The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 7.6 New Colleen Ballinger Scandals Pile Up, Mom Trapped Son For Years, Keke Palmer Publicly Shamed by BF

Episode Date: July 6, 2023

Go to http://ridge.com/defranco  and use code DEFRANCO to get 10% off sitewide. Catch up on the latest PDS: https://youtu.be/QzNRJ9NCkMk 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 - Neighbors Say Missing TX Man Was Found Living With Mother After 8 Years  03:22 - Man Hid His Mother’s Death for 30+ Years to Collect Her Gov. Benefits 04:54 - Colleen Ballinger Faces New Wave of Backlash 07:12 - Keke Palmer’s Boyfriend Slammed for Shaming Her Outfit  09:35 - Sponsored by Ridge 10:28 - Threads Launch to 30 Million Users on Day One 12:03 - Wisconsin Gov. Guts Republican Tax Cuts, Funds Schools for the Next 400 Years 14:49 - U.S. Facing Organ Transplant Crisis  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxx Enright, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #ColleenBallinger #KekePalmer ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking about more and more Coley and Ballinger scandals coming up. This poor guy allegedly was held captive by his mom for years. Kiki Palmer got publicly body shamed by the father of her child. Why Wisconsin's governor may be the biggest legal troll. We're gonna talk about all that and so much more on 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 story is so messed up.

For a few days I've been holding off on this story until we got more information, but yesterday it blew wide open and the details are shocking. So on Saturday, a 25-year-old man was found with cuts and bruises laying unconscious outside of a church in Houston. And the next day we found out it was Rudy Farias, a man who actually went missing eight years ago when he was 17 years old. With his mother saying, My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us. And family members telling NBC that he was depressed

after his brother died in a motorcycle accident when he went missing. But then neighbors began speaking out saying, what are you talking about? We've been seeing Rudy in your home for years. With one neighbor even saying, he used to come in my garage, chill with my cousin, son, and daughter. That boy has never been missing. And another adding that he had seen Farias living at his mom's home for years. But then in response to that, Rudy's mom said, "'No, the person that you've been seeing isn't Rudy. That was my nephew.'" But then the neighbors looked at a picture of the supposed nephew and were like, "'Yeah, no, we've definitely seen Rudy.'" And so yesterday, a counselor in Houston

detectives tried to question Rudy, but reportedly when his mom was in the room, he wouldn't say a word. But then the moment she left, he spilled everything for the next hour and a half, with the counselor explaining, I heard horrific things from that young man, and I did not want him to see me start shedding tears, but I couldn't hold back the tears because of the things he was saying to us. And according to the counselor, Rudy actually did run away at first in 2015, saying that he was tired of living like a slave, because allegedly his mom would take him to her workplace and make him do the work for her, with him also adding that she didn't respect his boundaries and specifically made him get in bed with her. She made him play daddy. He said that she, that he didn't like getting in the bed with,

that he would try to sneak out of the bed and sometime hide under the bed, but she told him he had to be her husband. Also adding that Rudy said she made him take drugs, including hallucinogenic mushrooms, for years. Also that his mom interrupted his showers and made him bathe her with soap. And reportedly with all this, when he returned home two days after running away, his mom allegedly convinced him

that the police were out there looking for him and he would be arrested unless he stayed hidden. And so you have these lies, you pair it with him just tripping and makes him more amenable to these kind of paranoid suggestions. And so you have these lies, you pair it with him just tripping and makes him more amenable to these kind of paranoid suggestions. And so for the next eight years, she allegedly hid him from investigators.

Meanwhile, she kept up this ruse with police that she was concerned about her missing boy. The counselor claiming that Rudy's mom did let him see neighbors on occasion, but he had to use a different name. With her apparently hoping that they had forgot about him because enough time had passed. And adding that 911 calls were made about him several times

and law enforcement just didn't properly investigate. But also then after the interview yesterday, the counselor says that Rudy's mom came back in and told him to say that he made it all up with her not realizing that she was being recorded. And apparently Stockholm syndrome is strong as fuck because he said this. I kept saying, I don't want her to go to prison.

