are people that sell that in a minute. And that's true because once again,

Starting point is 00:04:09 audiences are not created equal and also influencers aren't created equal. And the way that I mean that sentence is in their ability to market or promote a product properly. For example, several thousand of you have purchased Throat Punch University shirts which were only available for 48 hours. Well, obviously we've taken great care and time to make sure that that shirt is as comfy and soft and high quality as possible. It was mainly the promotion and marketing of that shirt that made it a success. Same as I know that our next big success is where, oh my god, I'm so excited. I had the team make this casual summer short-sleeve woven button-up. It's light, it's breezy, it's comfortable, it looks good for the summer. On the inside of that collar we have the secret message of have a great fucking day. You know even the inclusion here, the little sneaks I give people on Twitter and Instagram, that's part of the marketing. Scarcity or time restriction around it, obviously that plays into the marketing. And I mention that not just to toot my own horn, because let's be honest, that's what I'm doing like she only promoted to it twice and it looks completely different than what she actually normally wears. In fact, because we live in this time of you can never tell if something is real or not,

Starting point is 00:05:11 there are even accusations that the failure has been faked, so that maybe you could get her press coverage or maybe get a lot of people to feel sympathy for her. But I will say I have some doubts about that because in the post where she's like, Ah, we didn't even sell 36 shirts. She sounds like a whiny, whiny, ungrateful child. I have some doubts about that because in the post where she's like, ah, we didn't even sell 36 shirts, she sounds like a whiny, whiny, ungrateful child. Writing, the people I thought who would support me really didn't, nor did they share any of my posts,

Starting point is 00:05:31 all I asked for. Sounds bitchy, but like no shade to anyone. I've supported everyone's music or whatever they've asked for my support on and couldn't even get it in return. But I don't know, even just briefly looking at the situation, there is something else going on because it appears that she has enough real followers that if she properly promoted something, she could sell more than 36 of anything.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Yeah, ultimately we're gonna have to wait and see. And I guess the main point here is go to shopdefranco.com and sign up to make sure you're the first to know when we release any new stuff. And let's talk about some just massive updates around the slowly increasing in size boycott that we've been seeing in Georgia. We've been covering this for a little bit.

Starting point is 00:06:01 We also covered some of this earlier this week. You've seen people like Jordan Peele, J.J. Abrams, Kristen Wiig, Mark Duplass, Jason Bateman taking a stand against Georgia's controversial abortion bill. And that bill, which has been signed by the governor of Georgia, but has not been implemented yet, banned the procedure after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which reportedly can be

Starting point is 00:06:18 as early as six weeks. And when we last talked about this, Netflix had just become the first major company to say they might rethink filming projects in Georgia once the law goes into effect. And now we're seeing even more interesting news. And the first update is that there were new reports about Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings that were interesting. According to the Huffington Post, Hastings donated over $124,000 to 61 campaigns for Republican legislators

Starting point is 00:06:37 who voted for a Missouri bill that bans abortion after eight weeks into a pregnancy. That bill also makes no exceptions in case of rape or incest. He also donated to the state's governor, who signed the bill into law last week. And so this story blew up because, like we talked about last time, there's been this conversation of, well, are these companies actually going to do something,

Starting point is 00:06:54 or are they kind of just trying to position themselves? And the story gained some traction. You had people finding this interesting, wondering if this seems to contradict Netflix's general message. Some people feeling that this might fuel the argument that Netflix as a company is kind of just saying one thing, but you know, this whole situation is gonna have to

Starting point is 00:07:08 most likely go to the Supreme Court. So they just maybe in the short term trying to appease some of their viewership, some of their producers that may have problems with Georgia, but really long term maybe they don't plan to do anything. But also at the same time, we don't know exactly why Hastings donated where he donated. In fact, if you look into it,

Starting point is 00:07:22 Hastings actually has a history of making Democratic donations. And in 2018 specifically, he donated. In fact, if you look into it, Hastings actually has a history of making Democratic donations. And in 2018 specifically, he made a $500,000 donation to a PAC devoted to getting a Democratic majority in the Senate. So there was that part. But the other big piece of news is that Netflix is now not the only major company

Starting point is 00:07:35 that has spoken out against Georgia, or rather has raised a potentially monetarily devastating question mark on the state. Disney CEO, Bob Iger has said that once the law is enacted, it will be quote, very difficult for the company to produce there. It's in an interview added. I think many people who work for us

Starting point is 00:07:50 will not want to work there and will have to heed their wishes in that regard. If it becomes law, I don't see how it's practical for us to continue to shoot there. And that is a massive deal because Disney is arguably the largest production company in the industry. Owning networks like ABC and ESPN for us to continue to shoot there. And that is a massive deal because Disney is arguably

Starting point is 00:08:05 the largest production company in the industry. Owning networks like ABC and ESPN and studios like Marvel, Pixar, and Fox Entertainment. And Disney's actually even filmed massive movies in Georgia. The likes of Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War were both shot in the state. And to give you an idea of just how much money we're talking about, just one of their movies

