The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.9 Oscars "Woke Quotas", Travis Scott & McDonalds Genius, Georgia's "Double Voting" Controversy

Episode Date: September 9, 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 Jacksepticeye!: https://youtu.be/Lvb95pAliVI Follow me off of Youtube: https://linktr.ee/PhilipDeFranco Voting Resources:  https://www.axios.com/how-to-vote-by-state-2020-307c3d17-ee57-4a1b-8bad-182ca1cdb752.html https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/how-to-vote-2020/ -- 00:00 - Travis Scott 02:52 - Oscars 07:55 - TIA 09:12 - Georgia -- 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 ✩ ✭ Dune Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/jJj2yHM3d3Y ✭ Josh Gad’s Guest Host Monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live: https://youtu.be/ZZIAIMB0Xt4 ✭ BTS Breaks Down Their Style Heroes: https://youtu.be/gEiV79v4OCM ✭ What Jessica Alba & Gabrielle Union Do on Set In a Day: https://youtu.be/Pxso3eakXLQ ✭ Blake Anderson on Stir Crazy: https://youtu.be/iBM7srZbmVk ✭ Is McDonald's NEW Travis Scott Meal A Hit: https://youtu.be/R4LyvUYb2mo ✭ Secret Link: https://youtu.be/UuaYDZd8-cI  ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩  Travis Scott Partners with McDonald’s:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/09/09/mcdonalds-travis-scott-collaboration-meal-merchandise-clothes/5759071002/ Academy Sets Diversity and Inclusion Requirements for Best Picture:  https://roguerocket.com/2020/09/09/oscar-diversity-criteria/ Georgia Investigating Cases of Double Voting: https://roguerocket.com/2020/09/09/georgia-1000-double-voted-primaries/ ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩ Thousands Displaced After Fire Spreads Through Europe’s Largest Migrant Camp https://roguerocket.com/2020/09/09/greece-fire/ Australian Think Tank Accuses TikTok of Wide-Scale Censorship: https://roguerocket.com/2020/09/09/think-tank-accuses-tik-tok-censoring/ Salt Lake City Police Under Fire For Force Use: https://roguerocket.com/2020/09/09/13-year-old-boy-slcpd/ ——————————     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 #TravisScott #Oscars Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup you beautiful bastards. Hope you have a fantastic Wednesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and actually a quick note before we get started. After today's show, if you need something not so negative, maybe more insightful, some good good in your life. Right before I put up this video,

I released my brand new podcast with Jacksepticeye over at youtube.com slash ACW. We talk about burnout growth. We get personal, we talk business. It is a great time. I highly recommend you check it out. But that said, this is the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it.

And the first thing I wanna talk about today is a story that I can't tell if I love it or I hate it, but it is a marketing and culture story. And this situation revolves around singer, songwriter, record producer, Travis Scott. You know, recently, I feel like Travis Scott has really stood out to people who are not already fans of his.

And doing that by partnering with companies that you wouldn't think that he would partner with. Earlier this year, he teamed up with Epic Games for this Fortnite concert event. It was different, exciting, crushed as far as the numbers were concerned. He even teamed up with Reese's Puffs last year to release special edition cereal boxes,

which actually sold out in just 30 seconds. Also selling limited edition spoons and bowls on his website at the time. And so I guess it shouldn't be the most surprising thing that he teamed up with another company that you might not think that he normally would. And also with this new relationship, turning it into something that is bigger and different.

Because what we saw with Travis Scott yesterday is that he partnered with McDonald's and it wasn't just like, "'Hey, McDonald's is great, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, I'm selling out." It was done in such a way that it actually felt like an event, right? So yeah, there were ads.

And in it, he reveals a Travis Scott meal which you can actually purchase for $6 at McDonald's. But then with this partnership, he announced something the other way around, a 60 item merch drop. And it genuinely looks like if Supreme or any of these hype beast type of companies did a merch drop.

Right, random limited edition items, a vintage blanket, a metal lunchbox, a burger tie, an I'm loving it lunch tray, a custom basketball, and among other things, the just, ooh, cherry on top, a $90 nugget body pillow, right? And that's in addition to the barrage of shirts, hoodies, also $250 denim shorts. And ultimately, I just find myself in awe

of how smart this is. Whoever came up with this is a genius. Because yes, in addition to people probably going to McDonald's more to get this specific meal and in addition to yes, Travis Scott probably making a great amount of money from the drop itself, even if that drop as far as sales was a failure, which in no way do I think will actually be the case,

especially because e-commerce sales are up right now, you have to think about how much free promotion both Travis Scott and McDonald's got from this. I mean, you have to pay to get your logo in an ad. Or you have to pay to get your brand on TV, in front of eyes. Every year we talk about how much companies drop to get their ad to play during the Super Bowl.