I don't want her to get in trouble. I don't want her to go to jail. And now you've got local media reporting that Rudy's mom fled last night with her anticipating her own arrest, though police haven't unveiled any charges yet. So obviously we're gonna keep our eyes on this. I'm gonna keep you updated. But what the actual hell is going on in certain places in this world? And unfortunately, it seems like this is the common thing. It's the people you trust most that can do this to you. It's absolutely horrifying. And then this crime that just got exposed may be one of the longest running

and largest frauds of its kind. Right, because at the center of this story of Donald Zampac, a 65-year-old man from California, and his mother. And back in 1990, Donald's mother passed away in Japan, her native country, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With Donald then bringing her remains back to the US,

but also leaving her social security number off of the necessary documents to bury her. And he did that so he can continue to collect her government benefits, which he then did for more than 30 years. Right from November of 1990 to September of 2022, Donald collected his mother's monthly payments from Social Security and from the Defense Finance Accounting Service, which notably gives benefits to the families of military veterans. And in addition to that, he opened several lines of credit in his mother's

name, snagging another $28,000. And all in all, he collected $830,238, none of which, of course, he would have received had the agency known that Donald's mother was no longer alive. Also, keep in mind, this is not a thing where he was like, oh, I guess I'll just let it keep happening. He forged his mother's signature, kept her bank accounts active, and even filed taxes in her name, with U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman saying, this crime is believed to be the longest running and largest fraud of its kind in the district. This defendant didn't just passively collect checks mailed to his deceased mother. This was an elaborate fraud spanning more than three decades that required aggressive action running in largest fraud of its kind in the district. This defendant didn't just passively collect checks mailed to his deceased mother. This was an elaborate fraud spanning more than three decades

that required aggressive action and deceit to maintain the ruse. And he would have gotten away with it too had it not been for those meddling kids. I mean, audit. The Social Security Administration looking into Donald's mother's account in their audit of people over 90

who have not used their Medicare benefits. And when an investigator showed up at Donald's door in September of last year, he told him that his mother was just in Japan. However, he ended up getting arrested, and last week, he pled guilty to money laundering and social security fraud. And with that, facing a maximum of 25 years in prison. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay back the $830,000 in his house in restitution. And then...

So there have been updates to the Colleen Ballinger situation. With the most recent involving headlines that you may have seen pop up, regarding an old video of Ballinger's from at least five years ago resurfacing. With a clip appearing to show her performing a Beyonce song while in blackface, and it made the rounds in social media yesterday, with many calling it racist and completely unacceptable. With people saying things like, Colleen Ballinger tells the world she's a racist with her full chest. Imagine doing a Beyonce song in blackface, and the audience are laughing and being entertained. But there are also others saying this is misleading, saying that what's on her face isn't actually blackface at all,

but rather green face paint left over from a bit that Ballinger did earlier in the show. With him saying apparently, Ballinger often sings defying gravity from Wicked to transform herself into the Miranda Sings personality. And apparently towards the beginning of her career, she would paint her face green to mimic the Wicked Witch in the process.

So even with that, you had people saying, you know, singing a song by a black woman while your face is covered in dark paint, still probably not a great idea. Though notably, this isn't the first time that Ballinger's been accused of racism. A recently black employee on the set of Ballinger's Netflix show, Haters Back Off, accused her of using racial slurs and just all around complete racial insensitivity.

People also pointing to how she apologized in the past for impersonating a Latina woman. I am so ashamed and embarrassed that I ever thought this was okay. I was a sheltered teenager who was stupid and ignorant and clearly extremely culturally insensitive. Racial stereotypes are not funny. They're not a joke and they should never be joked about. Though, of course, this kind of just the latest in the string of controversies Ballinger has found herself in. The most notable, of course, being what we talked about last week. But then also a couple days after that, you had Trisha Paytas responding to the situation. Because not only did she have a podcast with Ballinger,

but there were allegations that Ballinger would send her fans DMs of Trisha's only fans to make fun of her. And Trisha responding after those chats leaked online. With her saying prior to this, Ballinger had assured Trisha that only fans to make fun of her. And Trisha responding after those chats leaked online. With her saying prior to this, Ballinger had assured Trisha that she would never make fun of her body. Trisha also emphasizing that one of the fans was allegedly only 14 years old at the time. I am so sorry to that person, if this is true.

