The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.31 Disturbing Andrew Tate War Room Leaks, Huge Family Vlogger Arrested For Abuse, Selena Gomez Slammed

Episode Date: August 31, 2023

Head to https://tryfum.com/defranco and use code DEFRANCO to save an additional 10% off your order today.END OF SUMMER SALE! Get it before it's gone @ http://beautifulbastard.com P.S. use code "WORKSUCKSIKNOW" at checkout for a lil surprise to kick off your long weekend. Catch up on our latest PDS: https://youtu.be/GUSyoHbNBRs?si=eQ9_v3CFa8udRcUu 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 - Family Vlogger Ruby Franke Arrested in Utah 04:18 - Chats in Andrew Tate’s War Room Outline Tactics in Pursuing Dozens of Women 06:27 - WGA & SAG Strike Updates, Selena Gomez Accused of Scabbing    08:05 - Sponsored by Füm 09:02 - Quickie News Round-Up Feat. Howdy Doody the Bull 10:54 - Mitch McConnell Appears to Freeze While Talking to Reporters for the Second Time ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxx Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #AndrewTate #SelenaGomez ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking about what may be one of the biggest YouTube scandals ever, as the mom of a huge family vlog channel has been arrested for abuse, we've got new huge Andrew Tate war room leaks, dozens of new victims allegedly being discovered, free my boy howdy doody, we dive deep into what experts say is actually going on with Mitch McConnell, and why Selena Gomez has been getting absolutely slammed online. We're going to talk about all that and so much more on today's brand new

Philip DeFranco show, you daily dive into the news, so just make sure you're subscribed and let's jump into it. Starting with, this may be the biggest YouTube scandal to date. Ruby Frankie has been arrested for child abuse, which if you don't know her, she's known for being a part of a very big family channel called Eight Passengers, which chronicled her life with her husband, Kevin, Frankie, and their six children. But according to records from the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Utah, Ruby was arrested yesterday under suspicion of two counts of intentional aggravated child abuse.

And actually, her business partner, Jody Hildebrandt, was also arrested for the same reason. And as far as what led to this arrest, you had FOX 13 in Salt Lake City saying that a child had climbed out of a window at Jody's home and went to a neighbor's home for help. With a child asking for food and water, the neighbor noticing the child had duct tape

on their wrists and ankles and was emaciated, malnourished, had open wounds. And then after they were taken to a hospital, a second malnourished child was found in the home and later treated. So just absolutely horrifying news, but notably, too many who had been following Ruby and Eight Passengers, they weren't surprised. She had faced tons of criticism for abusive parenting in the past. The Eight Passengers channel was even taken offline earlier this year. A lot of attention then turning to Ruby joining a new channel that was also controversial. That was called Connections and Jodi was the founder of it. And on its YouTube page, it described itself as

a different modality of healing that psychotherapy cannot offer you. And claiming our training will help you transform your pain into joy. Choose the life you want to have. Exchange your confusion for clarity. Local news outlets also describing it as a parent counseling service. But also with that, you had insider reporting that many have accused Connections of being a cult. Some even pointing to Connections videos that show Ruby explaining

kind of extreme parenting approaches. Things like in one video where she essentially says that children do not have a right to privacy. They're not concerned about privacy. That is the last thing they're concerned about. They're just trying to hold that word over your head. They're trying to hold you hostage. In this home, you don't get personal space.

Because this is my space. Because I'm the parent. And as long as you're living in my home, it is my job to know everything about you. You don't get to sneak, you don't get to hide, you don't get to have secrets. People also resurfacing old eight passengers clips, like one where Ruby said her six year old daughter

forgot to bring a lunch to school, but she refused to drop one off for her i know that her teacher is uncomfortable with her being hungry and not having a lunch and it would ease her discomfort if i came to the school with a lunch um but i i responded and just said eve is responsible for making her lunches in the morning. And she actually told me she did pack a lunch. So the natural outcome is she's just going to need to be hungry. And hopefully, hopefully nobody gives her food and nobody steps in and gives her a lunch. You also have people pointing to one clip where she takes away her older son's bedroom as a punishment for pulling an elaborate prank on his younger brother. My bedroom was taken away for seven months and then you give it back like a couple weeks ago.

I don't think our viewers know that. He was sleeping on a bean bag. I was sleeping on a bean bag since October. He was sleeping on the floor in the family room. And with all that, Insider even did a report back then in 2020 noting that these clips, along with others, prompted viewers to accuse them of child abuse and child and family services even showed up at their home.