But with a story like this, an event, something different, so much free promotion. But yeah, that is where I'm gonna end this story and move on to the next one, so that I don't have enough time to overthink and then buy a $90 chicken nugget body pillow because the stupid part of my brain really wants one for some reason and then the rest of my brain hates me for it.

And then let's talk about the Oscars, which is usually that one time of year event where a lot of people get together and go, what, insert name of person and or movie was not nominated or they were nominated but they lost, that proves insert narrative. And actually the news today is around one of the narratives with the Oscars that they have not been able to get rid of.

Over the past few years, we've seen Oscars so white trending whenever the Oscars roll around. This over what has been described as a long, long history of diversity issues. And to deal with this issue, we've seen the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doing things like inviting large new groups to the voting body, making sure many of those invited include women

and people of color. And now the big news that we're seeing this week is that they just unveiled new diversity and inclusion standards for a film to be eligible for best picture. The reaction to this news is mixed. You've had some people saying, yes, this is a great change.

Some saying, no, this is woke gone wrong. And others saying, no, this actually doesn't do enough. Part of the reason for that is what is actually required for a movie to be eligible. And the reason for that is what is actually required for a movie to be eligible. And the reason for that is both a mixture of the top level understanding of the situation, as well as the specifics. As the Academy laid out four standards

that films must meet, but the films actually only need to meet two of the four standards. And for things like the first standard, for example, which is onscreen representation, themes and narratives, to get the check for that, films only have to meet one of the following criteria. One of the lead or significant supporting actors

must be from an underrepresented racial group, or at least 30% of all actors in secondary and minor roles must come from at least two underrepresented groups, which could include women, racial groups, the LGBTQ plus community, or people with a cognitive or physical disability, or the main story, theme, or narrative must be centered on one of those underrepresented groups.

Right, same as the second standard, which is creative leadership and project team. Film only has to have one of the following. At least two creative leadership positions, which range from cinematographer, composer, director, producer, and more, must come from an underrepresented group. One of those positions must belong

to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, or at least six other crew or technical positions, including gaffers, script supervisors, but excluding PAs be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, or 30% of the film's crew must be from an underrepresented group. But then you also have, like, for excluding PAs, be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, or 30% of the film's crew must be from an underrepresented group. But then you also have like for the third standard,

which is industry access and opportunities. To get that check mark, a film must meet both of the following criteria. The film's distribution or financing company must have paid apprenticeships or internships for underrepresented groups, with specifications for those groups varying based on the size of the company.

And the film's production, distribution, or financing company must offer opportunities for below the line skill development for people from underrepresented groups. With the last of the four standards being audience development. And to me that a studio or a film company must have multiple in-house senior executives

on their marketing, publicity, or distribution teams from an underrepresented group. There's all of that, and once again, this only applies to best picture and a film needs to meet just two of those standards. Everything else is essentially free reign and this is set to go into effect in 2024. Though starting in 2022,

films must submit inclusion standards. Right, so as far as responses, the people that are happy are saying, you know, any progress is progress. With some saying things like, this is a good thing. It's a very low bar and filmmakers have lots of ways to meet it, but it should encourage them to look beyond the usual old familiar faces.

Also as far as the negative responses, right? The criticism of these new standards, we've seen things like, because that's what great art is all about, checklists. And another award meant to discern artistic exceptionalism that will now simply recognize the latest definition of social progressiveness. The moral and social obligations of art can't be enforced by bureaucrats. As well as people saying, I'm not that interested in seeing white male directors add in representation in their films, not in good faith. Literally, we just want the Academy to recognize the good films already made by women and people of color. And then finally, like I said, there are people that think that this doesn't really go far enough.

It's interesting to say this because the following point has been used to both represent a good and a bad thing. You have people saying things like, if these standards were already in place, there goes the Irishman, there goes Marriage Story. And there you have people like Kyle Buchanan tweeting. Thing is, near as I can tell, both those movies, in reference to the Irishman and Marriage Story, would still qualify. Each had at least two female department heads, standard B. The Netflix marketing team is pretty diverse, standard D.

