The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 7.20 The PinkyDoll Scandal Exposes A Lot! Police Cast Doubt on Carlee Russell’s Story, & Today’s News

Episode Date: July 20, 2023

Go to https://shopbeam.com/defranco to get 35% off your first month’s subscription and 20% off all your following orders. You can pause or cancel any time, so there's no risk! Catch up on our latest PDS: https://youtu.be/Den0SlRZbgc Check out our daily newsletter! http://dailydip.co/pds  Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillydefranco/?hl=en  –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 0:00 - Police Crack Holes in Carlee Russell’s Alibi 04:15 - Pinkydoll Accused of Lying About Her Age 07:57 - Netflix Increases Subs Amid Password Crackdown 09:24 - Sponsored by Beam 10:18 - Protests Across India After Disturbing Video Released 11:51 - Swedish Embassy Stormed in Iraq 12:39 - Alabama GOP Congressional Map Has One Majority-Black District Despite SCOTUS Ruling 14:29 - 40% World Lives in Countries Spending More on Foreign Debt Than Health & Education  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxx Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #Pinkydoll #TikTok ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're talking about police releasing Carly Russell's 911 call and saying her version of events are looking kind of suspect. While the ice cream may be so good, TikTok's biggest NPC creator is being accused of fraud. Protests are raging in India after a horrific viral video. And a lot of y'all lied to me in those comments. We're talking about all that and so much more in today's brand new Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, so buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. Starting with, this Carly Russell situation is a mess. So the Hoover police finally broke their silence on the Carly Russell case yesterday, and holy shit, did they drop bomb after bomb. But first, we need to

talk about the version of events that Russell told detectives. They're going like this, right? When she gets out of her car to approach the toddler, a man comes out of the trees and mumbles that he was checking on the baby. The man then picks her up and she screams, dropping her phone, and then forcing her to go over a fence and into a car, and eventually she's in the trailer of an 18-wheeler. And there she hears the voice of a woman alongside the man as well as a baby crying, but they're describing the man as being white with orange hair and a big bald spot on the back. And at some point she escapes the trailer on foot, but then she's captured and put back in a car. But their abductor is blindfolding her, but notably not tying her up because they don't

want to leave impression marks on her wrists. They then bring her into a house, undress her, and take pictures of her. The rustle here is saying she doesn't remember any physical or sexual contact. The next day, she wakes up. The woman gives her cheese and crackers. She plays with her hair. And then at some point, after being put in a vehicle again, she escapes and runs through the woods emerging near her home. When she told all this to the detectives, they noted that she had a small injury on her lip. She said her head was hurting and her shirt was torn. With them also finding $107 in her son. And the police's story here is a little different.

And it actually begins in the days leading up to Russell's disappearance with her internet search history. Because two days before the incident, she reportedly searches, do you have to pay for an Amber Alert? Then at one in the morning on the day that she went missing, she searches how to take money from a register without being caught. And then an hour later, she searches Birmingham bus station. And shortly after that, one-way ticket from Birmingham to Nashville, with the departure date there being that same day. Then around noon, she searches for the Liam Neeson movie, Taken,

which the police noted is about an abduction. While at work, she makes two more searches regarding Amber Alerts, including one about the maximum age for an alert, with the police chief then saying, There were other searches on Carly's phone that appeared to shed some light on her mindset, but out of respect for her privacy,

we will not be releasing the content of those searches at this time. Then at 8.20 p.m., when Russell leaves work, surveillance video shows that she's concealing a bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper, and other items belonging to the business. Next, she orders food from a restaurant, then picking up granola bars and Cheez-Its from a Target. Finally, she drives onto the interstate where she makes this 911 call. There's also this one really strange detail about the call, and it's not in the audio. Because the police say that data from her phone shows that she traveled roughly 600 yards or some 1,800 feet during the call. So assuming she was following the child that whole time, this barefoot toddler would have had to run the length of six football fields in less than three minutes. Plus, the police also noting how strange it is that Russell was the only person to report a toddler on the interstate despite numerous cars driving through there at the time.

