The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.31 Is Bella Thorne a Scammer? Remembering Chadwick Boseman. Belarus Russia Crisis Explained

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

Start your free trial today: http://www.Squarespace.com/Phil & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!  Check out my latest podcast with Mia Khalifa!: https://youtu.be/MWuBCmf8TWw Follow me off of Youtube: https://linktr.ee/PhilipDeFranco -- 00:00 - Bella Thorne 06:22 - TIA 08:15 - RIP Chadwick Boseman 11:26 - Belarus Updates -- WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/ACW  LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com WATCH the ACW Clips channel!: https://youtube.com/ACWClips ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com ✭ Lemme Touch Your Hair: http://BeautifulBastard.com ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com  ✩ TODAY IN AWESOME ✩ ✭ Fall Guys $1Million Raised: https://twitter.com/FallGuysGame/status/1300494573639290880 ✭ Nandi Bushell reacts to Dave Grohl: https://youtu.be/2RVjSlvTI5o ✭ BTS Performs "Dynamite" | 2020 MTV VMAs: https://youtu.be/zJCdkOpU90g ✭ 8 Incredible Things We Can Learn From Octopuses: https://youtu.be/rLob3orinHo ✭ The Haunting of Bly Manor | Teaser Trailer: https://youtu.be/cxeiY2W03Mc ✭ Secret Link: https://youtu.be/FQpVIBsEVOc ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩  Bella Thorne Gets Backlash: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-08-28/onlyfans-bella-thorne-transaction-limits-backlash Chadwick Boseman Passes at 43: https://www.etonline.com/josh-gad-shares-one-of-chadwick-bosemans-moving-final-texts-to-him-152255 Belarus Updates: https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/31/belarus-rocked-by-more-protests/ ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩ China Revises Rule To Put Itself in Control of Whether TikTok Can Be Sold To an American Company https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/31/tiktok-china-tech/ Adele Causes Stir With Photo Celebrating Notting Hill Carnival:  https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/31/adele-notting-hill-carnival/ Hundreds Protest Mandate in Massachusetts Schools: https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/31/mass-flu-mandate-protest/ Twitter Slaps “Manipulative Media” Warning on Biden Video Posted by Republican Leader:  https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/31/twitter-manipulative-media-republican-leader/ ——————————     Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst  Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda, Brian Espinoza Production Team: Zack Taylor, Luke Manning  ———————————— #DeFranco #ChadwickBoseman #BellaThorne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup you beautiful bastards. Hope you had a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the 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 this story that actually relates to a question I asked last week.

You know, last week we talked about Bella Thorne. She's the newest mainstream face to join OnlyFans. Reportedly bringing in $2 million in less than a week. And I posed the question of, hey, if you're a creator on the platform, are you happy or sad about this? Well, initially the answers I got were rather diverse. I'm saying, hey, I, if you're a creator on the platform, are you happy or sad about this? Well, initially the answers I got were rather diverse. I'm saying, hey, I think it's actually a good thing.

It adds to the legitimacy. Maybe it brings more people to the platform. They find other creators. You also had others in the middle saying, it should be kind of neutral. It shouldn't affect any other creators. No one's gonna lose or gain because of this. And additionally, you also had people arguing

that this is a bad thing because these celebs joining the site now are often not sharing any nude content, right, which is a lot of people thinking, maybe this leads to OnlyFans going more mainstream and the smaller creators who did more explicit things, maybe they get pushed out. But then on Thursday, we saw almost the complete reaction from people on the platform being negative.

But this seeming to actually come from something Bella allegedly did on the platform. So as I previously mentioned, when Bella Thorne first joined, she said she wouldn't be posting any nudity. But then on Thursday, people began claiming that Bella Thorne actually offered a pay-per-view nude photo for $200 per user, which then allegedly turned out to not actually show her fully nude.

Most of those claims stem back to this screenshot that's been circulating, which at this time has not been verified by any news outlets or other individuals. Right, but still, the person who shared that photo says that it's from earlier this month, and they say that at that time, Bella had a free to subscribe profile,

though others still think that it's fake or maybe the work of a catfish account. Right, with some pointing out that her profile picture in that screenshot and her current profile photo don't match up. Neither does the capitalization of the first letter of her last name. In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, Bella said

she has never offered nudity on her page and said the exchange floating around on social media was falsified. We also reached out to Thorne for comment about that screenshot, but have not yet heard back. Still, the belief going around online is that she scammed people with this offer, which then allegedly prompted tons of people to request chargebacks.