And noting Tree of Life would still get in, at least two of its department heads were female. And it was put out by two companies, Plan B and Searchlight, with high-powered female execs. And also noting, the more that I look at this, the more I see that standards C and D are so easy to meet. Studios simply need a robust internship program and a marketing department that's relatively diverse.

So essentially, part of the argument there is that a lot of the big studios already meet these requirements that are supposed to promote change. And so potentially, these standards might not actually change anything, and if anything, fuck over indie studio. This is also something that Mark Harris,

a writer and columnist who often writes about filming, talked about on Twitter, explaining that for these big studios, meeting these standards should actually be easy, saying, internships paid for by the studio plus gay people and women in the marketing department and the job is done. It's indie movie makers who will have to meet much more rigorous standards of casting and or production staffing if they want to guarantee eligibility. In closing, it is possible to meet these new Academy Diversity Standards without hiring a single non-white person on a movie. And it is a slam dunk to meet the standards without hiring anyone who is LGBTQ plus or disabled.

So is this stasis disguised as progress? Right, so there's this interesting situation right now that the Oscars are getting hit from both sides. Right, one side is saying you shouldn't be implementing what some have called woke quotas, and others saying not enough is being done here. This is change in name only. And actually with that said,

I do now wanna pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this? Do you see this as a positive change? Maybe something that's more neutral? Do you think it's negative, ridiculousness? I'd love to know where you stand on this story and why. Let me know in those comments down below. And then let's talk about Georgia and elections.

Right, so last week we talked about Donald Trump telling people to double check their vote in person. So send it in early and then go and vote. And if it's not tabulated, you vote and the vote is gonna count. You can't let them take your vote away. These people are playing dirty politics, dirty politics. So if you have an absentee ballot,

or as I call it, a solicited ballot, you send it in. But I would check it in any event. I would go and follow it and go vote. Right, and to be clear, if you did double vote, that is something that is illegal in all states and a felony in some, including North Carolina, where he made those remarks. And actually what we ended up seeing is that a week

after Trump made those comments, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger threatened criminal action against hundreds of people who he said did that exact same thing in his state. During a press conference yesterday, Raffensperger announced that investigations are underway in 100 of Georgia's 159 counties after it was discovered that around 1,000 people

had voted twice during the state's primaries this summer. And there he described a situation almost identical to the one that Trump had encouraged, right? People voting absentee and then voting again in person to ensure that their vote was definitely counted. With Raffensperger going on to note that double voting is considered a serious felony in Georgia and is actually punishable by one to 10 years in prison

and a fine of up to $100,000. And adding that officials will prosecute on a case by case basis. Now, very notably here, Raffensperger did not say how many of the double votes were from people who intended to vote twice or from people who requested an absentee ballot, then went to cancel it and vote in person on election day.

Something that people are allowed to do in Georgia, as long as their absentee ballot hasn't already been received. And while Raffensperger said that is part of the investigation, he also noted that the state's law, it doesn't actually require them to prove intentionality. Adding, at the end of the day, the voter was responsible

and the voters know what they were doing. A double voter knows exactly what they were doing, diluting the votes of each and every voter that follows the law. But when pressed by reporters for evidence of people intentionally trying to defraud the system, Raffensperger pointed to just one example of a voter who he said was bragging

about voting twice in Long County. And there, according to reports, the Long County resident in question was a man by the name of Hamilton Evans, who told a local Fox News affiliate that he voted twice and alerted authorities because he wanted to, quote, "'prove a point' about the flaws in the system."

Which again, is exactly what Trump encouraged people in North Carolina to do, right? Test the system. But still, Raffensperger repeatedly accused voters of trying to game the system, claiming that there were 150,000 voters who applied for an absentee ballot, but showed up on election day

to cancel their absentee ballot and vote in person. And while most ballots were successfully canceled by election workers, Raffensperger said that about 1,000 of those 150,000 people actually double voted. This he claimed with them knowing full well that they had filled out an absentee ballot, had mailed it back in, and then showed up on the day of the election.

While Raffensperger did say that those votes did not impact the results of the election, numerous experts have also cast doubt on the claim that 1,000 people actively committed voter fraud. Ned Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University, told reporters that the 1,000 number seems extraordinarily high relative to other recent statewide elections.

