The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.22 Is MTV Promoting Stalking, Top 10 Highest-Paid, Patriotism Pop, Kashmir, & Spicer DWTS

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you've had a fantastic Thursday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today is this controversy and backlash that MTV is currently facing. MTV just recently released a first look for their new docuseries, Ghosted Love Gone Missing. And here's kind of the first few seconds of it. Have you ever been ghosted? The texts weren't going through. Totally left in the dark by someone you care about?

Starting point is 00:00:23 He was my best friend. No texts. I called him on the voice messages. No DMS all the sign. I was black nothing It's so dramatic So as you can kind of tell from that little blip It's a catfish style show as far as the hosts of the show you have the bachelorettes Rachel Lindsay and singer turned actor Travis Mills Who reportedly helped people track down someone who ghosted them right? They stopped communicating or as that dramatic trailer said, no texts, no DMs, nothing. Probably because they realized you were boring and or weird.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Right, and with this show, the two hosts apparently investigate what went on between the two. They then follow every lead to track down the ghost. Also, if you're already not in the know, I'll explain why I'm using air quotes soon. You know, following this first look, there were a number of people that just had a huge problem with it.

Starting point is 00:01:02 And these people expressing concern argued that it was crossing a line and essentially encouraged stalking. Some even pointing out that people often have good reasons for ignoring someone rather than explicitly ending their relationship. Right, essentially you have a person making a decision, I no longer want to deal with this person.

Starting point is 00:01:15 I'm not gonna communicate. Seemingly in the trailer, some people changed their information so they couldn't be found. She didn't change her number, she didn't move, she didn't do everything. And then MTV walks in, they're like, well what if we monetize finding that person even though they don't want to be found?

Starting point is 00:01:27 Now as of recording this video, MTV has not addressed this criticism. I also don't imagine that they're going to stop this series or scrap it in any way. Most likely they're also counting on this backlash. It just generates more attention. You also have others arguing that it's very similar to MTV's Catfish.

Starting point is 00:01:41 Some saying that show already promotes stalker-like behavior. But of course against that you could say, well the main difference is that in Catfish, you imagine the person that is betraying someone, right? Lying, misleading someone, they should be exposed. But also where I want to end this story is the note that this could all just kind of be bullshit. You'd write our Alicia Lutes tweeting, Thousand-percent have to agree and sign shit ahead of time a la catfish So the show's entire conceit is basically bullshit just like catfish and I know because I reported on it in 2013 and adding in most Instances of that shows early seasons. It was actually the person doing the catfishing that contacted production first So don't be surprised if that is the case here and specifically in that article She wrote in fact after speaking with six of the stars this season covering six episodes of the series We found that in every instance except one,

Starting point is 00:02:25 the catfisher, not the catfish-ee, as the series claims, has been the one to contact MTV first, either via casting call, Craigslist post, or a mention on the MTV website itself. Adding, everyone involved has already agreed to an in-person meetup before production begins. But regarding a different reality element, they also wrote, every catfish subject told us

Starting point is 00:02:43 the series host, Shulman and Joseph, are indeed kept in the dark about the true identities of the catfishers. But then that article also goes into discrepancies. The main point being, I think there's a good reason to believe that a lot of this is bullshit, but it also brings up the question of, even if it is bullshit, much like an over the top

Starting point is 00:02:56 fake prank, is it promoting that behavior? Because as these other people have argued, there might be a very good reason why someone ghosted someone else. They cut that person out of their life. But with that said, I do wanna pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this whole situation? Then in quickie entertainment news,

Starting point is 00:03:11 Forbes gave us the highest paid actors of 2019. Some, you'd expect, some, maybe not. Going through the list, you have Will Smith, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Adam Sandler, followed by Bradley Cooper, Jackie Chan, Akshay Kumar, Robert Downey Jr. At the top of the list, you have Chris Hemsworth and to nobody's surprise, Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