But also, the weirdness keeps on coming. Because when the cops arrive, they find her wig and her cell phone in the grass, as well as her purse and the food she ordered in the car. However, police say neither the snack she got from Target nor the items she took from work were found anywhere on the scene. So wrapping it all up, the police chief says they've requested a second interview with Russell, but she hasn't granted one yet, and adding, What we can't say is that we've been unable to verify most of Carly's initial statement made to investigators, and we have no reason to believe that there is a threat to the public safety related to this particular case.

And so as of recording, that's where we are with this situation. Obviously, we're going to have to wait for more details from the police investigation. In the meantime, you know, a lot more doubt has been cast on Russell's story and people are becoming angry. Carly, bitch, you was lying this whole motherfucking time. You got me on here acting like I'm Oprah Winfrey, ho. Bitch, I done peeled off every single one of my lashes hoe cause I'm so stressed out about you, bitch. This why they don't believe us when we be missing, bitch.

Or with the general argument being, if she did fake all this for whatever reason, there's a fear that this is gonna hurt black women in the future who go missing. Or when it comes to media coverage, even though black women reportedly make up a disproportionate share of sex trafficking victims, what do you see on TV?

Usually some young white woman. Which is why when Russell first went missing, you had people hoping, hey, at least this story might be able to shed some light on a very real issue. But now, honestly, who knows what effect it's gonna have. But in the meantime, as we wait for more details to come, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below.

And then, the internet's new biggest star might be lying to you. I know you're thinking, what? On the internet, someone's lying? Unbelievable, what's next? And that star in question is Pinkie Doll, someone you may or may not be aware of. Which, if you're not aware of her, what I'm about to say is gonna sound made up. She is a massive part of TikTok's NPC or, like, non-player character trend.

Where you have creators mimicking pre-programmed video game characters that players or viewers interact with. With the majority of the NPC content happening on livestreams, where creators respond with repetitive phrases as they receive tips from viewers. And the Washington Post saying Pinkie Doll and other creators are sitting in this genre at the intersection of gaming culture and sex work. Pinkie Doll in particular has absolutely blown up. I mean, not only does she have tens of thousands of concurrent viewers that are actively tipping her, you even have outlets like the New York Times

and NBC News writing about her. She's best known for her catchphrases like, Coconut so good. Grab, grab, grab, grab, balloon. Grab. Mmm, ice cream so good. But then comes the controversy, with some social media users claiming that she's been lying about her age.

Because when you read, let's say, the New York Times profile on her, it says that she's 27 years old. And you have outlets like PopCrave noting that she herself previously claimed she was born in April of 1996, which would make her 27. But allegedly, the age she previously listed

on her TikTok profile was much younger. Because while there's no age listed now, there are screenshots that show that it used to say that she was 19. And if you take a quick trip on the Wayback Machine, it shows that as recently as yesterday, she had 19 years old in her bio. Others also resurfacing a screenshot of a tweet from earlier this year where it appears that she claimed to be as young as 15, but it's worth noting there that the main controversy seems to be about her pretending to be 19. So with that, you have people accusing her of lying about her age and pretending to be younger to potentially boost her following. People saying things like she knew that the pervs would like her more if she's younger. And all of that is kind of divided into several conversations.

Starting with people who are kind of outraged and disgusted. Saying she capitalized on her culture's gross obsession with sexualizing teenage girls by creating a younger online persona as a way to maximize her profits. But then you also had a ton of people saying it's worth exploring why some women lie about their age. With one writing, she's a weirdo for engaging in this. Yes. However, we should extend the convo out to discuss why women make more money when they're perceived as younger, incentivizing them to lie about it, especially when they make niche or fetish content. Because I'd bet a majority of those tips aren't coming from women. And women across industries, both private and public facing, are more successful when they're perceived as younger. But arguing for men in some industries, it's the opposite. But for women, it's almost always the