Again, I do want to note, there are not a lot of confirmed details there about how and if this actually happened. But that said, around the same time, users also began reporting some changes to OnlyFans that they felt came as a result of what Bella had allegedly done. Right, and that's because OnlyFans began

capping pay-per-view messages at $50 and only allowed its creators to receive tips of up to $100 max. On top of that, creators in certain countries can now only withdraw their OnlyFans revenue after 30 days instead of seven days. So many believe they did this to prevent massive refund requests from happening in the future. Now as the allegations against Bella Thorne

spread more and more online, we ended up seeing OnlyFans respond with a representative telling several news outlets that the changes to transaction limits are not based on any one user, adding transaction limits are set to help prevent overspending and to allow our users to continue to use the site safely,

and saying, we value all the feedback received since this change was implemented and we will continue to review these limits. But even with that said, still lots of people believe that this Bella situation played some role, many blaming her for hurting sex workers who make a bulk of their revenue from pay-per-view content. With an OnlyFans user by the name of Erica Heidwald

writing a pretty helpful breakdown as to how this affects creators, explaining pay-per-view messages are frequently used by sex workers to sell more explicit content. Let's say you're selling a video of you performing oral sex. If you sell that for $50, OnlyFans keeps 20%, so you get $40, but you have to pay taxes on that. Maybe you get 30 to $32.

Is it worth it for you to sell videos of you doing that for a maximum of $32? Can you make a living at it? What if you used to sell them for $150 or $200? Can you survive a pay cut like that? Could you, at your job, survive a sudden 85% pay cut and monthly payday? She, like many others, have also argued

that this alleged situation with Bella spreads this unfair stereotype about sex workers being scammers. There's also been a lot of discussion about how stars like Bella are treated for joining OnlyFans, right? Because she's being viewed as an entrepreneur when most people face way more backlash and hardships for creating an OnlyFans or getting involved in sex work.

That's something we've definitely seen lots of sex workers highlighting recently, right? And so in general, you have this group that is very frustrated and very fearful, and they're the people that also helped build the site. Also, on top of all of that, you have people becoming even more angry when they learn that Bella apparently joined OnlyFans

as sort of an experiment. With her last week telling the Los Angeles Times that she was putting her earnings towards her production company and towards charity. Also adding that she was using the site as research for a new movie she's making with Sean Baker. And he, if you don't know, is the director of critically acclaimed indie films

like The Florida Project and Tangerine. With Thorne telling the paper via text message, "'It's a feature we are researching "'as I'm living it currently. "'What are the ins and outs? "'What does a platform like this do to its users? "'What's the connective material between your life "'and your life inside the world of OnlyFans?

"'How can it change your life for the worse and the better? "'How far are you willing to go "'and how far do you want to go?' And at the time, she said that the plan was to act in the film, which would be written and directed by Baker. Now, Baker, for his part there, declined to comment, but the Times reported that a source close to the project said that it was to act in the film, which would be written and directed by Baker. Now, Baker, for his part there, declined to comment, but the Times reported that a source close to the project said that it was very early in its development,

in its infancy, and probably years away from turning into anything. But as the outrage against Bella picked up and more and more sex workers began blaming her for destroying the platform as they knew it, we ended up seeing Baker try to distance himself from Bella in a statement on Friday saying, "'I would like to make it clear

"'that the news of me making a film, "'documentary, fiction narrative about OnlyFans "'and using Bella Thorne as research is false. "'I'm not attached to this project.'" With him going on to say that he had a conversation with Bella earlier this month about a possible collaboration far in the future that would focus on her life

and the circumstances leading to her joining OnlyFans. And adding, "'On that call, I advised her team "'to consult with sex workers "'and address the way she went about this as to not hurt the sex work industry. This has been the extent of my involvement. Right, and so that seemed to fuel some more frustration

towards Bella and eventually after seeing all this outrage building, she issued a statement on Saturday saying she was trying to remove the stigma by bringing a mainstream face to the platform to help bring more faces to the site, create more revenue for content creators on the site. And adding, In trying to do this, I hurt you.

Going on to say that she's risked her career a few times to remove the stigma behind all of this. And going on to say, PS, I'm meeting with OnlyFans about the new restrictions to find out why. This is fucked up and I'm sorry. Comment any ideas or concerns you want brought up to OnlyFans. And send me your links and a pic so I can promote you guys.

But ultimately, that is where we are with this story. And of course, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? I know there are a number of different aspects to the story, the alleged $200 thing, the just her being on the platform, OnlyFans changing their policies, which I will say there, among other things,

we've seen creators like LenaThePlug tweeting that the 30 day payouts are only for new creators and at-risk countries. Though that also doesn't appear to be the case regarding the new caps on prices and tips. I reached out to Lena and confirmed that even creators as large as her, because she's huge on the platform, have been hit with these limits.