I'm so sorry. I know firsthand how traumatizing that can be. I had nothing to do with this. I do not condone it. I think it's the most disgusting thing. And above all else, illegal. Hearing all that horrible stuff underneath the photo, like about my body just being messed up or disgusting.

And it's a lot. Yes, it's a really vulnerable thing. And as far as latest news here, reportedly one of Miranda Sings' tour shows in St. Louis is being canceled due to, quote, unforeseen circumstances. Notably, as of recording, she still has 10 other shows scheduled throughout the end of the year.

And then, Kiki Palmer's boyfriend went from, like, guy no one was really paying that much attention to to the internet's public enemy number one overnight. And that's because, and you may already know this, because it felt like all the algorithms on social media were like, we're gonna force feed you this information. He appeared to not be happy with and shamed Kiki over an outfit that she wore. And if you don't know, his name is Darius Jackson. He and Kiki actually welcomed the first kid together in February. And Kiki recently was

just having a fun night out, attending Usher's residency in Las Vegas, with videos showing Usher serenading her up close. And Darius, seemingly not a huge fan of this, with him specifically taking issue with the bodysuit and sheer dress that she had on. With him writing on Twitter, it's the outfit though, you a mom. And immediately people jumped on this man saying, don't date a baddie if you're going to be this insecure. You're an embarrassment. Accusing him of trying to police a woman's choices. Also saying, with her being a new mom, you should be trying to be supportive, lift her confidence up. But Darius did not sway in the face of backlash. Instead doubling down in a post writing, we live in a generation where a man of the family doesn't want the wife and mother to his

kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others and he gets told how much of a hater he is. This is my family and my representation. I have standards and morals to what I believe. I rest my case. So as of this morning, both of his posts have been taken down. But also, that has not stopped the backlash from coming on strong. With people saying things things like she's not at the church barbecue She's in Vegas with her girls ain't a damn thing wrong with how she's dressed Insecure door as well as it's so insane that you can be Kiki Palmer and still your man will try to publicly humiliate you There's no hope for the rest of us as well as people speaking on the bigger issues saying Darius Dalton publicly calling out Kiki Palmer Like this reminds me of women

I personally know who often feel like the moment they have a child, their autonomy is stripped. And saying men never have their fatherhood weaponized when having fun compared to mothers. And all that, of course, in addition to people accusing him of biting the hand that feeds him, because, well, Kiki's Kiki, and honestly, I didn't know Darius was a person that existed until 10 minutes ago. Though I also don't imagine that Darius is just like

out there in the wilderness by himself. Feel like there's probably a lot of Andrew Tate stans that are on his side. But here's the thing, like none of us are in this relationship. All relationships are different. You know, there are private conversations had, but exactly that.

This feels like a, you guys should have a private conversation. Instead of, I don't know, you seeing a video of Usher eye-fucking your lady and you just go like, I'm gonna attack my lady. I'm gonna try to get the public to shame her. It just feels crazy to go public like that

on the mother of your child. But also as far as Kiki, she seems unbothered. Whether or not directly addressing this controversy, but posting a number of photos and saying in a caption, I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were running late. And tons of people giving her love on that post, including Usher. Good luck, Darius. And then, y'all know I'm a bit of a pusher when it comes to Ridge products.

And that's not just because they're a longtime partner and sponsor of today's show, but because I'm a Ridge consumer. You know, I love their sleek wallets and no-dangle key cases, but I feel like you're missing out on other reliable and durable products. Like with the Ridge Beveled Ring Set, it kind of blew my mind. They look really cool. They're made with premium materials, including carbon fiber, tungsten carbide, 24 karat gold, and titanium. And the ring has an outer beveled edge for on-hand comfort and no-pinch fit. Plus, get this, they come with a dual-band silicone ring for when you want to be more casual, and Ridge offers lost and resizing protection. Whether you lose your ring or you lose 20 pounds, each purchase comes with the option of two future exchanges for the same ring in the same or different size.

Just like everything else at Ridge, they'll let you test drive it for 99 days. If you do not fully love it, you can send it back for a full refund. So what are you waiting for? Go to Ridge.com slash DeFranco and use code DeFranco to get 10% off. That's Ridge.com slash DeFranco. Use code DeFranco. You know, they really try to make get 10% off. That's ridge.com slash DeFranco, use code DeFranco. You know, they really try to make it easy for you to try The Ridge and enjoy it for life. And then, did Zuckerberg just drop the Twitter killer?

