The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.30 Fake Crime EXPOSED, Lilly Singh Backlash, Carson King Reporter Fired, Tom Holland & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you have a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today, we have some kind of shorter pieces of news, some entertainment news also that we didn't get to talk about on Friday.

Starting point is 00:00:11 It was announced after the very public falling out between Sony and Marvel over Spider-Man, that one, Spider-Man will actually be staying inside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Two, Marvel will be producing the next Spider-Man movie set to be released in 2021. And three, with Spider-Man still being in the MCU, he will be in an upcoming Marvel movie

Starting point is 00:00:29 that's not just a regular Spider-Man movie. And I say, awesome. I don't have doubts that Sony could make a good Spider-Man movie, especially after Spider- Into the Spider-Verse. But it really felt like if this did not come back together, it would have been just at the detriment of so many other fantastic movies, especially for the fans,

Starting point is 00:00:43 I spit all over the place just a second ago, who just been heavily involved in the MCU over the past decade. But yeah, there was that. Then in a quick update, let's talk California legislation. If you're a new viewer, you might not have seen in the past, we've covered this bill in California that would allow college athletes

Starting point is 00:00:56 to actually make money from endorsements, right? And that's key here. Some people have misrepresented this as like, oh, the schools, they're gonna have to pay for these students. No, this is going to allow college athletes to earn money from people using their name, their image, oh the schools, they're gonna have to pay for these students. No, this is going to allow college athletes to earn money from people using their name, their image, their likeness. Which is something many athletes, former, professional,

Starting point is 00:01:11 just at the college level have been wanting, although notably not Tim Tebow. It's about your team, it's about your university, it's about where my family wanted to go, it's about where my grandfather had a dream of seeing Florida win an SEC championship, and you're taking that away so that young kids can earn a dollar.

Starting point is 00:01:26 And that's just not where I feel like college football needs to go. But hey, everyone can have different opinions. I disagree with him there, whatever. But where we essentially left off with this story is that we were waiting for the governor of California to sign the bill or not. And the update is that he did sign it.

Starting point is 00:01:38 And notably, he ended up signing it in an online only episode of The Shop. He's there with LeBron James and others and he says, "'It's going to initiate dozens of other states "'to introduce similar legislation. "'It's going to change college sports for the better "'by having now the interest finally of the athletes on par "'with the interest of the institution.

Starting point is 00:01:53 "'Now we are rebalancing that power.'" And I will say, it's gonna be very interesting to see what happens from here. The NCAA issued a statement this morning with him saying, "'The NCAA agrees changes are needed "'to continue to support student athletes, "'but improvement needs to happen on a national level

Starting point is 00:02:06 through the NCAA's rule making process. Unfortunately, this new law already is creating confusion for current and future student athletes, coaches, administrators, and campuses, and not just in California. We will consider next steps in California while our members move forward with ongoing efforts to make adjustments to NCAA name, image, and likeness rules that are both realistic in modern society

Starting point is 00:02:23 and tied to higher education. As more states consider their own specific legislation related to this topic, it is clear that a patchwork of different laws from different states will make unattainable the goal of providing a fair and level playing field for 1,100 campuses and nearly half a million student athletes nationwide. Now I will say, for transparency's sake,

Starting point is 00:02:39 I kind of personally scoff at their response. To me, it kind of feels like this air of victimhood coming from this organization that has been making so much money by exploiting and milking every ounce of talent from young men and women, keeping them in this little box and just really not doing enough to support and protect them. Understand, those are my personal feelings on the matter.

Starting point is 00:02:58 And personally, I'm very happy to see this in California and I really do hope that we see other states get involved or the NCAA, now that they're put in this uncomfortable position change for the better then in News there's recently a 12 year old African American girl in the news and this because she said the three of her white male Classmates held her down and they cut her dreadlocks calling it ugly nappy holding their hand over her mouth and we're talking about this today because

Starting point is 00:03:22 It turns out the girl was lying right this young girl were saying she made the whole story up. Her family has now issued an apology today saying to those young boys and their parents we sincerely apologize for the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused. To the administrators and families of the school we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school. As well as saying to the broader community who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust. We understand there will be consequences and we're prepared to take responsibility for them. But still, according to the report,

Starting point is 00:03:52 according to the family's lawyer, the girl maintains she has been a victim of bullying. Also adding the family is seeking counseling for the girl. And so maybe they're kind of saying that the admission is that she was being bullied, she wanted to get those people in trouble, so then she faked this. And this is just an incredibly damaging and horrible story.