Starting point is 00:08:20 that was shot in Georgia, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, reportedly they spent $100 million in the state. And keep in mind, that's just one movie. And so that's why what Disney says and they do, it really matters in this industry. And so ultimately, that's where we are with this right now. It's gonna be very interesting to see

Starting point is 00:08:34 if there are other major studios that make some announcements, because there really is no shortage of individuals. You know, in this world, money moves mountains, and those who have the most money are the studios. That said, I still stand by my previous prediction I think you could say every studio whatsoever would say we're gonna leave, Georgia I think they're gonna still stand by their legislation. I mean as we've talked about in previous shows

Starting point is 00:08:53 This is a very transparent play towards the Supreme Court over several years And so there's that and as far as my opinion on Iger's statement. In my opinion It's a very well crafted tightrope walk, you know in this statement He makes it clear as far as where Disney's position is, maybe it adds some pressure. But at the same time, he phrases it in a way where he's kind of like, ah, my hands are tied. We as a company obviously need those, those producers,

Starting point is 00:09:13 those creators for our movies. So if they're not comfortable filming somewhere, they want to film somewhere else, we kind of have to just go along with them. So even though he is the head of a massive, massive studio, it doesn't appear that he's like leading the charge. Actually, an update to this story as I was filming it, both NBC Universal and Warner Media have said

Starting point is 00:09:28 that they would also reconsider their relationship with Georgia should the law go into effect. You know, the snowball here is continuing. But with all that said, I think it's very important to remember that it's not just Georgia or Alabama that we previously talked about. As we cover this Georgia story, there are even more abortion bills and regulations

Starting point is 00:09:42 that are moving through several states. Just yesterday in Louisiana, state lawmakers passed a fetal heartbeat bill which requires an ultrasound to be conducted before an abortion procedure and if a fetal heartbeat is detected the procedure is banned Unless the mother or fetus's health is at risk and Louisiana's Democratic governor is actually expected to sign another big piece of news on this Topic is happening today in Missouri. Missouri There's actually only one abortion clinic in the state right now and the state's Department of Health and Senior Services is now refusing to renew Its license so Planned Parenthood has sued the state and there and the state's Department of Health and Senior Services is now refusing to renew its license. So Planned Parenthood has sued the state and there's a hearing scheduled today for the case

Starting point is 00:10:08 but if the clinic gets shut down, which many expect it will, Missouri will actually become the first state to not have an abortion clinic since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. But ultimately that is where we are with the story right now and of course I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts around this? Do you think of the potential threat of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars is enough to move the needle? What do you see happening elsewhere? And I mean, as far as my opinion on this, unless we see something extremely surprising happen, right? Kavanaugh and Gorsuch in the Supreme Court voting away

Starting point is 00:10:34 that I wouldn't have imagined. It feels like abortion rights in this country will slide back. And it's also one of the reasons that this next election is arguably going to be one of the most important elections in several generations. The next two Supreme Court justices likely to be replaced are liberal justices. They are 86 and 80 years old. Donald Trump has put in two early 50s conservatives. You're looking at a situation

Starting point is 00:10:54 where whoever is the president after 2020, whoever has control of the Senate, I mean, that changes the country for the next 20 to 30 years. So that's why this election is going to be so interesting to watch. But yeah, like I said, I'd love to know your thoughts on this whole story. And then let's talk about this news coming out of Israel because it took a turn. There have just been huge updates around the election in Israel.

Starting point is 00:11:12 Last time we talked about this was back in April when Bibi Netanyahu's Likud party beat the opposition Blue and White party and its leader Benny Gantz by a fraction of a percent. In fact, the election was so close that both parties ended up actually getting the same exact number of seats, with each receiving just 35 out of the 120 seats

Starting point is 00:11:26 in Israel's parliament, which obviously the big note there is that neither party won an outright majority. And that's incredibly important because in order to become prime minister, the party leaders have to build coalitions with other smaller parties to piece together a majority of 61 seats. Now usually, the party with the most seats is given the first chance to form the government,

Starting point is 00:11:41 but like we said, there was a tie, so it ultimately came down to whoever had the best chance of getting enough support from other parties to build a government. And so what we saw is because a block of right-wing parties that were expected to back Beebe won a total of 65 seats, Gantz conceded the election to Beebe. And Beebe, oh Beebe, Beebe was given a maximum of 42 days

Starting point is 00:11:56 to build a coalition government. But because we're talking about this story on the show today, you probably know the update's not, he did it, everything's great. Yesterday marked the end of the 42 day deadline and Bibi was unable to get enough seats to form a coalition. And once it became clear that Bibi did not have enough seats

Starting point is 00:12:10 to get that majority, the parliament voted 74 to 45 on a bill to dissolve itself and call for new elections, which will be held on September 17th. And this is obviously a massive deal for two reasons. One, it's actually the first time in Israel's history that a prime minister elect was unable to form a coalition government after an election. And so two, it was also the first time that a prime minister elect dissolved a to form a coalition government after an election. And so too, it was also the first time

