The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 7.22 The Return Of Eugenia Cooney Controversy, Shane Dawson, Hong Kong Chaos, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is a story that's kind of rough to cover. For those possibly sensitive to this or struggling with this,

Starting point is 00:00:12 the first story does involve the discussion of eating disorders. And the reason I say that is this is the story and the debate and then the controversy around Shane Dawson's newest video called The Return of Eugenia Cooney. And for those that don't know, Eugenia is a YouTuber in personality

Starting point is 00:00:24 who is the subject of a lot of public speculation and concern based on her weight. Right, and as Shane's video points out, when she started on YouTube in 2013, she was always thin, but as time went on, she got progressively thinner. Many wondered if she had an eating disorder, right? There were lots of comments in her videos related to this.

Starting point is 00:00:37 Some people seemingly concerned for her. I'm really worried for you and scared. And also horrible, horrible, trollish comments. I'm really only subscribed because I'm waiting for her to kill herself or die of starvation." "- I think you'd probably be a little prettier if you weren't dying." For a long time, she sort of dodged speaking about it.

Starting point is 00:00:54 She seemingly brushed comments off saying that she was fine. Then in January, she uploaded a video of herself that especially concerned people. Then in February, she announced that she was gonna be taking a break from social media to work with a doctor, but didn't give any more details. And all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, we got the Shane Dawson video that over the weekend

Starting point is 00:01:08 has accrued over 20 million views. For those that want to watch the video, I'll link to it down below. It's an hour, so I'm gonna be kind of trying to just squish this down. In the video, it appears that Eugenia is doing far, far better. Shane goes to her house.

Starting point is 00:01:19 Her lawyer appears to be with her at the house during the interview. Eugenia gives Shane kind of a tour of the house, and they dive into a conversation about her journey. During this, there's this notable moment that we're gonna come back to where Shane asks Eugenia if her friends were there for her behind the scenes. There was almost like some people that like

Starting point is 00:01:33 never really said anything to me like before, but then like later on were kind of like, kind of like bullying me into like trying to make like decisions for me. And kind of like they were just not wanting to listen to me at all, not really wanting to hear like how I'm feeling before they never really seemed to like care much about anything.

Starting point is 00:01:50 So I guess that's kinda hard. But then I also have like, you know, good people in my life that like generally like, like really did care. She then tells Shane that she was in fact dealing with an eating disorder, though she didn't label it. Also saying that before rehab, she sometimes did think that she should be eating more. Also saying that her parents and family would tell her the same thing.

Starting point is 00:02:07 She also said that leading up to her getting help, the way people spoke about her on the internet made things worse and had a really negative impact on her health. And adding that it worsened the situation until she decided to get help. Then there was like certain people that would like make videos about me and like talk about my body a little bit. It kind of like was really affecting me like really badly and like making me feel really bad

Starting point is 00:02:27 and like not taking care of myself. Like really in like a really bad like mind state. I guess it just kind of was like progressing and I wasn't like really doing much to like stop that. And I guess like eventually it just like got to the point where I really realized it would be a good idea to like get some help for that. She then further discuss her time at rehab and then move on to kind of more light-hearted things like makeup.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Also Eugenia on her side put out a video called I'm Back, also What I Missed While I Was in Rehab. Over the weekend she and Shane were trending number one and number two on YouTube. And in general this was incredibly well received, although like all things on the internet there were mixed reactions. You had a lot of people thanking Shane Dawson, people saying that they're proud of Eugenia, calling her brave. But at the same time, you had some people saying things like, "'I'm genuinely happy that Eugenia Cooney is doing good now,' but a house tour and some makeup talk doesn't cover any of the questions

Starting point is 00:03:12 about how she's handling her recovery. The Shane Dawson documentary is a fail. Her eating disorder has not been taken seriously." But those were just reactions we were seeing from the public, and the most notable reaction towards this whole thing came from Jacqueline Glenn. She's a YouTuber as well as someone that was a friend of Eugenia.