But that case was closed because reportedly the claims were unsupported. But now, with Ruby being arrested, there have been very notable responses, including from the family's eldest daughter, who also apparently hasn't been in contact with the family for some time now because she wrote on her Instagram story last night. Finally, today has been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served.

We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up. Kids are safe, but there's a long road ahead. Please keep them in your prayers and also respect their privacy. And also asking that if anyone has links to any questionable or concerning content that's been posted in the past, specifically from connections, to send it her way. Ruby's siblings also posting to Instagram to say that Ruby's and Jodi's arrests needed to happen. Also saying that the kids are currently safe. And so for now, we're going to have to keep our eyes peeled for updates, right? People wondering with this situation, what's happening with the father, Kevin Franke. And actually with that, you had

insider reporter, Lindsay Dogston tweeting, Kevin Franke is no longer an employee of BYU, a spokesperson told me. His employment ended there in spring, but it's unclear why. It's not yet known if he's also been arrested. But we'll be following the story here. And so when we know, you'll know. And then y'all 45 new victims have allegedly been ID'd in new leaked chats from Andrew Tate's war room, where they're now reportedly being over 12,000 leaked war room messages showing the tips and tricks members shared for coercing, grooming, and forcing women into sex work. And what's scary is that number could actually be far higher considering these messages are just from between March of 2019 and April of 2020. Also, if you're new to the situation, you're like, what even is the war room? It's a private telegram group chat

for Tate's biggest followers, with them reportedly paying some serious money just for that access, it costing at least $8,000 a year. With that seeming to be a healthy revenue stream for Tate's biggest followers, but then reportedly paying some serious money just for that access, it costing at least $8,000 a year. Well, that seemed to be a healthy revenue stream for Tate because at the time of those messages, 434 people were paying for that access, which is wild because without considering all the other stuff, that's nearly $3.5 million a year. And reportedly one of the biggest names in the channel was one of his generals, Miles Sunken. It messaged new members a reading list and a manifesto outlining the group's agenda. Part of that included their PhD program, aka their pimp and hose degree. And in one message, you made it very clear

about how to go about isolating women from their support groups. You know, normal, non-crazy, predatory behavior. Saying it all starts with a coffee date. And after that, it becomes a series of gradual steps to remove her entire support structure from her life. Then we punish her for a transgression, real or imagined, by having her get our name tattooed on her,

leaving her family's home, apartment, town, country, webcamming, stripping, walking the track for us, getting us girls, escalate, escalate, escalate. And from there, they'd reportedly take what money these women earned. With one woman the BBC spoke to saying she was forced to give up $95,000. That was 80% of her earnings to two war room members. Also other leading war room members would post images of women with serious signs of abuse, such as cuts and bruises. Another describing how a woman complained to him about work, so quote, I took her keyboard and hit her in the head with it. And saying she then went into the room

and worked seven hours without any break. Right, and if any of that sounds familiar, well, it's because that exact playbook is pretty much what Romanian authorities are claiming Tate did in their scheme to traffic women. Though notably on that note, right, none of these messages that we're talking about today are Tate directly saying anything.

But instead of the Tates noting that and distancing themselves from this new report, they're calling bullshit. With Tate telling the BBC its findings were of the Tates noting that and distancing themselves from this new report, they're calling bullshit. With Tate telling the BBC, its findings were, quote, another brazen attempt to present one-sided, unverified allegations. And a spokesperson adding,

the BBC's findings not only present false accusations, but insult the massive community that considers Andrew Tate a life-changing positive force. There's statement also adding that Mr. Tate is, quote, prepared to take all necessary legal actions to defend his innocence and hold accountable those responsible

for defamatory claims. But as far as how everything's gonna play out from here, we're gonna have to wait and see. And then, ooh, people are coming for Selena Gomez. Right, so currently you have the writers and the actors on the picket lines are taking a big stand against the studios. And one of the big updates is that the public

is largely on the worker's side here. With a recent Gallup poll finding that 72% support striking writers, with just 19% supporting the studios. And then with the actors, the numbers slightly dip, with 67% supporting the SAG strike, 24% siding with the studios there. And this notably coming as there's potential friction within the studios,

with Deadline reporting that many executives of major studios met yesterday amid growing speculation of internal divisions and a lack of any apparent path forward to end the writers and actors strikes. With big names like Netflix's Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros' David Zaslav apparently being part of it, Disney, Amazon, and Universal also throwing some execs in. And remember this, as we are 120 days into the writer's strike and nearly 50 days for the actors. So I guess also prepare for a content drought. But also with the strike news today, you had some celebrities making some headlines both for backlash and praise. On

the backlash front, you had Selena Gomez because she posted and then deleted a video on Instagram that seemingly promoted only murders in the building. But the video was showing behind the scenes clips alongside the caption, missing and wanting only murders Hulu. That post got a million likes by the time that it was taken down. And according to the Los Angeles Times, it was on our grid for at least 15 hours. And even though reportedly the video

was not a commercial or anything like that, it's still against strike rules to promote projects. And especially since she tagged the show as official social media handles, it looked like promo. And so the responses to her have varied, with some describing this as an honest mistake, saying, you know, this is kind of more of a throwback.