Because it looks like Meta and Zuck got a bit excited, released Threads early yesterday. Yeah, dropping and going live yesterday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. And according to Zuckerberg this morning, Threads has had 30 million people sign up. But if you hop on, you already see big accounts already active, including celebrities like J-Lo and Hugh Jackman, as well as big media accounts like The Washington Post. But if you hop on, you already see big accounts already active, including celebrities like J-Lo

and Hugh Jackman, as well as big media accounts like the Washington Post. But Zuckerberg also saying, you know, this is the beginning. I'm not content with just a few million. He's got billions on the brain, saying in a reply on Threads, it'll take some time,

but I think there should be a public conversation app with 1 billion plus people on it. And saying Twitter has had the opportunity to do this, but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will. And as of right now, so far, we know that Threads allows up to 500 characters and has a few similar features to Twitter. Though at the same time, it's kind of got that classic Instagram interface with the same heart, comment, and share

buttons. Also notably, Instagram is pretty intrinsically linked to Threads here, with new Threads users required to have the same username as their Instagram account. Verified Instagram users also carry their blue check over to Threads and block lists carry over as well. Though also, a big thing with this connection is that you can't delete your threads profile without deleting your Instagram profile, which has definitely sparked some backlash from users. And for now, of course, there are still some privacy and data concerns floating around

regarding meta and threads specifically. It was far as if this is gonna be the Twitter killer, who knows? Like I said yesterday, it's hard to predict with these things. It's easy to just kind of be a naysayer, which I have been in the past. Though I will say when meta and Instagram

have copied things in the past, they really seemingly only work when they integrated it in Instagram. Right, stories, reels, but when there's a standalone app, there really has been limited success. But with how many people have been annoyed with all the changes that Musk has made over Twitter, this is the prime opportunity.

But hey, in the meantime, I'm testing it out. You can follow me over there, at Philly DeFranco, and we can see if it's gonna thrive or flop together. And then Tony Evers is a tricky, tricky man. And I say that because he's a democratic Wisconsin governor and he just signed a two-year budget that affects education for four centuries and he didn't even need anyone's approval to do it. All right, so check this out. Initially, the proposal sent to his desk by the GOP increased the amount of revenue K-12 public schools could raise per student by $325 for the next two school years. But unlike any other state,

Wisconsin lets its governors do a partial veto. Basically, they can just veto parts of a bill down to specific words, numbers, and punctuation. And if the veto is then not overwritten, it passes. And so all Evers did is he took his pen and where it said 2024-25, he simply crossed out the 20 and crossed out the hyphen, meaning that the new budget increased funding

from now to the year 2425. And as you might expect, Republicans are pissed, complaining that this will give schools the authority to raise property taxes if state aid doesn't cover the per-pupil cost effectively forever. But also of note, it's not like this should have been unexpected. Both Democratic and GOP governors

have been abusing the partial veto since 1930 and trying to clip its wings for just as long. Right in 2000, for example, voters prohibited the so-called Vanna White veto, which allowed governors to erase individual letters within words, changing their meaning. Right, in 2000, for example, voters prohibited the so-called Vanna White veto, which allowed governors to erase individual letters within words, changing their meaning. And eight years later, a constitutional amendment banned the Frankenstein veto,

which allowed governors to strike words in two or more sentences to create a new sentence. But still, the partial veto is as powerful a tool as ever, and Evers has actually used it 51 times in this budget to make significant changes. Like with him reducing the GOP's tax cuts from $3.5 billion to just $175 million, as well as completely wiping away cuts for the top two tax brackets. And so now the overwhelming majority of tax relief instead is going to be felt by the bottom two

brackets, which is absolutely huge because the GOP plan would have spent nearly half the state's projected $7 billion budget surplus on those tax cuts. He also vetoed a measure that would have blocked Medicaid payments for gender-affirming care. But all of that's not to say that Evers got everything that he wanted. He couldn't stop a $32 million cut to the University of Wisconsin, for example, something he had previously threatened to veto the entire budget over.