Starting point is 00:03:25 And after Shane posted his video, she uploaded two videos called The Return of Eugenia Cooney, The Real Truth. One was a 24 minute long story and the other one was kind of this TLDR three minute version. Her video features her along with David Michael Frank and Evangeline DeMuro. And in these videos they say that even though

Starting point is 00:03:39 Shane probably had good intentions, that his video glossed over a lot of the grittier details about Eugenia's journey that led her to rehab, which they say they were all a part of. The video opens and they play that clip of Eugenia saying that she was bullied by friends. And it appears that they believe that they are the friends being referenced. And in this video, Jacqueline says that watching Shane's video was hard to do, having really lived through what happened. And what really happened was very dark. Saying that fans and others, including themselves, would often call the cops in order to help Eugenia, but she developed a script to make officers think that she was fine.

Starting point is 00:04:05 This video with Shane is another example of a script and the police or Shane in this situation walking away feeling that that person is fine. And I don't know if that's the truth. They also said that they tricked her into going to a location where they staged an intervention, right, somewhere where Eugenia could speak privately with mental health professionals,

Starting point is 00:04:24 and then those professionals could decide what's next. They were like really concerned. So they ended up deciding that they wanted to take her into care and they ordered something called a 5150 and it's mandatory. And they say that once this decision was made, Eugenia fought back, Eugenia's mom got involved and was yelling at Jacqueline, swearing at her,

Starting point is 00:04:44 asking why a friend would do this. Also saying that it escalated from there. She called the cops on me and tried to have me arrested for kidnapping. Correct. So when Eugenia was trying to leave, we had two sets of cops show up, one to take her into care

Starting point is 00:04:58 and one to arrest me for kidnapping. She says that all ended up getting sorted out, but there were still tensions. And adding that they believe toxic people in Eugenia's life were using the Shane Dawson video as a way to make the situation look fine to the public. Yeah, Eugenia is a great person. I love her. I care about her. But the people surrounding her in her life, I feel like are dangerous. And I think that they were aware of Shane's potential to cover their tracks and make this look like some kind of beautiful recovery story.

Starting point is 00:05:29 They went on to say they think Eugenia's mom is manipulating her life, that she's bad for her, even going as far as saying she was killing her daughter, claiming that before this, Eugenia had not been to a doctor in five years. So after all of this, they feel like they're the ones being painted to be the bullies,

Starting point is 00:05:41 even though they think that they were just doing the right thing for their friend. All I know is that I'm doing what I think is right and not letting a lie persist that this was something that was decided on. Or even supported by her family. Like, it wasn't. It wasn't. I had to fight them. And she's still with them. And towards the end, they say that they're hoping for the best for her, but that they still have concerns. I hope she's really in a better place. But I know that there are a lot of things that it might point to not being the case. Eugenia's mom is a dangerous person. Her mom is somebody who is manipulative.

Starting point is 00:06:21 The thing is, is if I knew that she truly was recovered and in a great place, I would have said nothing. But I 100% do not believe that is the case and she's still living with someone who puts her at extreme risk of relapse. She's still under control. Everything is still being decided for her and she's being very manipulated. Manipulated.

Starting point is 00:06:40 Right, and so that video goes out. The long one has just under a million views. The other one has over 500,000. There were a lot of reactions to this, many of them mixed. You had a number of people angry that Jacqueline made this video, with comments like, really mad at Jacqueline Glenn right now. If she had concerns, she should have reached out

Starting point is 00:06:54 to Eugenia in private and not share personal details on the internet. I haven't watched the video, but I'm worried how it will affect Eugenia, especially since this is her first day back online. Another writing, Jacqueline Glenn's video is basically 30 minutes of them stomping their feet and demanding credit for Eugenia's recovery.