Which, even if that is a temporary measure that is or is not impacted in any way by Bella Thorne, is gonna be a massive issue for the creators on their platform. But yeah, that's where we are. And of course, regarding any aspect of this story, I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below. And then I wanna talk about the passing of Chadwick Boseman.

The news coming out on Friday that at the age of 43, he passed away from colon cancer, with the announcement on his account revealing, "'A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all "'and brought you many of the films "'you have come to love so much,' "'knowing that many of the films were made during "'and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy,'

"'and adding that he died in his home with his wife "'and family by his side. And understandably for a lot of people, this was a shocking and heartbreaking announcement because while he had lived with this, it was never public knowledge. Finding out about that, I don't know about you, but it just hit me in the chest. The strength and fortitude that man must have possessed.

A man whose career involved taking on the roles of real world iconic figures, whether it be James Brown, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, as well as making history by playing T'Challa, making Black Panther, furthering representation, opening more doors, letting little kids see that they can have a seat at the table, right? And so with all of that, becoming an iconic figure himself.

And I think that's in part, there are many reasons why this one hurts so much. To a portion of the world, he represented change, progress, hope. In a world that feels like it needs those things now more than ever, at least in my lifetime. And so today where I want to end this piece is not by talking about the celebrities

that had so many obviously good things to say about him, nor the anger we saw from fans who went after critics who were shaming Chadwick for losing weight. The conversation there, of course, revolving around you never know what people are really going through. And instead, I wanna end on Bozeman's own words. And specifically the words that his friend

and former co-star Josh Gad said was one of my final texts from the brilliant and once in a lifetime talent, Chadwick Bozeman. Writing, if you're in Los Angeles and you're like me, maybe you looked at the week's forecast and found that it's supposed to rain for three straight days. Not without breaks of sunlight, reprieves of moist gloom, but yeah, it's gonna be coming down like cats and dogs.

We're stuck inside these damn quarantines because of the COVID, and now we can't even get no sun in Cali. But now that the rain has stopped and today's storm has cleared, I urge you to go outside and take a deep breath. Notice how fresh the air is right now. After our skies have had a three-week break

from the usual relentless barrage of fumes from bumper to bumper LA commuters. And now today's rain has given the city of angels a long overdue and much needed shower. Inhale and exhale this moment and thank God for the unique beauties and wonders of this day. We should take advantage of every moment we can to enjoy the simplicity of God's creation, whether it be clear skies and sun

or clouded over with gloom. And hey, if the air is this clear right now and it does rain tomorrow, I might even put jars and bins out and catch the rain. Throw that in a water filter and I have a water more alkaline than any bottled brand out there. And while I am personally not a religious man, those words had an impact on me. That while losing a bozeman feels like a loss of hope, we must not lose hope. There will always be things in this world that are outside of your control. The only thing that you can control

is how you react to the situation. And you have to take advantage of every moment you have. And while the unfortunate truth on this planet is that one day we will cease to be you, I, whoever, we can have an impact and an impact outlives us all. I know that we live in exhausting times, but it is more important than ever, especially in those times we remain strong.

We don't ever stop trying and we try to be and promote what we wanna see more of in this world. But yeah, that's where I'm gonna leave that one. And the last thing that we're gonna talk about today is the international news coming out of Belarus. To catch us up, if you haven't seen our previous coverage, on August 9th, Belarus held presidential elections, where we saw its long time authoritarian leader,

Alexander Lukashenko, going up against political outsider, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Now somehow, despite Svetlana's widespread popularity, official results came in saying Lukashenko got 80% of the vote, which among other things, led many to consider this election to be illegitimate and triggered massive protests across the country that have gone on until today.

Shortly after the results, we saw Tikhanovskaya either fleeing or being escorted to neighboring Lithuania. While at the same time, a crackdown on protests resulted in over 7,000 people being detained by police. But since then, the protests have continued to be massive and largely peaceful with a pattern setting in. Security forces would at first crack down very hard on the protests, then let them happen peacefully,

then crack down again. And while security forces have been trying to contain protests through various methods, the regime focused on a new target this week, journalists. On Saturday, it was reported by various news agencies that the reporters either lost their accreditation to report in Belarus or were even deported from the country. The Associated Press, Germany's ARD, television,

and the BBC each had two reporters lose accreditation. Four of those journalists were also deported. The US-funded Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, said five of their journalists lost accreditation, while the Belarusian Association of Journalists said 17 Belarusians working for foreign outlets lost their credentials. Alarmingly the decision to revoke credentials was taken on the recommendation of Belarus's counterterrorism unit and in response to this news we saw exiled candidate Tikhonovskaya saying, If true, it is another sign that this regime is morally bankrupt and the only way it will attempt to cling on to power is by fear and intimidation.

