The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.26 MrBeast Almost Died, Wagner vs Russia Chaos Explained, The Disturbing Colleen Ballinger Situation

Starting point is 00:00:00 Today, we're talking about Mr. Beast almost dying, but then people saying that he's lying about it. The investigative probe into what went wrong with the Titanic sub-implosion. We try to make sense of the extreme chaos we saw in Russia over the weekend that seems to make no sense. We take a look at the disturbing controversy and allegations around Miranda Sings. We're gonna talk about all that and maybe more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, your daily dive into the news. Also, I feel like I need to explain. The reason I say maybe more is I feel incredibly ill today. Some of you know, on Friday, I tested positive for strep throat. Whole house got it. Had to cancel my VidCon panel, started antibiotics, proceeded to have kind of the worst

Starting point is 00:00:34 weekend I've had in a while. Last night, I got my voice back. My energy started coming back. And this morning, I don't know where my energy went. I'm operating on 10%. If I could, I'd have the team put me on fucking puppet strings. But I'm going to try my best for you. Fake that on-screen energy and let's just jump into it. Starting with, had one thing been different, Mr. Beast could have died last week. But at the same time, you're seeing a lot of people call bullshit. So let me explain. Last week, we talked about the Ocean Gate Titanic submersible that imploded.

Starting point is 00:00:58 And yesterday, Mr. Beast tweeted, I was invited earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine, but I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it. With him attaching a screenshot of a text he got reading, also I'm going to the Titanic in a submarine earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine, but I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it. With him attaching a screenshot of a text he got, reading, Also, I'm going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month. The team would be stoked to have you along. I'm sure you're also welcome to join. Right, immediately you had so many people going,

Starting point is 00:01:14 Oh my God, I'm so glad you didn't go. But then there were also these monster waves accusing Jimmy of lying. With people saying, why does the text look like that? It looks like he sent it. And while a number of those accusations blew up in their own Twitter threads and on Reddit, you had MrBeast responding to an account that asked wait. Why is the text receipt blue? Why are you making this up? Which he said my friend sent me the screenshot of when he invited me didn't think to scroll up and screenshot our old text myself

Starting point is 00:01:33 And even that person then responding makes sense though that narrative has still blown up elsewhere though also with this news Mr. Beast is just one of multiple people who may be lucked out of a tragedy because you had British actor and filmmaker Ross Kemp saying He also turned down an invitation to board the sub due to safety concerns. And one attorney in Ocean Explorer saying he was supposed to be on the dive, but I had to cancel to attend another urgent client matter. As well as the mother of the 19-year-old who died on the sub saying she was initially supposed to go, but let her son go instead because he really wanted to. Then you also had his aunt saying that he was actually terrified and hesitant before the trip. So think of that what you will. But also with the situation, all of that is happening parallel to US, Canadian, British, and French authorities opening a joint

Starting point is 00:02:07 probe into this whole incident. But I'm looking to find out exactly what went wrong, how to prevent it in the future, and whether any criminality was involved. And so we're already seeing officials collect voice recordings and other data from the surface vessel. But I'm also moving to recover the subs fragments and interview the witnesses. So I will say, following the news of the implosion, we have seen some people be very outspoken like James Cameron. In addition to being a director, he's actually a deep sea explorer. He's visited the Titanic's wreckage himself dozens of times. And he was saying that Ocean Gate cut corners in building the submersible, saying it didn't get certified because they knew they wouldn't pass, saying he was very suspect of the technology that they were using, and that Ocean Gate shouldn't

Starting point is 00:02:39 have been doing what it was doing, saying the sub's design was a horrible idea based on a fundamental flaw. With that, you had Ocean Gate co-founder Guillermo Solin responding, saying, Cameron himself has pushed the limits of technology and operations in pursuit of his expeditions, so it kind of comes with the territory, and I kind of again wish he would hold off judgment and just see exactly what the data comes back with. And noting, Jim's obviously a very experienced ocean explorer and also well-regarded, but as he knows, and we all know, working underwater in these conditions is a very risky operation. And then, what the actual hell just happened in Russia over the weekend cuz none of it makes sense or at least not the way

Starting point is 00:03:10 That it played out because there was an attempted something it was a coup or not a coup It just rhymed with the coup in Russia after tensions between the Wagner mercenary group and the Russian military came to a head Because for a long time now the Wagner leadership has complained that the Russian Ministry of Defense has been screwing them by not giving them Ammo or supplies. And there have been two sporadic reports of shooting between the two groups. But then things really heated up when a few weeks ago it was announced that Wagner soldiers would need to sign contracts directly with the Ministry of Defense. Which led Prigozhin, Wagner's leader, to believe that they were trying to absorb his private army. And then late last week, there were reports that Wagner was hit by Russian rockets and artillery, which set off a massive chain of events.