Starting point is 00:03:29 It's not really surprising. The Rock is everywhere, he's in high grossing stuff. I mean, hell, according to reports for the new Jumanji, he's getting 23.5 million upfront. And he'll also get a percentage of the pool for that movie, which as Forbes explained, is the money left over after some but not all of the bills are paid, which, I mean, regarding the pool is also part of the reason why Robert after some but not all of the bills are paid which I mean regarding the pool

Starting point is 00:03:45 Is also part of the reason why Robert Downey jr. Is on this list Yes He got money up front for playing Iron Man But he also reportedly got nearly 8% of the pool for Avengers endgame alone Which I mean that movie almost made 2.8 billion dollars at the box office Yeah, main point depending on who you are. You will find this story interesting Depressing infuriating, or inspiring? Actually, maybe that's the question connected to the story.

Starting point is 00:04:07 What are your thoughts when you hear numbers like this for what is being kind of given? And you know, we can actually spread this question around a little bit, whether it be actors or professional athletes. What are your thoughts there? Then let's talk about Dancing with the Stars, because I'm gonna be on it, could you imagine? That would be horrible.

Starting point is 00:04:21 I'm not, that would be horrible for everyone involved. But yesterday morning, Good Morning America did reveal the cast of season 28. Notable names on this list included Christie Brinkley, Ally Brooke from Fifth Harmony, Kate Flannery from The Office, and Queer Eye's Karamo Brown. But the main name that has been capturing headlines is that of Sean Spicer, who was of course

Starting point is 00:04:38 President Trump's press secretary before handing the position off to Sarah Sanders. Which I personally believe is a fantastic casting choice because we finally get the answer to the question that nobody is asking, do Spicer's hips also lie? You know, this kind of integration of political figures, whether they be polarizing or not, it's not really new. All the way back in season three,

Starting point is 00:04:54 you have current Fox News host Tucker Carlson on. They've also had on former representative Tom DeLay and now Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on different seasons. Also, I mean, in recent years, you've had people that were close to Trump at different times on reality shows, such as the now-scorned-by-Trump Anthony Scaramucci in Amorosa on Big Brother. But with Sean Spicer, people have been very vocal.

Starting point is 00:05:12 Online, you had people calling on the show to not normalize the fact that Sean Spicer lied to the American public on a regular basis. Another writing, this is a slap in the face to all journalists who try to get the truth out to the public, sometime at the cost of their own lives. You actually even had the show's host, Tom Bergeron, jumping into the mix criticizing the casting.

Starting point is 00:05:27 Because actually just a few hours after Spicer was revealed, Bergeron said on Twitter, "'A few months ago during a lunch "'with Dancing with the Stars' new executive producer, "'I offered suggestions for season 28. "'Chief among them was my hope "'that Dancing with the Stars, in its return, "'following an unprecedented year-long hiatus,

Starting point is 00:05:40 "'would be a joyful respite "'from our exhausting political climate "'and free of inevitably divisive bookings from any party affiliation. I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement." But he goes on to say, "'Subsequently and rather obviously, a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood,

Starting point is 00:05:53 go in a different direction.'" And that was particularly troubling to Bergeron because he notes, "'As host, I always gaze into the camera's lens and imagine you on the other side, looking for a two-hour escape from whatever life hassles you've been wrestling with. That's a connection and a responsibility,

Starting point is 00:06:06 which I take very seriously. But that's also not the universal opinion of everyone connected to the show. On the other side of this, you had contestant Karamo Brown defending Spicer. Actually, no, let me tell you something. Sean Spicer and I have been talking. Yeah, like literally, I was most excited to meet him

Starting point is 00:06:18 because like the thing is is that people would look at us and think that we're polar opposites, but I'm a big believer that if you can talk to someone and meet in the middle, you can learn about each other and help each other both grow. And so we have been chatting all day today. Like, he's a good guy, really sweet guy. And as far as Spice's reaction to all this, he responded himself to this backlash in an interview with CNN. And notably, he defended his casting, saying that Dancing with the Stars is entertainment, not news. And also saying, I am very happy with who I am