case. Rigged games require a different set of rules. Also with this whole Pinkie Doll situation and NPC situation, if you're wondering why are people doing this? Well, I mean, duh, it's the money. With Pinkie Doll telling the New York Times that she has made $2,000 to $3,000 per stream. And when you include socials like Instagram and OnlyFans, she says she earns $7,000 a day, which is also part of the reason we've seen kind of just a lot of everyday people jump on this trend, as well as even big names. Right with us on TikTok, you've seen everyday people saying they made several hundred dollars in one to several hours. Meanwhile, you see people like Kai Sinet, iShowSpeed, and Trisha Paytas doing NPC streams. Kai making several thousand dollars in an hour.

Well, I can't speak to the already famous people that are doing this. I will say, while a lot of the reactions to this whole NPC thing have been like, wow, this is so cringe. Look at the, like, how shitty entertainment has become. In no world am I going to shame 98% of the people that are jumping on this trend. If I was in my early 20s again, working some shitty job, just trying to pay rent, and you said I could make several hundred dollars per hour doing this goofy shit, I'm doing that goofy shit.

Sounds a million times better than when I was working in a call center with people yelling at me for 12 hours at a time. Having to fake a smile while I serve my Sunday brunch regulars knowing full well they're going to tip me with a prayer card. Fuck those jobs. Mmm, ice cream's so good. Well, you can say these live streams and this content, it's kind of fetish content. I mean, it is. Someone's spending money to kind of puppet master you. To a certain degree, isn't that all paid jobs? You're doing your little dancey dance because someone's throwing money at you. Granted, your little dancey dance looks different than this, but it's a dancey dance. Even with me doing my job right now, I'm just

moving my hips to the music. But hey, we talked about several different aspects of this news story and any that stood out to you, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below. And then a lot of y'all are liars. Remember when Netflix announced that they were going to crack down on password sharing and people were like, not on my watch, I'm unsubscribing. Well, if you did, you're in the minority. Because we now know in the second quarter of this year, Netflix added 5.8 million subscribers, which is ahead of their expectation of just 1.8 million. And many saying that this boost is likely the result of many non-paying users now signing up for their own accounts. Which is why you have outlets like the Los Angeles Times saying that more password crackdowns at other streamers could be on the horizon if Netflix's trajectory continues. Because if it works for Netflix,

of course other companies are going to copy it. Though, an important note, even though Netflix did exceed subscription expectations, the company's stock still fell last night since it didn't meet revenue expectations, which may or may not be connected to Netflix making headlines for other moves, including the fact that it has now gotten rid of its cheapest ad-free plan in the US and UK. And saying on its Help Center page, the basic plan is no longer available for new or rejoining members. If you are currently on the basic plan, you can remain on this plan until you change plans

or cancel your account. Right, that plan was kind of the middle ground, I don't want ads, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg plan. So now you have users left between the plan with ads, which is $7 per month, or the standard plan, which is $15.49. Or you could ball out with premium for $20.

And with all that, many people believing this is an effort to drive more people to that cheaper ad tier, because while the company says that it's neutral on what package you choose, it is also said that the ad tier brings in higher revenue per subscriber than the standard plan does. And with this, I'd ask your thoughts and what you're going to do with this news, but if the last time is any indication, no one's telling the truth. Everybody's standing for something in the comments, but when it comes to actions, what, I'm supposed to not watch Too Hot to Handle?

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wasn't widely known about until it took off on Twitter on Tuesday. Also, according to reports, there may have been a third victim, but she wasn't visible on the video. And it also gets worse because beyond the humiliation and getting assaulted in public, one of the women has been reportedly gang raped in broad daylight while the other two escaped. And so this viral video has sparked widespread protests throughout India and Manipur, and many have demanded answers from Prime Minister Modi. Questions like, why has only one person gotten in trouble despite the fact that you can so clearly see so many faces in the video? With Modi finally answering this morning when he said in an address, my heart is filled with pain, it is filled with anger, saying this incident is shameful for any