Starting point is 00:03:42 Because shortly after that, Wagner was rolling into Russia itself, and Russia really couldn't do much about it. Although U.S. intelligence claimed that there were actually clear signs that Wagner was amassing at the border for a bit now, which if true, would indicate that it was a planned event and not as spontaneous as it might have seemed. But either way, within just a few hours, Wagner had taken over Rostov without a fight. And understand, Rostov isn't just a major city. It is home to the Russian military southern command and running the war in Ukraine. This would be like if Blackwater was based in Mexico and they came over the border to take over San Diego and its naval marine bases without a fight. And everything continued to move so fast because shortly after that, we had reports that Wagner was booking it to Moscow. Leading many to wonder, is Prigozhin attempting a coup?

Starting point is 00:04:16 Though Wagner's chief officially claimed that it was to get rid of Sergei Shoigu and other leaders of the Russian military that he's long been critical of. With him being very careful to constantly say this was a march for justice for his troops killed by the Ministry of Defense, and that he was going to shake up the military leadership. But most importantly, him never personally saying he was going after Putin. And some describing this as saying it felt very much like a situation where feudal lords were arguing that they're loyal to the king and that their lordy rivals are tricking the king so they're replacing them. But regardless of however you want to describe that part of the situation, Putin did not appear on board. He went out, calling Wagner's actions a betrayal, vowing to punish the traitors.

Starting point is 00:04:47 And things were continuing to heat up on the road as well. With many reports that Russia was attempting to slow down Wagner's advance by sending helicopters to harass them, only for Wagner to shoot those down, leading to at least 15 Russians killed. And it looked like Wagner was actually going to be able to accomplish something because they were making serious ground. It's reported that within about 24 hours, they made it within 200 kilometers of Moscow, which is extremely fast, considering Rostov to Moscow was like 12 plus hours in the best conditions.

Starting point is 00:05:09 And it wasn't just the pace, but also the seeming popularity of Wagner on the road that made many wonder, is this the start of some kind of civil war? But then, boom, just as quick as it all started, it fizzled out. Because seemingly out of nowhere, on Saturday, we got news that a deal was brokered

Starting point is 00:05:22 by Belarus' Alexander Lukashenko. Because according to his office, the broad strokes were that Prigozhin would be exiled to Belarus and in return have any charges against him, like treason, drop, and his troops would have a similar deal. They could either join him in Belarus or sign up with the Russian Ministry of Defense. There are also reports that the deal must have included provisions to sack people like Defense Minister Shoigu or that Wagner was paid off in secret, but none of that's confirmed. But seemingly, the biggest question to all this is why would Wagner make a deal at all? Any deal requires faith that Putin holds up his end of the bargain after you've lost all your leverage.

Starting point is 00:05:50 The tea poison guy. The guy whose enemies just happened to fall out of windows guy. The guy you were marching on pretty effectively. And so you have people just throwing options against the wall. Maybe Wagner believed the deal was solid. Or did they fear that they couldn't hold Moscow with so few soldiers? That it would just be a matter of time before Russia moved tens of thousands of troops to respond? Or it could be that Russian security agents threatened the families of many of Wagner's officers? Though

Starting point is 00:06:09 if this was pre-planned, like some intelligence suggests, that wouldn't make sense. But of course, you'd assume Putin and Kremlin would go after families. But you have some experts saying the most likely of scenarios is that Prigozhin saw a way out of the mess and took the first chance he got. However, if that turns out to be true, he may have miscalculated. Because it's only been a few days and we're already seeing reports that seem to contradict the supposed deal. For example, he went from being a traitor to having those charges dropped only for it to be said this morning by Russian outlets that authorities are actually still looking into treason charges. And then you've got Shoigu and crew. Since the fighting, they've been laying low and haven't been seen publicly reinforcing the reports that they could have been sacked as part of the deal.