Starting point is 00:04:08 Because what we're talking about is a fake hate crime. So really all this does is it creates a greater sense of distrust when someone legitimately is the victim of a hate crime. And for some, there might be kind of an inkling of redemption, right? You admitted that something was fake. But really looking at this story,

Starting point is 00:04:22 I wonder if that would have happened if it had not been that during the investigation, reportedly there was security camera footage that showed some of the people that were allegedly part of this attack, they were somewhere else. But yeah, ultimately, that's where we are with this story. Of course, I always love to know your thoughts.

Starting point is 00:04:34 But yeah, this is just a disgusting situation where everyone loses. Because once again, you're gonna have people that use this instance as a way to discount allegations of racially motivated crimes, as well as probably some people getting so defensive to point out that this is kind of like an outlier, right? Fake allegations of them are the minority.

Starting point is 00:04:48 That potentially the severity and seriousness of this situation to falsely accuse three people of hate crimes, children of hate crimes, that gets overlooked. I don't know, it's exhausting and disgusting. So there was that. Then we had YouTuber turned late night host, Lilly Singh in the news.

Starting point is 00:05:03 You know the last time we talked about Lilly, she had just premiered her late night show and it kind of, if there was any general criticism, you had some people saying that Lilly Singh's jokes and segments, it was kind of one note. It was kind of like, let's just make fun of white men. But the backlash and controversy we're seeing today is actually the polar opposite.

Starting point is 00:05:18 With Lilly Singh apologizing over the weekend for what people have described as a joke aimed at a minority group. And the joke in question comes from the Thursday night episode of her show. She's interviewing Jessica Alba, who's talking about her children, and then this clip happens.

Starting point is 00:05:29 They wear the towels, you know, the turby twist, so they look like super not cool in the turby twist, but it dries their hair really quickly. So, you know, it's a very practical thing. I think they definitely had the turby twist on when they- They look like my Punjabi friends, it's fine. But they were like- And so following that clip, following that episode, there was a lot of backlash online. Practical thing. I think they definitely had the turby twist. Okay on when they So following that clip following that episode there was a lot of backlash online right with some responses like I've never found Lilly sings humor Funny, however, I've given her benefit of the doubt because she's a brown woman in Hollywood So representation or whatever but this towel turban debacle is not okay

Starting point is 00:05:59 That comparison has historically been used in a racist way against seeks not cool not cool. Another asking, did Lily really compare our Dastars to a towel on national TV? Another writing, as a Sikh who has faced racism, names such as towel head and rag head, this was shocking and hurtful. Doesn't really help our situation at all. Another writing, I'm so damn disappointed in Lily for her comments around the turban on her show. When you see someone from your community rise to prominence, you'd expect them to represent your people, not fuel their ridicule. Right, so that's kind of just a small example, but like I said, Lily ended up apologizing, writing on Twitter that in that moment, her thought process was,

Starting point is 00:06:28 "'Don't be embarrassed, I think that's dope.'" But adding, "'In hindsight, I recognize that it was a disrespectful "'and problematic joke to make "'that has a lot of painful history behind it, "'and I'm very sorry. "'I don't wear a turban, "'and I haven't lived that experience,

Starting point is 00:06:39 "'and so I really value people giving perspective. "'I'm grateful that this was a teachable moment "'instead of another opportunity to divide and attack." Then adding, aside from these words, I've also taken the action to ensure my stupid joke is removed from the episode and online clips. Although, of course, as of recording,