Starting point is 00:06:45 and who I support. I'm not changing. I am giving people another opportunity to see a side of me that is different. Spice girls are reportedly telling Us Weekly, saying his involvement on the show is actually a way we can move the country forward in a positive way. Now as far as if this boycott will work,

Starting point is 00:06:57 I don't believe so. I think often people forget that one in two people in this country probably disagree with you on something politically. No more is that apparent with Trump, Trump allies, and the rest of the country. And when it comes to a show on TV, many producers are going to say the only thing that matters is the number of people tuning in. And most likely the producer or team that focused on Spicer here, they're counting on

Starting point is 00:07:15 a section of the country who love Trump and anyone connected to him, as well as people who hate him and will hate watch him. And the controversy will get people in the middle that kind of don't care either way. But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe the boycott works. It feels like there's a new boycott every day, so it's hard to keep track. Yeah. For now, Spicer is on the show and he's reportedly going to be getting paid anywhere between $125,000 to $295,000 for appearing on the show. What I will say though is I'm very interested to see what happens after he's on the show. Because it feels like the next step for him would likely be to jump on Fox News.

Starting point is 00:07:43 And I say that because an Axios report pointed out today that there seems to be kind of a trend. We got the news today that Sarah Sanders is joining Fox News as an on-air contributor. Hope Hicks, of course, former White House Communications Director. She's now the Fox Corporation's Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer.

Starting point is 00:07:57 Raj Shah, who is the White House Deputy Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant to the President, is now a Senior Vice President at the Fox Corporation. Although, I mean, Spicerity works for a pro-Trump super PAC. Yeah, that's a story as it is now and of course as always I'd love to know your thoughts on it. And then let's talk about some updates to the situation in Kashmir. Now we've talked about this on the show a couple of times over the last few weeks, but in case you missed it Kashmir is the contested region that both India and Pakistan say belong to them, with India controlling the largest

Starting point is 00:08:20 part of the region. And on August 5th, India announced that they were revoking the special autonomous status granted to Kashmir for decades. Right, so essentially giving India's central government authority over Kashmir, which until then had its own constitution and many of its own laws. The Indian government also saying that it would allow Indians to buy property in Kashmir, something that only Kashmiris had been allowed to do previously.

Starting point is 00:08:38 And this move significantly escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, who along with being neighbors are also notably nuclear powers. Also previously, in addition to this kind of being an international affairs kind of story, we saw kind of celebrities and pop culture sneak its way into this.

Starting point is 00:08:51 In fact, the last time we talked about Kashmir was after influencer and beauty YouTuber Ayesha Malik confronted Priyanka Chopra. One of the big things there was Ayesha accused Chopra of supporting nuclear war between India and Pakistan. Also accusing Chopra of being a hypocrite. This because after India launched airstrikes on Pakistan, Chopra tweeted out support,

Starting point is 00:09:07 but Chopra is also at the same time a UN goodwill ambassador for peace. Chopra responded by saying that she doesn't support war, but she is a patriot. If you wanna see the more detailed version, I'll link to that video down below. But I also mention it because just yesterday, Pakistan's Minister of Human Rights wrote a letter to the UN

Starting point is 00:09:20 requesting that they remove Chopra as a goodwill ambassador. With the letter saying that Chopra's support for war, including a nuclear war, undermines the credibility of the UN position to which she has been elevated. But also part of the reason that we're talking about this today is that the idea of patriotism versus encouraging violence is a reoccurring theme regarding the situation in Kashmir.