Starting point is 00:06:39 But then this morning, he was out and about in public appearances, suddenly casting doubt on any deal. And in an 11-minute video released this morning, Wagner's chief came out to defend his actions and seemingly dig himself a bigger hole, claiming he never intended to topple the Russian government, only to get rid of those who helped kill 30 of his fighters and stop because he wanted to avoid more Russian bloodshed. But at the same time, he also mocked the Russian military, saying that his march was a masterclass on how Russia should have invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. So all of that has me wondering, when is this guy's expiration date?

Starting point is 00:07:05 Like even if he made a deal where he's like in a building with no windows or touching any liquid that he didn't pour himself. But also what is really important to note here is that even if this rebellion was ultimately put down, many experts think that this is the first open crack in Putin's rule. Although whether that perception is as strong within Russia

Starting point is 00:07:19 is a little less clear. And that's because many outlets, including popular telegram channels, were blocked during the events. So there are many Russians out there that don't have a clear picture of what actually happened, which allows Putin to reframe the narrative. But that also might only go so far, right? Wagner is insanely popular with Russians, with videos showing them getting supplies from

Starting point is 00:07:34 locals and getting cheers and support as they left Rostov. So it appears there may be enough Russians who have a good idea about what actually happened that make it hard for there to be a positive Putin narrative here. But most importantly, the powerful oligarchs in Russia probably saw this and took notes. They also weren't the only ones to take notice either. Obviously, this was major international news, with Ukraine quick to act and apparently managing to make some headway in its counteroffensive as Russia was busy with bigger issues, which also led to amazing headlines like, Ukraine managed to gain ground in Ukraine as Russia faced off against Russia in Russia, which I really think just like helps encapsulate what a clusterfuck all this has become. Also, in other places like the UK, they made it clear that they're preparing for any

Starting point is 00:08:06 unexpected collapse in Russia, with the US, NATO, and other G7 partners all holding emergency meetings about the situation. But ultimately, what we're looking at here is a really tense situation, and we're really not going to know the full fallout for some time. And if anyone won here, it's not Putin, right? He survived. If anything, it would be Ukraine for me able to take advantage of the chaos of Lukashenko for coming out looking far more powerful than he has recently. And then, getting caught in a rainstorm or a muddy hike can be a huge bummer if you aren't wearing the right shoes. But, thanks to the fantastic sponsor of today's show, Vessi, that situation becomes a blip on the radar. Vessis are whatever life has in store for you sneakers.

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Starting point is 00:08:53 Not to mention funding programs that help shape the next generation in order to keep giving back. So go check out the Vessi boardwalk and other styles at vessi.com slash pds, or click the link below and get 15% off your entire order. Get your style and size now and then let's talk about everything going on with colleen ballinger right now aka miranda sings and keep in

Starting point is 00:09:10 mind with this there is a lot going on i'm trying to condense and make this consumable so i'm going to be linking to sources down below not only with like uh you know media pieces but also online videos i think h3 podcast did a great video on them but we're talking about this because accusations online have been mounting for weeks coming from every corner of internet, and it seems like it's hit a boiling point. Right among the several pieces that have now been published, you had Rolling Stone publishing a massive one. So we're going to talk about that, and then some of the other stuff has been coming from social media. And the gist of this is that Colleen's being accused of bullying, abusing, and manipulating her fans, most of whom were underage via a pattern of inappropriate behavior.

Starting point is 00:09:40 And if this sounds familiar, it's because this is not the first time that she's dealt with these allegations, right? Back in 2020, Adam McIntyre made a video accusing Colleen of toxic and inappropriate actions. And he's actually at the center of this latest round as well. With Adam posting several videos over the last couple of weeks outlining Colleen's indiscretions. Saying that Colleen had a group chat with roughly two dozen fans, most of whom were young teenagers. And in that chat, she would ask inappropriate questions. With Rolling Stone reviewing some of those messages, which included questions about sex and if they had lost their virginity. And on Twitter, you can see even more examples of this, with Adam posting a video Colleen allegedly sent of her inserting a tampon in her mouth and then asking her fans to send a video of them doing the same thing.

Starting point is 00:10:12 With Adam saying she would talk to him about her sex life, as well as Trisha Paytas' nudes, all while she was 30 and he was 14, 15. And in his videos, Adam said that Colleen would just generally overshare about her personal life and then make Adam get involved, saying that he felt that she used him. This is what she used me for. She would love-bomb me, make me feel like I had a friend, pretend to care about me, and I would just have to do all of her dirty work for her. With all this, you had tons and tons of people speaking out against her, some saying Colleen would bully and mock her biggest fans behind their backs, Adam backing this up saying she would do this with him. This was a common theme where we would find someone in the fandom that was doing something bizarre and we would, it would become an insight joke where we'd make fun of them. On top of that, there were also claims about how she would turn her fans into employees only to pay them very little and exploit their labor.