That point was also echoed by Michael McDonald, who's a professor at the University of Florida who studies election data, with him telling reporters that historically speaking, fraud allegations that are this big and involve the amount of people that Raffensperger claims, they rarely end up being accurate, and adding, "'I can't think of a single time

"'where someone went out there with these allegations "'and law enforcement came back and said, "'Yup, every one of those people fraudulently voted. And adding, once they are referred to law enforcement, those initial eye popping numbers turn out to be something you have to squint at. We also saw McDonald's sending out a series of tweets warning people to be cautious of Raffensperger's allegations

writing, this could just be election official data errors as has repeatedly been the case in prior sensational allegations of boat fraud. And adding, it is abundantly clear from even a cursory analysis of the primary data posted by the Georgia Secretary of State's office that it is riddled with errors. Many counties didn't enter late rejected ballots.

Voters recorded as casting an accepted mail ballot with no vote history, et cetera. With him going on to show a screenshot of data showing the reasons that poll workers wrote down for voters who were given an absentee ballot, but canceled it to vote in person. Noting that small data sample was riddled with typos, which calls into question the reliability of data

and adding, these 1000 alleged double voters are at the mercy of election officials to have entered data correctly. All it takes is for a poll worker to fail to cancel properly a mail ballot of a voter who stated they wanted to vote in person for a voter to be erroneously flagged as voting twice. And in his press conference yesterday,

Raffensperger even acknowledged that, seemingly contradicting the numerous remarks that he made in the same briefing about how all suspected double voters were responsible, and saying of the 1,000 double votes, that was really on election officials or poll workers' side, with him also going on to insist that the double voting was not the result of a problem

with the state's voting system, but rather human error, saying the system worked fine, it's not the system. It gets to be very hectic as you're juggling the many balls of many voters. But there, others have said that the fact that the primary was so hectic that double voting slipped through the cracks, either because of intentional double voting or because of data errors, is a direct result of problems with the voting system. Georgia's primary has been characterized as one of the most chaotic and problematic of this election season. Right up

there with Iowa, which is really saying something. And we talked about this on the show right after it happened back in June, right? That primary was plagued with problems. There was a massive shortage of poll workers and issues with some poll workers not being properly trained in many places. There were massive malfunctions with a new $100 million voting system that state officials had insisted be implemented

before the primaries, despite numerous warnings. And those factors contributed to long lines and hours long waits. And even beyond the issues with in-person voting, there were also tons of issues with absentee voting. Where you had record numbers of people voting absentee with nearly half of all primary voters casting ballots by mail.

That is an absolutely huge increase from the 5% of voters who normally vote absentee in the state. Also resulting in county election officials being overwhelmed at times. But even then, the situation was made much worse by the fact that many people who requested absentee ballots said the election officials never actually sent them.

So that is why they showed up in person to vote on election day. And like we talked about back in June, many people blamed Raffensperger for this disastrous primary and said that he could have done more to prevent this. With some even accusing him and other officials of actively engaging in voter suppression.

This because many of the problems were in largely black neighborhoods. So because of all of that, you had a lot of people condemning Raffensperger's remarks yesterday. Saying in fact, it was a direct result of his actions and he was trying to deflect. This including a group of voting rights groups

called the Voter Empowerment Task Force. They slammed Raffensperger calling his remarks a deliberate distraction to draw attention away from all the problems that have happened under his watch. Adding Georgia's failed top elections official has decided to push a right-wing narrative spreading across the country rather than focusing on protecting the constitutional rights of every Georgian.

But all of that said, that is ultimately where we are with this story right now. It will be interesting to see what happens from here, especially because according to Raffensperger, roughly 900,000 people have requested absentee ballots for the general election. While he has encouraged people to vote absentee, if these same problems persist from the primary

and nothing is done, I mean, there's no reason to think that Georgia won't have another shit show on their hands. Because I mean, even a little bit in Georgia could have a huge impact. For example, during the primary, Raffensperger's office told reporters that 97% of absentee ballots were delivered to the right place before election day.

And while 3% might sound like a slim margin, if that holds true for the general, that's easily 27,000 ballots that don't get sent to the right place on time. And in a state like Georgia, which is hard fought, that is enough to swing an election. But hey, that is where we are in this story right now. And of course, I wanna now pass the question off to you.

What are your thoughts with all of this? And that is where I'm going to end today's show. As always, thank you for being a part of these daily dives into the news. Also, if you're new here, definitely hit that subscribe button. And of course, never forget, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in.

I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.