This tactic will not work. is morally bankrupt and the only way it will attempt to cling onto power is by fear and intimidation. This tactic will not work. Belarusian people are not afraid anymore. We will win. The darkest hour is always before the dawn." The US embassy also condemning the move saying in a statement, "'We stand with the Belarusian people

in their aspirations for a democratic, prosperous future and support their call for the government of Belarus to carry out democratic reforms and respect human rights.'" Germany also calling on the Belarusian ambassador to answer questions about the removal of journalists. And remember, the backdrop for all of this over the last month has been nearly nonstop protests. And actually this Sunday,

we saw some of the biggest to date. With tens of thousands taking to the streets and the Capitol alone, although some reports claim that it was more like 100,000. Yesterday was also Lukashenko's birthday, which is why we had protesters sending well wishes. Happy birthday, rat! Happy birthday, ratenko's birthday, which is why we had protesters sending well wishes. Happy Birthday, Rat! Happy Birthday, Rat!

Happy Birthday, Rat! For those that don't speak the language, the translation there is happy birthday, you rat. Police have also now been largely okay with letting protesters be peaceful and not agitating the situation further. Although, like I said earlier, it's almost like there's a cycle

and sometimes there will be severe crackdowns against protesters or video of secret police trying to grab someone. With the strongest crackdowns against protesters or video of secret police trying to grab someone. With the strongest crackdowns usually being near sensitive government areas like Lukashenko's Independence Palace. On Sunday we saw armored personnel carriers heading towards the palace with protesters shouting shame

as they passed. Also same day we saw a large group of protesters marching on the palace and facing off with a huge police presence. With the Ministry of Interior saying 140 people were arrested because of Sunday's events. Also Lukashenko for his part has tried to maintain a strongman image during all of this,

vowing that no reelection or recount would take place. And at least twice he's been seen in public with a flak jacket and carrying a rifle. But despite his attempts to look strong, he's had to turn to outside help. And notably here, that's Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yesterday, even calling Lukashenko for his birthday, also inviting him to Moscow for a visit.

That's also one of the lightest and most recent examples. I mean, Putin has been active in trying to keep Lukashenko in power. Some of that support includes promising a Russian presence in Belarus if necessary. With both countries trying to justify the remarks and promises by claiming that foreign powers are trying to oust Lukashenko,

making claims that NATO has been amassing troops in neighboring Poland, which NATO denies. That language was used by Putin and Lukashenko to invoke a defense pact between the nations. You know, how this situation plays out for both Russia and Belarus is important. As we've talked about before, historically, Belarus has strong ties to Russia,

and unlike most former Soviet nations, it has kept a close relationship with it. A relationship that was in fact so close that in the late 90s, Russia and Belarus were actually working out deals to become a unified nation. Though those deals were more or less frozen after Putin first became the Russian president. But they still resulted in Russia and Belarus

having an extremely strong defense treaty and a system for citizens of either nation to freely live in the other. Like we mentioned, initially this was all used to justify a Russian presence in Belarus if there was an external military threat. But more recently, that appears to have changed. With Putin telling state television

that he ordered the creation of a certain reserve of law enforcement officers at Lukashenko's request, that would be ready to intervene in Belarus if things got out of hand and he warned the protesters. We have agreed not to use it until the situation starts spinning out of control and extremist elements acting under the cover of political slogans cross certain boundaries and engage in banditry

and start burning cars, houses and banks or take over administrative buildings. And so essentially saying if the protesters push these protests to the levels Ukraine saw when it ousted their pro-Russian leader in 2014, Russia claims they will directly intervene. But for Putin, it's also multi-layered. Many analysts across media outlets think

that this is an effort not only for Lukashenko to look like he has support, but also for Putin to look strong. This because according to reports, Putin has also been facing struggles internally. One state in Eastern Russia, for example, has been having months of constant protests against Vladimir Putin after he arrested

the popular governor of that region. There are also a ton of other grievances beyond just that arrest, but the main thing here is that Putin is seeing massive protests outside of just the urban centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Additionally, the recent poisoning of Alexei Navalny, who is a prominent opposition member in Russia,

has led to widespread discontent. But ultimately, for now, that is where we are with this story and we're gonna have to wait to see what happens next. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. And of course, as always, thanks for being a part of these daily dives into the news. If you're new here, definitely hit that subscribe button, but no matter what, my name is Philip DeFranco.

You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.