Starting point is 00:06:52 it is still on Hulu, and it's unclear if NBC intends to take that down. I mean, that and the internet is forever, so it is still going to be out there. And so that is essentially the story, something that Vulture even kind of joked was a late night rite of passage. You know, like I've said from even when the show was first announced

Starting point is 00:07:07 I am I'm really fascinated to see how all of this goes because you know like I said when this show first came out a Large amount of the criticism was like right kind of like anti white stuff, you know now with this joke the joke apology I mean how teen vogue they had included an op-ed that took a shot at her notably though It's not from a white perspective that reading Lilly. Lilly Singh's late night show is no victory for all women of color. From Lilly Singh to Awkwafina, entertainers of color continue to build platforms for themselves at the expense of blackness.

Starting point is 00:07:31 So it'll be interesting to see if we see more shots coming from different places that we might not expect. Yeah, with this story, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts on it. And then, really, I mean, a story that I could not have predicted from the beginning, we have to talk about the Carson King situation for a now third time, right?

Starting point is 00:07:46 And if you're unfamiliar with the situation, it kind of gives you a quickie oversimplified rundown to get you to this update. Carson King is a guy who had a taping of ESPN's College Game Day on September 14th, held up a sign reading, Bush Light Supply Needs Replenished. It included his Venmo name,

Starting point is 00:07:58 and he found himself receiving hundreds of dollars from strangers. Kind of jokey and fun, but then King wants to turn it into something bigger. And he decides the money that people send him, he's going to give to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. Right, and the story blows up, he ends up raising more money, he's raising over a million dollars,

Starting point is 00:08:12 the story blows up even more. We then see the Des Moines Register interview King for a profile piece after he raised a million dollars. And with that profile, the reporter for that piece ended up digging up two racist tweets that King made back in 2012, back when King was a 16-year-old sophomore in high school. That reporter, Aaron Calvin, asked King about those tweets. King made back in 2012. Back when King was a 16 year old sophomore in high school. That reporter, Aaron Calvin, asked King about those tweets.

Starting point is 00:08:28 King expressed remorse, said that those tweets made him sick. He then deleted those tweets. Also knowing that the story would be soon breaking, King reached out to another news outlet to issue an apology. Which is actually notable here because local TV stations actually aired King's apology before the Des Moines Register even published their piece. Right, and regarding the fallout from the whole situation,

Starting point is 00:08:44 you saw a large amount of backlash directed at the newspaper, largely because those tweets were almost a decade old and people wondering why are you going after Carson King when he's raising money for others. You also had Bush Beer dropping a partnership with King and then kind of one of the big things, since the reporter here, Aaron Calvin,

Starting point is 00:08:57 decided to go through King's old tweets, the internet decided to go through his. And there they found that he'd used the N-word, also making homophobic comments. Notably there, those tweets were from 2010 to 2013, so around kind of the same timeframe as King's. Right, so seemingly people were trying to show that he was a hypocrite, but then soon after,

Starting point is 00:09:12 the Des Moines Registered said that they had launched an investigation into Calvin's tweets. And then for the next few days, that's kind of all we knew, until Thursday night when the Register's executive editor, Carol Hunter, published a column titled, "'We Hear You. You Are Angry. "'Here's What We Are Doing About It.'" And in that column, Hunter says that Calvin

Starting point is 00:09:27 no longer works for the Register, though she never explains whether he quit or was fired. Hunter also saying that while employees are regularly vetted, Register never uncovered Calvin's tweets during his hiring. But then she goes on to say, "'We took appropriate action "'because there is nothing more important in journalism "'than having readers trust.'"