Though notably, UW may be able to win back those funds if it proves they will go toward workforce development, not diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Also, he had 15 liberal advocacy and watchdog groups saying he didn't go far enough, calling on him to veto the whole budget because they say that it's going to worsen racial and economic inequality.

But Iver has countered that doing so would leave schools without funding and turn down some desperately needed provisions, like $125 million to combat water pollution caused by forever chemicals, or the $525 million for affordable housing and pay raises for state workers. So as far as what's next, if Republicans want to block this, they're gonna need a veto override, but that is all but certain to fail because it requires a two-thirds supermajority

with Democrats. Though of course, notably, a future legislature and governor could reverse the budget provisions if they garnered the support. So things like the school funding could get capped before the year 2425. But with all that, I gotta ask you, no matter which side you're on here,

what are your thoughts when it comes to the idea of a partial veto? Because if you take away which side you're rooting for, it just inherently, it sounds crazy, doesn't it? You can just unilaterally change the intent of a partial veto. Because if you take away which side you're rooting for, it just inherently, it sounds crazy, doesn't it? You can just unilaterally change the intent of a document. I don't know, let me know your thoughts. And then the US could be on the brink of a serious organ transplant crisis.

Let me explain, right? Because this situation centers on a dispute between the United Network for Organ Sharing, aka UNOS, the nonprofit that operates the entire organ transplant system, and an organ screening company called Buckeye Transplant Services. With UNOS threatening to cut Buckeye off from accessing its database, claiming the company is using an automated system to collect data it is not authorized to have from the network.

And in an interview, their general counsel argued that while transplant centers can obtain data if they want, it belongs to UNOS and Buckeye can't mass collect it and sell it to customers. But I'm also arguing that it's impossible for UNOS to ensure the data is secure and handled properly, and adding that Buckeye could use that info to make its own alternative database. But Buckeye, for its part, claims that it's not doing anything wrong, arguing that this is just a common practice in the transplant industry and Buckeye is being unfairly singled out. And understand, this would be an absolutely massive deal if UNOS follows through and cuts Buckeye off its database. Because Buckeye says that it is the biggest organ screening company in the U.S., supplying essential services for a quarter of all transplant centers in America, with 63 of the country's 250 facilities relying on Buckeye to screen and evaluate life-saving organs for patients.

In fact, according to the company, it was part of 5,900 transplants last year, which accounted for more than one in 10 of the record 43,000 procedures that were performed in 2022. And if Buckeye is blocked from accessing this database, it could seriously disrupt the flow of essential organs to those 63 transplant centers,

leaving those facilities on the hook to screen organs and arrange for recipients to be transported or else scramble to find another company to do the job. With the president of Buckeye arguing there is a ton at stake here, saying plainly, people would die. Transplant centers do not have the bandwidth to, at the flip of a switch, take all this back in. Some providers have also taken aim at UNOS for threatening the stability of the already troubled transplant system, like with a surgical director at UC San Francisco telling reporters that UNOS would be stabbing the transplant programs in the back to get at Buckeye

and saying that would be an incredibly short-sighted maneuver. Meanwhile, it's important to note this all comes as UNOS is already facing criticism, right, because for nearly four decades, the organization has essentially had a monopoly over running the entire US transplant system, a system that has had tons and tons of problems, with around 104,000 people on the waiting list

for transplants with 22 dying every single day. And this is many viable organs are damaged in transit, some are just discarded altogether. And keep in mind, that is just the tip of the iceberg, with the Biden administration actually moving earlier this year to break up UNOS's monopoly. But as far as what happens next with the immediate situation at hand,

we saw Buckeyes suing UNOS in federal court earlier this week, asking for an injunction to prevent the company from getting cut off from the database. And they're arguing that the two are competitors, and UNOS has monopolistic intent to squash the development of technology that could eventually supplant UNOS' system. And UNOS, for its part, has given Buckeye until July 19th to meet its demands, which is actually a two-week extension from the original deadline, which was set for yesterday. And that's

where today's daily dive into the news is going to end. But the good news is that for more news, you need to know I got you covered right here and in the links down below. And there's going to be even more for us to talk about soon, especially if you're subscribed. Because remember, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you Sunday.