The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.24 Rogan Shutdown Controversy & Debate, What Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Situation Reveals, &

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards. Hope you have a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip. Philip, Philip, Philip DeFranco show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is the situation with Megan Thee Stallion,

Starting point is 00:00:15 because it is important in its own right, but it also speaks to a much larger story. One of the things that's interesting with Megan is of course recently, she was a part of that whole WAP controversy. What was really interesting to me is how much attention that got, especially compared to her other incident

Starting point is 00:00:28 where back in mid July, Megan was shot in both of her feet. But even as recently as last Thursday morning, we didn't have any other verified information as to what happened. What we did know is around the time of the shooting, she was in a car with Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, his security guard and one of her friends.

Starting point is 00:00:40 We also knew the night she was shot, Lanez was arrested for carrying a concealed gun in his car and was later released on bail. And so with that, we start seeing a number of rumors circulating, including maybe Laines was the one who shot Megan. Megan, for her part, she wasn't confirming anything. General speaking very vaguely,

Starting point is 00:00:54 posting things like she suffered gunshot wounds, quote, "'As a result of a crime that was committed against me "'and done with the intention to physically harm me.'" But then last Thursday rolls around and in an Instagram Live, she says, "'Yes, Laines was the one who shot her. Saying during that stream she had tried to keep calm and quiet that she's not one to just run

Starting point is 00:01:10 and tell the public, but that she feels that Lanes and others have sort of dragged the situation on. Yes, this Tori shot me. You shot me and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs lying and shit. Stop lying. It's also worth noting that Tory Lanez himself has kept pretty quiet since this all happened,

Starting point is 00:01:29 but Megan obviously still feels that his team is spreading lies online. She then goes on to explain what happened in the car, saying that apparently everyone was arguing, saying she was sitting in the front seat, she got out of the car because she was tired of the arguing, so she started walking away, and then saying that from the backseat,

Starting point is 00:01:41 Tory Lanez then shot her in the feet. She then went on to address the reports that initially went out saying that she'd stepped on broken glass and that was how she injured her feet. Saying that happened when police responded to the scene and she didn't want to tell them that she had been shot. This because of what she feared the police might do to everyone in the car,

Starting point is 00:01:55 even though at this point she was a victim. Soon as the police tell us all get out the mother car, the police is really aggressive. You think I'm about to tell the police that we, us black people, got a gun in the car? You want me to tell the laws that we got a gun in the car so they can shoot all of us up? I'm scared. There's a fucking helicopter over us. And so following all her alleged actions as far as to keep everyone safe, regarding why she's talking now, she claims that Lanes and his team tried to paint her as this bad guy or a liar. Stop trying to come on the internet acting like a black woman, a grown ass black woman,

Starting point is 00:02:28 really got any reason to be lying on another grown ass black man when all the shit going on in the world right now. If you really wanna tell the truth, I've tried to save this. Even though he shot me, I tried to spare him. And y'all mother is not sparing me, that's crazy. And then going on to say that he had no reason

Starting point is 00:02:44 to shoot her at all. Now, all of that said, as far as what could happen next, you had a Los Angeles district attorney spokesperson telling Billboard, they have asked for a further investigation before they decide if they will charge Laines with a felony assault with a firearm. So right now we're waiting to see what happens there

Starting point is 00:02:56 regarding the legal aspect. And then of course, the other part of this story is the reaction. You know, there is a part of the story where we've seen big names reaching out to Megan, right? Reports that Beyonce and Rihanna sent her flowers. Stars like Michael B. Jordan tweeting out support. Meg, I admire your courage and applaud you for speaking up.