civil society. Then going on to say that what happened would never be forgiven, and that a thorough investigation is currently underway and we will ensure strict action is taken against all the perpetrators, including considering the possibility of capital punishment. And as fucked as this entire situation is, it's also just the tip of the iceberg. You'll notice that a lot of the signs in the protests say stop rape or similar slogans. And that's because it's increasingly been used as a weapon in Manipur, which has been rocked by decades of violence between various political and ethnic groups, all vying for different goals. With this time, the conflict revolving around the minority Kuki ethnic group and the majority Métis. And the Kuki women in the video were reportedly targeted

by Métis men as revenge for what ended up being a fake news report that a Métis woman was raped by a Kuki man. But also, the reality is that even though this is the most public example, there have been other incidences the two groups have been going at it for a long time. And things really kicking off again back in May because of disputes over tribal lands, citizenship, and the tribal status of the various groups in Manipur that some have described as as complicated as the Israel-Palestine conflict. And then the Swedish embassy in Iraq was attacked and it's all centered around the Quran. Because tensions between Iraq and Sweden kicked off last month when an Iraqi man living in Stockholm burned a Quran. He then threatened and got police approval to burn another one alongside an Iraqi flag in

front of the Iraqi embassy. And in response, we saw protesters in Baghdad storm the Swedish embassy, setting part of it on fire and occupying it for hours. And while Iraq's government promised to prosecute those who stormed the embassy, it also wasn't exactly happy with Sweden either, threatening diplomatic repercussions of the Koran and flag burning when as planned. And while with that, the Swedish police didn't stop it and two men desecrated the Koran and Iraqi flag earlier today, but didn't burn them. But either way, Iraq cut off diplomatic relations and kicked the Swedish ambassador out while recalling their own staff. Additionally, some Swedish companies are losing their licenses to operate in Iraq. And so for now, we're going to keep our eye on this, see if this continues to

spiral, and if Muslim countries follow the advice of Iraq's current leader to cut ties with nations that allow Quran burnings. And then, Republicans in Alabama appear to be so determined to undermine black voters that they're literally defying the Supreme Court. Because last month we saw the conservative Supreme Court make an absolutely shocking 5-4 decision to uphold a lower court ruling that tossed Alabama's congressional map out on the grounds that it discriminated against black voters and violated the Voting Rights Act. And that because despite the fact that nearly a third of voters in the state are black, the GOP had drawn the congressional map so that only one of the state's seven districts had a black majority. Which, I mean, you have to know with this Supreme Court for them to be like, that crosses a line, that has to be so egregious. So as part of the decision, the Supreme Court directed Alabama to comply with a federal court order to redraw the map so at least two districts

had at least close to a majority of black voters. Which, I mean, I'm not a rocket scientist, but seems like pretty fucking simple directions. Just make one more district that's majority black. But that, apparently too much for the Alabama GOP. With Republicans in both the state House and Senate passing two different maps this week that notably did not have a majority or near majority of black resident voters. And this despite the fact that the Democrats literally drew a map for them that would make another black majority district. The Republicans just shot that down in favor of their own versions. Which again, do not do with the Supreme Court order. Instead, both of the GOP bills redraw the lines of the state's second congressional district

to increase the number of black voters below levels that Democrats and voting rights advocates say are acceptable to comply with the Supreme Court. Right now, black voters only make up 30% of the second district, but the bill passed by the House would raise that to 42%, whereas the Senate version is just about 38%. With Republicans in both chambers arguing

that these increases are enough to meet the standards set out by the federal court. Because you know how if there's $10 and you have $6 and I have $4, I have a near majority of the money. But ultimately, that's where we are. Obviously, these two bills are going to need to be reconciled. So it's possible the Republicans will ultimately agree with the 38% or the 42%. But as far as what's actually going to happen from here, the legislature has until Friday to pass a final map. And notably, the court that initially forced Alabama to redraw its maps could strike down the new map and draw its own version, which is a possibility that several Democrats are betting

on. What's more, voting rights groups have also promised to challenge the GOP's map in court. And then $92 trillion. That is the record amount of global public debt, meaning both domestic and foreign debt, held by governments around the world reached in 2022, with it rising more than five times since the year 2000, even outpacing economic growth, which only tripled in that time. But as much as Republicans and some Democrats like to crow about our growing national debt in the United States, we pay a pittance compared to billions of other people.