But also a lot of others calling her a scab. But then as far as celebrities getting praise, you had a group of late night hosts launching a podcast to benefit the writers on Strike, with those being Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver all going behind the mic for Strike Force 5, which actually came out this week. And according to Washington Post, it's going to have at least 12 episodes. And reportedly the money made on that show are going to go to the staffers on their shows who are currently out of work. And then I want to talk about one of the coolest things I think a lot of people need to know about. And specifically, I'm talking about the innovative award-nominated device and sponsor of today's show, Fume. Fume was built to help

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code FRANCO to save an additional 10% off your order today. And then I've got four very quick news stories that are completely unrelated to one another that vary in levels of seriousness that I want to give to you. One, in the most important news of the day, a car with a giant bull sitting in the passenger seat named Howdy Doody was pulled over by police in Nebraska. And the man who was driving in Howdy Doody were pulled over after some snitch called the police. But the police actually didn't even give him a ticket.

They just gave him some warnings and asked him and Howdy to leave the city. Because as it turns out, Howdy Doody's actually a kind of a local celebrity there, performs at a lot of parades and fairs. Two, Russia is demanding that Norway pay them $4.4 million because 42 reindeer crossed the border into Russia. And as far as why $4.4 million, they say that the money's compensation

for the reindeer eating Russian grass. That's some expensive ass grass. And as far as how this happened, supposedly a gate that separated the two countries and kept reindeer out of Russia just broke. Also, don't worry about the reindeer, they're fine. Actually, no they're not. 40 of the 42 reindeer have now been killed

in fear that they'll cross into Russia again. And while I personally hope the two remaining reindeer exact some revenge, Norway has just asked its citizens to keep their reindeer in check. But I think main thing, Santa's gonna be pissed. Three, Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to death for criticizing the Saudi royal family on Twitter.

They charged him with betraying his religion, disturbing the security of society, conspiring against the government, and impugning the kingdom and the crown prince. And this guy just had 10 followers, so he was essentially tweeting to no one. But who's actually surprised here? Killing people for tweets is just yet another

human rights violation from the champions of crimes against humanity. I mean, I get the sports washing is working, but Saudi Arabia also funded 9-11, genocided Yemenis, aided ISIS, and killed Jamal Khashoggi. And four, Niger has stripped the French ambassador of their diplomatic immunity and have ordered the police to expel them. And they obviously can't go into the embassy as that would be a major breach of international norms, too far even for them. But police in Niger are now searching all vehicles leaving the embassy. Yo, it really cannot be understated how absolutely ridiculous this is.

With it widely believed that if they manage to get their hands on the ambassador, France isn't going to ask for them back. They're just going to bomb the country into oblivion. And isn't there already enough suffering without more stupid shit? And then, so by now you've seen this concerning and disturbing situation around Mitch McConnell, but we need to dive deeper. Because there's this now viral video of Senate Minority Leader McConnell appearing to have a medical episode while speaking to reporters. What am I talking about, what? Running for re-election in 2026. Oh, sure.

Did you hear the question, Senator? Running for re-election in 2026. All right, I'm sorry, you all. We're going to need a minute. So that alone is super concerning, but it's even more concerning because this is at least the second time it has happened. We had a public episode like this just in the last few weeks. And a string of...

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Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Grocer groceries that over-deliver. But despite the fact that one of the single most powerful people in the country right now is seemingly having real medical events in full public view, McConnell's team has not at all been transparent with the American people about what's going on. Because McConnell's office has provided exactly 0.0 information about the incident, with a spokesperson for McConnell only telling reporters that the senator just felt lightheaded and that he would see a physician before his next event.

While I was recording, we got the news that the attending physician to Congress issued a statement saying he consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team, and adding that he told McConnell he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned, but the physician also didn't provide any information about what happened, just reiterating the whole light-headed bit, saying light-headedness can be expected as a result of dehydration or recovery from a concussion. Right with that, in reference to a bad fall McConnell had during a GOP fundraiser back in March that resulted in him being hospitalized with a concussion, so we still don't have much to go off of. But also that is at least more than what we were told

after the first event. Because after the first time, they wouldn't even answer questions about whether he saw a doctor following the event. With McConnell himself returning to that presser after being escorted away saying, oh, he was doing fine. He was able to do the job on the Republican leadership team.