Starting point is 00:03:10 We must support black women, protect black women, and believe black women. Also, with this story and reaction, we've seen a lot of discussion around the treatment of black women. A number of people pointing to the just surplus of memes about Megan Thee Stallion getting shot. Also, a number of people treating this not as a violent assault, but as like a messy drama situation. So you also have people like Karen Atiyah, an opinions editor for the Washington Post, putting out a piece saying, the episode has exposed how many black women

Starting point is 00:03:31 are caught between the rock of racism and the hard place of patriarchal sexism. Violence against us is ignored, dismissed, and in the case of Megan Thee Stallion, even ridiculed. America would have been up in arms if Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, or Ariana Grande had been shot by a black man. There was even a flood of outrage

Starting point is 00:03:46 when Taylor Swift was interrupted by Kanye West during an award acceptance speech. And also adding, part of the heavy burden black women must carry is the pressure to protect black men from the viciousness of the police and a racist justice system. Megan was no exception.

Starting point is 00:03:58 With that piece closing by saying that this incident is a reminder that when black women scream for help and cry in pain and even show our gory wounds to the public, the same people who love to dance to our rhythms rarely, if ever, come to our rescue. You know, and I really agree with the points that the author made there. Could you imagine the difference in public reaction

Starting point is 00:04:14 if we changed out Megan's name for someone else? Right, like what would happen if Taylor Swift came out and said, Tori Lane shot me? And also that note about the heavy burden black women carry about the pressure to protect black men. I mean, looking at the public reaction, that's not just a self-imposed mindset. Well, in this story,

Starting point is 00:04:29 I talked about celebrities supporting Megan. There were also numerous examples of just everyday people going after Megan and shaming her for speaking out against Tory Lanez, saying she's a rat, you don't do this to black men. Well, in no way am I saying that was a universal reaction. It is incredibly troubling to see numerous people having that mindset.

Starting point is 00:04:45 Also, side note, just wanna get this across in case there's any doubt. If you shot me in one foot, let alone two feet, call me Remy McChucky Cheese, cause I am ratting. That's it, it's simple. You shot me? What we had before is no invoice.

Starting point is 00:04:58 Also, rat joke aside, I really wanna hit on this because this is an important topic. It is not snitching or being a rat if you are calling out the perpetrator of a violent crime against you. Please know that and that you have no duty to protect that person. The trash goes in the garbage.

Starting point is 00:05:13 But you know, with this story, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts about the situation in general and also specifically the argument around the treatment of black women by society. And then let's talk about the two most requested pieces of COVID news. There are two drastically different things.

Starting point is 00:05:25 One is more government and societal and the other is about treatment. The first thing is an update on the Bryce Hall situation we covered last week, as well as reactions, including that of Joe Rogan. If you're unfamiliar, there was a TikTok house that even though we're in a pandemic had consistent parties. And with that happening, it was rumored and being reported

Starting point is 00:05:40 that LA Mayor Eric Garcetti would actually follow through on previous threats he made to shut off the water and power of people constantly throwing parties in this pandemic. And then the update we saw with that is yes, it happened. And it turns out the targeted home was actually the one that Bryce Hall was renting in the Hollywood Hills, which is actually pretty notable because according to reports,

Starting point is 00:05:55 the party for Bryce Hall's 21st birthday was actually at a house in Encino. But they have thrown other parties at the Hollywood Hills house too. According to reports, they ended up cutting off the power, not the water. While initially it seemed that Bryce Hall was making light of what had happened,

Starting point is 00:06:07 eventually we did see him apologize for throwing the parties, expressing regret, claiming he wasn't expecting many people to come, adding, I deserve it, and now I'm just facing the consequences. Going on to say that he has learned from what happened and that he'll be donating proceeds from his merch to the No Kids Hungry charity.

Starting point is 00:06:20 Now, following all of that happening, we've seen a number of reactions. We've seen numerous people happy that Bryce Hall appears to be facing at least some consequences, some mocking him and joking about the situation. But also we've seen some others concerned about what happened.

Starting point is 00:06:33 And while we've seen a number of people not necessarily agreeing with what Bryce Hall was doing, we've seen people against the idea of the government shutting off the power to the house. And easily the most notable voice to speak out against what happened here was Joe Rogan. Who the are they to tell you you can't have a party? You have mismanaged this crisis so horribly at every step of the way.