Or will the US spend five times as much on healthcare as it did on interest payments from 2019 to 2021? At least 19 developing nations currently spend more money on interest payments and education, and 45 spend more on interest than health expenditures, meaning that put together almost 40% of the developing world, we're talking about 3.3 billion people are spending more on debt than on healthcare or education, and 45 spend more on interest than health expenditures, meaning that put together almost 40% of the developing world, we're talking about 3.3 billion people are spending more on debt than on healthcare or education, which is also why a recent UN report warns that we're seeing

a third world debt crisis similar to the one that exploded in the 1980s, and saying the number of countries facing high levels of debt has increased sharply from only 22 countries in 2011 to 59 countries in 2022, with poor nations' total public debt almost doubling to 60% of GDP over roughly the same time period. And as for why this has happened, I mean, we could honestly spend an hour talking about the history, from colonialism to the Cold War to the global financial system that we have today. But for brevity's sake, I'm just going to focus on some trends in the past few years, starting with the most obvious, the pandemic, which caused a global recession that reduced first world demand for third world goods, and that resulting in countries worldwide borrowing

more money to keep paying their bills, and that putting them in a more vulnerable position for what happened next, namely Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which caused inflation to soar even more than it already had, especially for food and fuel. And so in response, we saw central banks and wealthy countries raising interest rates, which made the dollar a more attractive investment. And as the dollar grew stronger and stronger against other currencies, it became harder for poor countries to keep servicing their dollar-denominated debt, because they bring in dollars by exporting, but exports dropped, and they lose dollars by importing, but imports cost more. And the debt they needed dollars to pay for got more expensive. And so unsurprisingly, some countries couldn't handle the squeeze, and they defaulted. Starting

with Zambia in 2020, followed by Sri Lanka and Ghana last year. And analysts fear that many more, including Egypt, Pakistan, and Tunisia, are nearing the edge. Which, key thing, isn't just bad for them. It is bad for everyone else, because that affectsaring the edge. Which, key thing, isn't just bad for them, it is bad for everyone else, because that affects the world economy. Though, of course, it especially hits those countries, because they are now paying so much of their already meager savings to keep foreign creditors off their backs,

that they have little left over to spend on their own people. Or the number of countries that spend 10% or more of public revenues on interest payments increased from 29 in 2010 to 55 in 2020. And that is 165 million more people fell into poverty worldwide since 2020, according to the UN. And reportedly doing enough to lift those people out of poverty would cost just $14 billion. When you consider how quickly the US mobilized $400 billion to bail out Silicon

Valley Bank, you begin to see why many think we're not doing enough. So you have UN officials calling for wealthy nations to provide debt relief through payment suspensions, longer lending terms, lower interest rates, and even outright debt forgiveness. But unlike similar debt relief programs in the 1990s, today's third world debt may be harder to restructure or write off. And that's because while most debt back then was held by individual governments or big institutions like the IMF and World Bank, today, most of it's actually held by private creditors

who charge higher interest rates and offer shorter maturities. In fact, public creditors hold 62% of external public debt, which is up from 47% a decade ago. And also over the past 20 years, China has grabbed an even bigger share of third world debt. And Beijing has been very reluctant to relieve its debtors, at least until its Western peers and private creditors pick up the slack as well. So this more diverse pool of lenders is one of the reasons why governments have made so little progress dealing with the crisis. But that is where I'm going to leave you for now. And we're

going to have to keep our eyes on the situation. And that is where today's daily dive into the news is going to end. But remember, for more news you need to know, I got you covered right here on those links down below. And as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you next time.