Starting point is 00:07:07 But also at the same time, you had people thanking Glenn with comments like, no matter what anyone says, these are real friends. Actually taking a stand and really helping a friend rather than sitting back and accepting her denial. A lot of people posting questions and concerns about the mother. On top of these, you also had people kind of

Starting point is 00:07:20 middle of the road, right, appreciative of Jacqueline, but not angry at Shane Dawson. People seeing Shane Dawson's video as a way to raise awareness and create a conversation around eating disorders, right? And arguing that Shane kind of handled the situation with kid gloves as a way to be respectful. And understanding that if it is true

Starting point is 00:07:34 what Jacqueline is saying, and that the environment has not changed and it was a toxic one, the recovery that people are happy about could be in jeopardy. But hey, ultimately that is where we are with this story right now. As of recording this video,

Starting point is 00:07:43 neither Shane or Eugenia has publicly commented on Jacqueline's video. And so there's just kind of this big reaction and debate happening online, which around that I would love to know your thoughts here. So with this, I pass that question off to you. What are your thoughts regarding this whole situation? Let me know what you're thinking in those comments down below. Then in big national and international news, we have a lot happening on a lot of fronts. We're going to touch on some, dive deep on one. First being that we have updates regarding Puerto Rico. As we talked about in the previous show,

Starting point is 00:08:07 there have been protests in the US territory. This after there was just a massive, massive leak that has been called Ricky Leaks, which was 889 pages of conversations between the governor, Ricardo Rossello, and his top aides, as well as cabinet members. That included misogynist and anti-gay messages and jokes about the large number of deaths

Starting point is 00:08:22 caused by Hurricane Maria. We saw two people step down. People were demanding that the governor do the same, but on Sunday the governor once again did not resign and instead announced that he will not be seeking reelection in 2020 and he will step down as the leader of the party. Now with that said, it doesn't appear that announcement

Starting point is 00:08:37 calmed the people. With videos coming out today showing just crazy, crazy amounts of people in the streets, so many people still calling on the governor to resign. Something that it appears that they are passionate about, rain or shine. But ultimately that is where we are as we're recording this video.

Starting point is 00:08:51 And it's gonna be interesting to see how this develops. Will he resign or will he just stay in place? Then let's talk about updates with Iran. You know, there's been a good amount of news over the past month or two. Back in June, you had Iran shooting down a US military drone. Iran claiming that this happened

Starting point is 00:09:04 after the drone went into the country's air drone. Iran claiming that this happened after the drone went into the country's airspace. Meanwhile, the United States claimed the drone was an international airspace. A few days later, Trump announced new sanctions against Iran. And about a week after that, Iran announces that their stockpiles of enriched low-grade uranium

Starting point is 00:09:16 have exceeded the limit that was set in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Of course, also notably, the United States previously pulled out of that deal. On July 4th, reportedly, the Iranian oil-carrying vessel Grace 1 is seized by British authorities near Gibraltar. Gibraltar's territorial authorities said that they believed

Starting point is 00:09:29 that there was a violation of European Union sanctions, though Iran called it piracy. Then reportedly on July 10th, according to two US officials, armed Iranian boats try unsuccessfully to impede the passage of a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. On July 14th, it's then reported

Starting point is 00:09:41 that Iran seizes an oil tanker that it claimed was carrying one million liters of smuggled fuel. Then July 18th, US officials then reported that Iran seizes an oil tanker that it claimed was carrying one million liters of smuggled fuel. Then July 18th, US officials say that they destroyed an Iranian drone. However, officials from Iran deny that any of their drones were taken down. Then we see on July 19th, Iran announced that they have

Starting point is 00:09:55 captured a British-flagged oil tanker, reportedly accusing the tanker of violating international regulations. Iran has also now reportedly released footage of the captured crew. But this is also not the end of the updates regarding Iran, because Iran has also announced reportedly released footage of the captured crew But this is also not the end of the updates regarding Iran because Iran has also announced that they have detained 17 Iranian citizens who are accused of acting as spies for the CIA Their Ministry of Intelligence has said that the 17 have confessed with an intelligence ministry documents saying defendants serving their sentences in prison

Starting point is 00:10:19 Mentioning tempting promises of CIA officers including emigration to USA USA, a proper job in America, and money." With the ministry also reportedly saying that some of the 17 will be executed. That said, we have seen denials from the United States. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying, "'The Iranian regime has a long history of lying. "'I would take with a significant grain of salt "'any Iranian assertion about actions that they've taken.'"