Starting point is 00:06:51 And not just the city and not just the state, the federal government and the fact that they can shut down these TikTokers. We should be nervous. Not because these TikTokers are geniuses, but it's because who the fuck are you to say you can shut the power off? Wow. You can shut someone's power off? But isn't it funny that they're- It's a slippery slope.

Starting point is 00:07:08 You're saying that you have the ability to shut off essentials, things that keep people alive, water and power. You're saying that you have the ability to tell them how they can live in this house. And there's no real law that says you can limit the amount of people that can go to a party. I don't think there is. I'll tell you where this does not happen. Eventually the conversation turns to occupancy laws and something known as the 2018 party house ordinance,

Starting point is 00:07:34 as well as Rogan agreeing that party hosts and goers should be punished under those guidelines. And the party house ordinance was actually made for this exact reason. And it allows police to more easily break up loud parties and impose increasingly steeper fines. But that ordinance doesn't allow for the mayor to cut off water or power, which is Rogan's biggest issue with the decision. Saying that if anything,

Starting point is 00:07:51 I think you should just be arrested if that's a law. I think you should be fined or something. I don't think you should be able to shut someone's f***ing power and water off. With this conversation, it's also brought up that well Bryce Hall and you know, the Sway House, they likely have far more resources. The argument is also made that, you know, cutting off someone's power in 170 degree heat, it's dangerous. And while Garcetti said they had the legal ability to shut off utilities

Starting point is 00:08:11 because people were being a public safety risk, even after just a single massive party, they wouldn't do that. Even the Sway House received multiple warnings about their parties before any action was taken. And anyone else having parties would also face warnings and fines before having their utilities turned off and possible criminal charges.

Starting point is 00:08:25 While there's also other angles to the story that involve Texas and Maryland and possible charges. With the updates we're seeing here regarding the power being turned off, the reactions, what is your reaction? Do you personally see this situation as the government overstepping or someone actually being held accountable?

Starting point is 00:08:39 Possibly also being made an example of because it is unknown that they have more resources? Yeah, I'd love to know your thoughts there. And the second thing involves the FDA. This because the Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency authorization for the use of plasma to treat coronavirus patients. This announcement came yesterday with President Trump

Starting point is 00:08:53 touting it as a breakthrough and adding, This is a powerful therapy that transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to help treat patients battling a current infection. It's had an incredible rate of success. It has proven to reduce mortality by 35 percent. It's a tremendous number. Based on the science and the data, the FDA has made the independent determination that the treatment is safe and very effective.

Starting point is 00:09:25 Okay, so Trump here is specifically talking about convalescent plasma. And how that's different from regular plasma is that convalescent just means that you're talking about someone who has recovered from a disease. In this case, COVID-19. And as far as what is plasma in general, that's essentially just the part of your blood

Starting point is 00:09:37 that isn't made up of blood cells. Right, it contains stuff like enzymes and other proteins, but notably it contains antibodies. And while antibodies from plasma can be used in therapies for say some other viruses or even rare chronic conditions such as autoimmune disorders or hemophilia, it is a little less clear how effective convalescent plasma treatments are for COVID-19 patients.

Starting point is 00:09:54 Right, so with this, let's talk about some fact checks and try to find out more. Right, so to start off, when you hear Donald Trump saying it is proven to reduce mortality by 35%, that is not entirely accurate. In reality, the data Trump is citing here found that patients who are under 80 years old, who received plasma that contained a high level

Starting point is 00:10:09 of virus-fighting antibodies within three days of diagnosis, and who were not on a respirator, they were about 35% more likely to be alive a month later compared to those who had received plasma with a low level of antibodies. But still, it's also not proven. Science and the scientific process involve very precise word choices.

Starting point is 00:10:25 Also looking at these results, they're from one special agency program, a program that has already given plasma to more than 70,000 patients. However, critics pointed out it is not a controlled study. It didn't contain any placebo groups and placebo groups are actually vitally important for studies.