Starting point is 00:12:26 that a prime minister elect dissolved a parliament that had only been sworn in a month earlier. Right, so the question is, how did we actually get here? Right, after the election in April, Bibi seemed unstoppable, calling his win a definite victory. And despite how close the election was party to party, Bibi was expected to easily form a coalition government. A coalition that would usher in his fifth term

Starting point is 00:12:42 and make him the longest serving prime minister in Israel's history. But it appears that there were two main sticking points that prevented Bibi from forming a government. First, his biggest problem came down to a political dispute between two parties that were essential to building a right-wing bloc. The secular ultra-nationalist party and the two ultra-orthodox party. All of which were expected to back Bibi and all of which Bibi needed to get a majority. And it appears here it all came down to a single proposed bill regarding military requirements. So if you didn't know, under current conscription law, most Israeli citizens are actually required to enlist in the military once they're 18. However, ultra-orthodox men who study the Torah are currently exempt from military service.

Starting point is 00:13:12 But the bill that was proposed would require the ultra-orthodox men to participate. And so, unsurprisingly, the ultra-orthodox parties were against the bill and wanted Bibi to change it. But the leader of the secular ultra-nationalist party, Avigdor Lieberman, who was the former defense minister, didn't want any changes to the bill. Instead, Lieberman promoted and strongly supported the bill, arguing that all Israeli citizens should be required to serve in the military. And he put his foot down on this, saying that he and his party would not join Bibi's coalition unless the bill stayed in its current form. So strategically, Bibi was in a lose-lose situation. Either pass the bill as is and get Lieberman's support, but risk losing some of the essential 16 seats belonging to the ultra-orthodox parties. Or Bibi compromises. He changes the bill and then loses the five seats Lieberman's party brings.

Starting point is 00:13:47 And while it's obviously fewer seats, it was still necessary to give Bibi the majority. But even with all of this, the Likud party claimed that it had already secured 60 seats, meaning that they would just need one more seat to get a majority. And so Bibi looked at the opposition parties. Which brings us to the second reason Bibi wasn't able to form a government. Like we've talked about in the past, Bibi is currently facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust from three corruption cases, all of which he is denied.

Starting point is 00:14:08 And while he still managed to maintain power in this election in April, despite those charges, they still hurt him for two reasons. One, they hurt his leverage for negotiations, and two, they hurt his chances of forming a government with opposition parties, specifically with the Blue and White which refused to form a coalition government with a prime minister facing indictment.

Starting point is 00:14:22 And so of course, now there's this big question of, well, what happens next? Bibi's failure here to build a coalition raises questions about his future battling the corruption charges and indictment, and that's largely because it stops his party's efforts to pass a law that would give him immunity from prosecution. Right now that corruption hearing is set for early October.

Starting point is 00:14:36 Because the elections aren't until September 17th, whoever wins will definitely need time to build a coalition government. And so now there's this possibility that there won't even be an established government when Bibi goes to his hearing. But the timing around that hearing may change, so we're gonna have to keep our eyes open for that. And so now there's this possibility that there won't even be an established government when Bibi goes to his hearing. But the timing around that hearing may change, so we're gonna have to keep our eyes open for that. But also at the same time, because parliament dissolved itself, there is a new election.

Starting point is 00:14:51 Bibi gets another shot. It's possible that because this happened, maybe it rallies the base or people that were on the fence. But also at the same time, people that do not want him, right, the opposition, they may see this as their shot to remove him. Or who knows, maybe everyone votes and you get the same results. In which case, I don't even know what the hell that chaos looks like. And of course, while we're obviously talking about

Starting point is 00:15:07 how this affects Israel, there is still an international element. I mean, with all this chaos, it also creates some uncertainty for the White House, which has been expected to roll out President Trump's long anticipated Middle East peace plan. In fact, just this morning, Jared Kushner and others from the administration landed in Israel

Starting point is 00:15:20 to talk with Israeli officials regarding economic parts of the peace proposal. But now there is a big question mark on this situation as well. And so now you're looking at the timeline, right? Israel won't have an elected government until late September at the earliest. And by that time, you have experts saying

Starting point is 00:15:31 that Trump most likely is gonna be mainly focused on his reelection campaign. So the likelihood of a peace plan, which on that note, has already been rejected by the Palestinians, seems even less possible. But ultimately, that is where we are. And of course, while I love to know everyone's opinion, if you're watching from Israel or you're in the region or

Starting point is 00:15:45 You have some family there. I'd love to know your thoughts on all of this That's where we're going to end today's show Remember if you like this video you want to support the channel just take a second hit that like button Also, if you're new here be sure to hit that subscribe button Also, if you're not 100% filled in if you maybe miss one of the last two PDS's you can click or tap right there to Catch up and watch but with that said of course as always my name is Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in I love yo phases, and I'll see you tomorrow

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.30 The "Influencer Bubble" Is Not BURSTING, Israel Election Chaos, Disney Georgia, & Cardi B

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