Starting point is 00:09:41 With Hunter also saying that the newspaper is revising its practices and policies, quote, "'including those that did not uncover our own reporters past inappropriate social media postings. Those updated policies also include how the register will handle social media posts from the people it interviews. And this, according to Hunter,

Starting point is 00:09:54 includes policies for backgrounding individuals in stories with particular attention to acts committed by juveniles and to the newsworthiness of that information years later. The shift in social media culture and how activities on those platforms reflect upon a person's newsworthiness in general. years later. The shift in social media culture and how activities on those platforms reflect upon a person's newsworthiness in general. And in that column, Hunter also elaborates

Starting point is 00:10:09 on why the register ran that background check, citing quote, numerous cases where media uncovered a scam after someone said that they would donate money from a fundraiser. And then later the next evening, you had Buzzfeed News publishing an article as well where Calvin told his side of the story. Now as to why he asked King about the tweets he said,

Starting point is 00:10:23 "'I was reminded by an editor to background Carson and I found a few tweets that he published in high school that were racist jokes. I knew if I found them, other people would find them as well,' adding, "'He was deeply regretful and I recognize that these were not representative artifacts of Carson.'"

Starting point is 00:10:35 And then Calvin says that he decided to only include a brief mention of these tweets and his apology at the bottom of his profile after the glowing synopsis of his charity. After the post, Calvin said that he faced harassment and even death threats, also saying that the HR department at the register actually told him to not go back to hisis of his charity. After the post, Calvin said that he faced harassment and even death threats. Also saying that the HR department at the register actually told him to not go back to his apartment

Starting point is 00:10:48 for his safety. Also regarding Calvin's old tweets, he said that he would not have published them today. Also saying that they had been taken out of context. Also reportedly soon after the hate began, we saw Calvin tweet an apology, which he said came after the register directed him to do so. With Calvin saying that he was afraid

Starting point is 00:11:01 and just trying to comply with what I was being told so I could possibly hold onto my job. But according to Calvin, on Thursday, he received a call from Gannett, which is a company that owns the register. And in that call, Calvin says that he was offered two options, either resign or be fired without severance. A choice Calvin called semantic,

Starting point is 00:11:15 with him then choosing to be fired, saying that he had felt abandoned by the register and noting, I still in a lot of ways support the register, I just wish they had believed in me. Then to kind of try and tie this whole story back together with King, despite this controversy, we actually saw the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds,

Starting point is 00:11:30 supporting King after his tweet surfaced, saying, you can make a mistake in your life and still go on to do amazing things. Carson King, thank you for reminding us all of that. And she then proclaimed Saturday as Carson King Day with a proclamation reading, "'The Carson King story embodies a young man's ability "'to help a cause greater than himself

Starting point is 00:11:44 "'and can serve as a model for others to follow. Carson King has shown that one person can make a difference and one person can make positive change even through the unlikeliest of ways. And to end this on, you know, a really a happy note, as far as the fundraiser goes, King will be closing out his Venmo account tonight. And according to King, as of yesterday evening, he has raised over $2.2 million, with him also expected to bring in even more money at a benefit concert tonight. And you know, as far as my reaction to this, same as I said last time, I think that Carson King

Starting point is 00:12:09 has handled himself incredibly well in this situation. I still believe that he is a bamf that should be celebrated. The thing is, I understand doing background work on someone, but given the specifics of this situation, it really felt like one of those things of like, no good deed goes unpunished. Right, it feels like we're kind of creating this environment of, hey, if you ever did anything offensive

Starting point is 00:12:26 or stupid, especially when you're most idiotic, don't even try to do a good thing because that's not a spotlight on you, that's a tactical light. That said, and understand this is not a defense of Aaron Calvin, if things are even remotely like Calvin said, the Des Moines Register is throwing this man under the bus.

Starting point is 00:12:42 Like he is sacrificial lamb status and if you work for the Des Moines Register, I don't know how you trust that company. But hey, that's a story, a little bit of my personal takeaway. And of course, as always, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts around this? And that's where I'm going to end today's show.

Starting point is 00:12:54 And hey, if you liked this video, be sure to hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, be sure to hit that subscribe button. Definitely tap that bell to turn on all notifications. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, maybe you missed the last Philip DeFranco show you wanna catch up, or you wanna watch that last podcast we on all notifications. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, maybe you missed the last Philip DeFranco show, you wanna catch up,

Starting point is 00:13:05 or you wanna watch that last podcast we did with Dr. Mike, 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 tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.30 Fake Crime EXPOSED, Lilly Singh Backlash, Carson King Reporter Fired, Tom Holland & More

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