And after both incidents, McConnell's allies pointed to the fact that he resumed answering questions after each time and continued on with other planned meetings and events. But here's the incredibly important thing. You have experts and doctors saying just because he was able to carry on with his day after these episodes doesn't necessarily mean

that they weren't serious medical events. This is including Dr. Sujay Kansagra, a sleep doctor and pediatric neurologist at Duke who explained, In the neural world, we say these are stereotype episodes that occur the same way each time or roughly the same way each time. And it's kind of the hallmark of epilepsy. So this is likely focal seizures.

The fact that he stops talking can be for two reasons one he could have impaired awareness during the seizure or two it could actually be affecting the speech centers of his brain in charge of actually expressive speech this also explains why they didn't rush him off after the first episode to nearby hospital to get a full workup it's probably because he's been having these all along he's had multiple of these they already know about them and so they didn't feel the need to go rush him off for a CT scan. The possibility that McConnell had a seizure was also parroted by other doctors after the first event last month, with many of those experts also saying it could have been a mini stroke, which is also called a TIA. But notably, you also have others pushing back against both of those possibilities, like CNN's chief medical correspondent,

Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Gupta explaining what he thought was going on yesterday. There's a lot of things that can sort of come to mind. The more you know about the various neurological conditions, the longer the list is. But certain things like stroke or things like that are probably less likely. He walks away and he's moving his arms and his legs as he walks away. Seizure is less likely. But he also went on to say that whatever this is, it's more serious than his team's repeated excuse of just lightheadedness. With him also echoing the point that it seems like this is something that happens enough that McConnell's team is clearly aware of it and knows what's actually going on. I think what really struck me, and I think Manu alluded to this, is that his aides don't seem

that surprised by this. So we've seen this episode a couple of times, but you get the impression that it happens more often because this is something that they're used to dealing with. So while it's, you know, as you say, hard to watch, it doesn't seem like this is just lightheadedness, seems to be something that is really ongoing. Someone who has a Parkinsonian like condition, for example, whose medications are wearing off or, or something like that. That's something that could sort of explain this behavior. But as I said, Jake, it's it's a long list of possibilities here. But to be clear, all of this is speculation. And many of these experts emphasize the fact that we really don't know what's going on. But that is also what happens when there is a total lack of transparency. And all of that is just renewing questions about

McConnell's health that were already circulating earlier this year. Because keep in mind, these two events come just a couple of months after McConnell had such a serious fall that he required hospitalization. And while he was released five days later, he was away from the Senate for nearly six weeks while he recovered. And according to reports, since that March fall, McConnell has also had at least two more falls, but neither were reported by his office, with him also reportedly being witnessed struggling at times following that first fall. While he's always walked very carefully due to the fact that he overcame polio as a child before there was a vaccine, many have noted that he's been even more cautious since his fall, with him also taking a less predominant role in leading his party,

letting McCarthy take the wheel on key negotiations, as well as speaking less during weekly GOP luncheons, according to people who attend them. And all of this as McConnell is 81 years old and the longest serving party leader in the Senate ever. So you have all of that and you have an absolute tidal wave online of people saying he is just too old to be leading the party, many calling for him to retire. And that notably including prominent conservatives like Bill O'Reilly and even Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Also with this, it's important to keep in mind, this is not just a left-wing, right-wing thing. Many specifically pointing to Senator Dianne Feinstein,

who's the oldest member of Congress and who has faced widespread calls to step down because it's abundantly clear she literally has no idea where she is half the time. And as we see more and more of these things happen, it adds to the arguments that people have for needing term or age limits. So if you try to pass a law on the Senate,

I don't know how many people would vote for them because the average age for a senator is 64 years old, with more than half of all members clocking it at 65 or older. I mean, McConnell's not even a boomer. He's older than the boomers. He was born in 1942, back when the real world was still black and white.

He's part of something called the silent generation. And you can call this ageist all you want, but look at what the fuck is happening. I feel like we're gonna see head-in-jar Futurama senators before there's actual age limits. But yeah, that's the news that's going around now. A deeper dive into it. Now I pass the question off to you.

What are your thoughts here? What do you think about the McConnell and Feinstein situations? And do you think there should be age or term limits in Congress? And that is where today's dive into the news is gonna end. But for more news, you need to know, I got you covered right here.

You can click or tap or I got you in the links. And as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll see you right back here next time.