Starting point is 00:10:39 With the president on Twitter also tweeting, "'The report of Iran capturing CIA spies is totally false. "'Zero truth. "'Just more lies and propaganda "'like their shot-down drone put out by a religious regime "'that is badly failing and has no idea what to do. "'Their economy is dead and will get much worse. "'Iran is a total mess.'"

Starting point is 00:10:54 So we have all of that, and obviously that situation is still developing. And then finally, let's talk about Hong Kong. Now we've covered Hong Kong a number of times over these past few weeks, past few months, but here's kind of a little background so you understand even if you haven't seen those videos. Over the last couple of months,

Starting point is 00:11:08 there have been tons of ongoing protests in Hong Kong over an extradition bill. A bill that would allow the government to extradite people accused of committing specific crimes to countries or territories that Hong Kong doesn't have extradition agreements with. And the main reason for the protest then was that the bill would allow extradition

Starting point is 00:11:21 specifically to China. Hong Kong, if you don't know, is an autonomous city-state of China, but they still have their own economic, political, and legal system. Not Kong, if you don't know, is an autonomous city-state of China, but they still have their own economic, political, and legal system. Notably, they also don't have the same media and internet censorship laws. And so the people of Hong Kong were concerned

Starting point is 00:11:32 that if passed, China would use the law to essentially go after political activists or dissidents critical of the Chinese government. And so many in Hong Kong saw this as China attempting to extend their authority over Hong Kong and their personal freedoms. And so since early June, we've seen these protests, some just so massive. And after the first wave of these protests, Hong Kong's their personal freedoms. And so since early June, we've seen these protests, some just so massive.

Starting point is 00:11:45 And after the first wave of these protests, Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam announced that she would suspend the bill indefinitely. And earlier this month, she said the bill was dead, but protesters have continued to call for a full withdrawal, pointing out that even if Lam's administration keeps its promise to not pursue the bill, any leader after Lam could take up the bill

Starting point is 00:11:59 and pass it unless it's withdrawn. So the protests have continued, and in addition to calling for the bill to be withdrawn, the demonstrators have also expanded their list of demands, calling for Lamb's resignation and investigation into the police's actions against demonstrators, amnesty for arrested protesters, and universal suffrage, among other things.

Starting point is 00:12:14 And as the protesters' demands have changed, so has the nature of the protests. While the first wave of the protests were largely peaceful, the protests over the last few weeks have become increasingly violent, with the demonstrators clashing with police who use pepper spray and hit the demonstrators with batons and shields, as well as other forceful tactics.

Starting point is 00:12:28 And so all of that brought us to what happened this weekend. On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets for a previously planned peaceful march. But the demonstration escalated when thousands of protesters marched past the point where the police said that the demonstration should end. And specifically here, the police had tried to keep the protesters away from an area

Starting point is 00:12:43 with government buildings, but the protesters went past. With many of the protesters going to the Chinese government's liaison office, where they reportedly covered the office with spray paint and graffiti, also reportedly throwing ink and eggs on the crest of the Chinese government displayed on the building. And there, the protesters were eventually pushed back by police who used tear gas and rubber bullets, with the protesters reportedly also throwing eggs as well as other things at police. Following this, the Hong Kong government responded in a statement, saying they strongly condemned the protesters who blatantly challenged

Starting point is 00:13:06 the national sovereignty by maliciously besieging and storming the CPGLO building as well as defacing the national emblem. Adding that they are concerned that a small number of radicals incited the masses in an organized manner, challenged the rule of law, and even stormed the CPG's office in Hong Kong. Adding such acts threaten the law and order

Starting point is 00:13:22 in the SAR and One Country Two system. But that is also not where this story ends. So on Sunday night, protesters in a train station who were reportedly returning from the march were attacked by a group of men wearing white t-shirts. And these men went after the protesters, beating them violently with bats and metal bars. The protesters tried to flee