Starting point is 00:10:37 And that is why you have the FDA giving a much more nuanced description on its website saying, "'Based on scientific evidence available, "'the FDA concluded this product may be effective "'in treating COVID-19 and that the known "'and potential benefits of the product outweigh "'the known and potential risks of the product "'in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.'

Starting point is 00:10:53 And adding, "'Clinical trials to definitively "'demonstrate safety and efficacy remain ongoing.'" Also, regarding the safety, right? You have Trump saying it is safe. And there, based off of what we have been seeing, as of right now, it does seem like this is going to be a safe treatment. And I say that because back in June,

Starting point is 00:11:06 the Mayo Clinic found that COVID-19 convalescent plasma treatment was safe following transfusions in a diverse group of 20,000 patients. Also, regarding the other part of that Trump sentence, right, he said safe and effective. Regarding the effectiveness, as I noted, the FDA said it may be effective at fighting COVID-19. However, it is likely not as effective

Starting point is 00:11:22 as Trump made it out to be, and you have a lot of medical scientists emphasizing that point. You've got people like former FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb saying. I think that this could be beneficial. It might be weekly beneficial. It doesn't look like a home run,

Starting point is 00:11:34 but right now we're looking for, you know, singles and doubles. There aren't really gonna be any home runs on the horizon until we can get the other therapeutic antibodies on the market and hopefully eventually vaccines and better therapeutics. Gottlieb also pointing out that some plasma transfusions have shown to not be effective against certain viruses.

Starting point is 00:11:50 Though I should also note you had some other scientists who were far more critical of Trump's word choice, including Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, saying, I watched this in horror. These are basically just exploratory analyses that don't prove anything. It's just extraordinary to declare this as a breakthrough.

Starting point is 00:12:04 All this does is jeopardize ever getting the truth. You also had the infectious diseases society of America releasing a statement saying that while there are some positive signals, the convalescent plasma can be helpful in treating individuals with COVID-19. It also believes the FDA should have demonstrated its benefits in a controlled trial with a placebo group before authorizing it for wider use.

Starting point is 00:12:21 We've also seen reports that last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed that concern and urged caution, saying that the data that is currently available is not strong enough to warrant an emergency approval. But going back to what the FDA says on plasma's effectiveness, in its authorization, it says, "'Convalescent plasma may lessen the severity of symptoms "'or shorten the length of COVID-19 illness in some patients.'"

Starting point is 00:12:39 With it adding that the FDA continues to recommend that the designs of ongoing randomized clinical trials of COVID-19 convalescent plasma and other therapeutic agents remain unaltered, as COVID-19 convalescent plasma does not yet represent a new standard of care based on the current available evidence. And that recommendation is especially important,

Starting point is 00:12:55 not only to find a more effective treatment, but also because plasma is limited, right? It comes from blood donations. You can't just make it in a lab. And you know, with everything that we're seeing with this story, there is also a concern. And a lot of it is based around the question, is the FDA making hasty decisions

Starting point is 00:13:08 because of political pressure? We've seen Donald Trump put pressure on things like hydroxychloroquine to get that in more hands in the past. But this Saturday, just a day before the FDA issued its emergency approval of plasma, we saw Trump taking it to a different place, tweeting, the deep state or whoever over at the FDA

Starting point is 00:13:22 is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd, must focus on speed and saving lives. And so because of stuff like that, you have scientists worried that he might be forcing the FDA to prematurely approve a treatment.

Starting point is 00:13:37 Many advise in caution, noting this is an experimental therapy. You know, with this story, I would love to know your thoughts. Is the pressure and expedited nature of everything we've been seeing, does it concern you? Or is that something that you're happy to see? Why, why not? Any and all thoughts, I would love to know your thoughts. Is the pressure and expedited nature of everything we've been seeing, does it concern you? Or is that something that you're happy to see? Why, why not?

Starting point is 00:13:48 Any and all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. As always, to the 927 of you still here, thank you for being a part of these daily dives into the news. I love your faces. I appreciate you. And I'll see you tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.24 Rogan Shutdown Controversy & Debate, What Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Situation Reveals, &

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