Starting point is 00:10:50 With one person writing that people in her circle made working on her shows a living hell. And apparently that toxicity extended from behind the scenes to on stage as you had people resurfacing old clips where she repeatedly crossed the line during Miranda live shows. With people also describing the bit saying she brought minors on stage, exploited them. In one case, she had a child reach into her pants to grab cheese balls. There was also another one that got a ton of attention where she had a teenage fan come on stage to do a bit about yoga. And there she stretched the fan's legs open in front of everyone. With a person actually also making a TikTok about how exploited she felt by all that. Saying she felt incredibly exposed on stage, worried about what people could see of her since her outfit didn't have full coverage of

Starting point is 00:11:21 her body. So she felt essentially naked on stage, sexually violated because she felt her body had been exploited for entertainment. And allegations of inappropriate behavior extending past Colleen and over to members of her team, with one fan telling Rolling Stone that Colleen's friend Corey mocked their weight at a meet and greet, with Colleen's brother trying also being accused

Starting point is 00:11:35 of complimenting a fan's look, saying things like, you would look good pregnant if you ever want children one day, as well as allegedly saying, anything we talk about stays between you and I. And so with all that, you had Sasha Judd, an expert on fandom,

Starting point is 00:11:44 telling Rolling Stone that these allegations shed light on how much emotional power stars can have, especially within their insulated fandom, and how even if nothing is technically illegal, it can still harm a young fan. Whenever there's an opportunity to actually be in contact with the object of your fandom, that's just sort of ripe for a really unbalanced power dynamic, because the fan is nobody to the famous person, and the famous person is absolutely everybody to the fan, and that can produce some pretty giant red flags. And while speaking to Rolling Stone, Adam echoed that issue, noting that as a young fan, he was not looking for red flags. He was too thrilled to just have Colleen's attention. And adding, I was looking at it like this golden opportunity of trust. And I,

Starting point is 00:12:15 in the moment, really didn't care if it was morally right or wrong, because I was just grateful that she was talking to me and not anyone else. And as all of this has been coming out, Colleen has been losing subscribers and sponsorships with ZocDoc telling Rolling Stone it would no longer run ads on her podcast. People also waiting for more creators to chime in, Trisha Paytas in particular. And that because Colleen actually hosts a podcast with Trisha and one person alleged that Colleen used to host viewing parties to body shame and make fun of Trisha's OnlyFans content. But also with all of this, it does appear that Colleen still does have fans on her side. In fact, some relentlessly so because Adam said that he's actually been harassed by her fans, to the point where he's actually had to file police reports

Starting point is 00:12:47 over the threats of violence, doxing, and swatting that he's been receiving. And Adam telling Rolling Stone that this harassment has been soul-destroying. And so with all these allegations, you've had tons of responses with people saying things like, don't get it twisted, the way that Colleen Ballinger treated her fans is so obscenely inappropriate and absolutely not the norm for any public figure, especially one with an audience of children. If this were a traditional child's entertainer, it would be nonstop headline news. Can you imagine if an adult Disney Channel star was in group chats with underage fans, using them for free labor, telling them graphic details of their sex life, publicly posting sexually charged content targeted at kids, then going on tour and making kids mimic explicit acts?

Starting point is 00:13:20 Now, for her part, Colleen didn't respond to the Rolling Stones' request for comment there. She also didn't respond to our request for comment. And so for now, we'll have to wait to see what else comes from this. She hasn't posted to YouTube since it started blowing up, though she did perform on the 23rd. And so I'll leave this with two final things. One, with all this, I'd love to hear your thoughts in those comments down below. And two, just again, this is me trying to make a very big situation consumable. So I'm going to link to sources down below that take deeper dives. And that is where today's dive into the news is going to end. I am going to zombie walk to bed and sleep 18 hours and hope I feel better tomorrow because I'm an idiot. And whether that is the case or not, I'll see you right back here on the channel tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:13:53 I love your faces and I'll see you then.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.26 MrBeast Almost Died, Wagner vs Russia Chaos Explained, The Disturbing Colleen Ballinger Situation

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