Starting point is 00:13:37 and the attackers chased some of the people into open train cars, continuing to beat them. The attackers reportedly injured 45 people, leaving one in critical condition. Those injured included pro-democracy protesters, a pro-democracy lawmaker, as well as journalists. Also, that lawmaker later described what happened, saying, "'They repeatedly went into the train

Starting point is 00:13:53 "'and were using batons to indiscriminately attack "'all the people in the train. "'Many journalists, even a pregnant woman, "'all ordinary citizens of Hong Kong "'were attacked by those gangsters.'" And as of right now, it's not officially clear who those attackers were. According to reports, many people believe

Starting point is 00:14:05 that they were members of organized crime groups known as triads. We've also seen many angry in the country with critics and protesters accusing pro-government officials of hiring these men to attack the protesters. There's video footage going around that purports to show a pro-China lawmaker shaking hands with some of the men in white and giving them a thumbs up.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Though that lawmaker defended himself in a press conference saying that he had nothing to do with the attack. When asked why he did not call the police, he reportedly said, they appeared to be normal residents just like the protesters in your eyes. Many have also accused the police of ignoring the attack and not doing enough, arguing that it was hypocritical for them to crack down on the pro-democracy protesters but not the men who attacked them. That lawmaker that was attacked also said that the police response was slow and inadequate, arguing that the men in white shirts were seen gathering hours before the attack, but the police didn't show up until after the attack,

Starting point is 00:14:45 and not only that, when they did come, it was nearly an hour and a half after the first emergency call. Also, reportedly, when the police did finally show up, they initially reported that they did not find any weapons and let the attackers leave without making any arrests. There was also footage reportedly taken by photojournalists there that showed the riot police

Starting point is 00:14:59 speaking with two men in white shirts who were holding metal bars or sticks, one even patting one on the shoulder before walking off, so some have even argued the attackers colluded with the police here. But regarding that, during a press conference on Monday, police denied that they had conspired with the men, also saying that they later arrested

Starting point is 00:15:12 some of the people associated with the attacks, also arguing that the reason that they were so slow to show up was that they were busy responding to the protest. But regarding that, we saw pushback from a pro-democracy lawmaker who said on Twitter, "'Hong Kong has one of the world's highest cop "'to population ratio. "'Where were the Hong Kong police force?

Starting point is 00:15:26 Carrie Lam has also now responded, condemning both the attacks as well as the vandalizing of the liaison office, which she said, quote, "'Hurt the nation's feelings'," and later adding, "'Violence will only breed more violence.'" But ultimately, that is where we are with this story right now.

Starting point is 00:15:37 It's gonna be very interesting to see what happens from here. And we're seeing this horrible attack by these men in the white shirts. We're seeing the protests in the streets. It feels like a situation that is primed to get much, much worse. And it's something that some experts believe China is counting on. You know, when we're talking about China and protests, most likely you think censorship.

Starting point is 00:15:53 But with this, China has actually allowed the images of the protests to spread on social media. And so you have some experts believing that this is actually a tactic to create anger against the demonstrations. Right, if you're pro-Beijing, all of a sudden maybe you become enraged when you see a Chinese government building defaced. Maybe some of those that are angered feel that the police have been handling the protesters too soft. I mean, China has even said that they support a stronger crackdown on the protesters. Right, so there's reason to believe that this situation

Starting point is 00:16:15 is just going to get worse. But ultimately, like I said, that is where we are. We're gonna have to wait to see what happens. Of course, like with anything today, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below. But yes, that of course is where we're gonna end this one. Of course, if you liked today's show,

Starting point is 00:16:27 you like diving into the news with me, let us know. Take a second to hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, be sure to hit that subscribe button, ring that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, maybe you missed one of the last two Philip DeFranco shows, you can click or tap right there to catch up.

Starting point is 00:16:40 But with that said, of course, 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 7.22 The Return Of Eugenia Cooney Controversy, Shane Dawson, Hong Kong Chaos, & More

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