Starting point is 00:09:36 Right, and so what we're talking about is in India, there's been a growing genre of music called patriotism pop being shared on social media. And according to the Associated Press, which published a detailed article about the music yesterday, Patriotism Pop is basically what it sounds like, popular music about Hindu nationalism

Starting point is 00:09:50 and support for Prime Minister Modi. Patriotism Pop songs have just become massively popular on YouTube and TikTok, which also makes sense. TikTok has about 150 million users in India, YouTube around 250 million. So we're talking about millions upon millions of views. Earlier songs in the genre were reportedly focused on the rise of Hindus in India Defeating Pakistan and flying the Indian flag in every household

Starting point is 00:10:10 But according to the AP just hours after Modi stripped Kashmir of their special status music videos began Circulating about Indian settling in Kashmir and buying land and marrying Kashmiri women one video for example called article 370 named after the now revoked constitutional article that gave Kashmir its autonomous status. That video has now over 1.6 million views, and the singer thanks Modi and his government for removing Article 370. Also, the guy who made that video also collaborated on another song about a man who's looking

Starting point is 00:10:34 for a Kashmiri bride, which, regarding that specific point, there's been a lot of criticism. And in addition to just kind of public reaction, there was a political anthropologist who spoke to the AP that hit on that, saying that the songs are a culmination of a toxic, misogynistic, that hit on that saying that the songs are a culmination of a toxic Misogynistic nationalist thinking and adding that the Indian media from news to entertainment has left no stone unturned and portraying Kashmiri women in the racist Trope of coveted fair-skinned ones and at the same time being helpless and needing saving from their own men, right?

Starting point is 00:10:57 So demonizing Kashmiri men But that said patriotism pop is getting bigger and bigger and it also seems like it's going to continue to do so especially with everything That's happening right now. Also of note, we haven't seen Kashmiris respond to these new videos. And that of course is because the entire region has been cut off from the internet since August 5th. And like we talked about before,

Starting point is 00:11:13 along with cutting off communications, India has also sent tens of thousands of military forces to Kashmir, right? To basically put the city on lockdown by enforcing an almost constant curfew, trolling the streets. The people of Kashmir have also responded with a series of protests.

Starting point is 00:11:26 Also, Indian officials have said that while they plan to keep the internet cut off, they have begun to ease some of the restrictions in the region. But right now, it is unclear what is really happening because almost all of the reporting is coming from state-sponsored media in India. But we are seeing some reports that many Kashmiris

Starting point is 00:11:38 are wary about any claims made by the government, which is understandable because Indian officials have said that they have arrested more than 4,000 people since the crackdown began. And that reportedly including some high profile political figures, which of course is a massive deal, both because of the sheer magnitude of the arrests, but also because India has a law that allows authorities

Starting point is 00:11:53 to put someone in prison for up to two years without any specific charge or a trial. In fact, UN experts have said that they have received information suggesting an increase in arrests of political figures, journalists, human rights activists, protesters, and others. Adding that they were deeply concerned by reports that security forces have been conducting night raids on private homes, rounding up young people. We've also started to see reports of violence in some parts of the region.

Starting point is 00:12:12 Just yesterday, Indian authorities reported that two people were killed during a shootout between the police and Kashmiri rebels. So that marked the first reported clash involving gun violence in India-controlled Kashmir since the lockdown began. Meanwhile, clashes along the line of control that divides India-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have increased in the last few weeks. With reports there, the gunfire has been exchanged multiple times, though India and Pakistan have given conflicting reports

Starting point is 00:12:33 about the numbers of fatalities. Ultimately, that is where we are right now. It seems like the situation is just escalating and escalating. I really don't know if an end to this is in sight. But of course, as always, I wanna pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts around all of this? And that's where we're going to end today's show.

Starting point is 00:12:46 And as always, if you like this daily video, hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, hit that subscribe button. Definitely click that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, you can check out our brand new deep dive that we just launched today. Or maybe you missed yesterday's Philip DeFranco show,

Starting point is 00:13:00 you wanna catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch either of those. 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 next time.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.22 Is MTV Promoting Stalking, Top 10 Highest-Paid, Patriotism Pop, Kashmir, & Spicer DWTS

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