(clap) (stadium horns blasting)
- (laughing) Who you always jabbing?
No. (solemn music)
The whole video's ruined.
We just throw it in the garbage now.
I'm sorry?
Oh, they won't pay us if we don't do the video.
'Sup you beautiful bastards?
Hope you're havin' a fantastic Tuesday.
Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show.
A quick thing actually, before we get started.
I know not everyone one this channel has seen
the newest video on YouTube.com/DeFrancoDoes
but thank you for all the love and support on that video,
it really, it really does mean the world to me.
Just to see you more on that channel in the coming week.
So thank you to everyone that just subscribed.
But, that said, welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show.
Buckle up, hit that Like button,
and let's just jump into it.
And the first thing that we're gonna talk about today
is Olivia Jade is back in the news
and not to be too much of a cynic, I feel like
I'm just being kind of a realist, here.
It appears that the redemption tour has begun.
Right, and if you're unfamiliar,
she was slash is a popular influencer.
She's the daughter of actress Lori Loughlin
and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.
And why you might remember is she and her family
basically became the face of the massive
college admissions scandal that first became public
back in March of 2019.
This, because her parents reportedly paid
$500,000 to get her and her sister, Bella,
into USC as fake rowing recruits.
And since it was a legal situation
since the story first broke, we've been giving more
and more information fully understanding the extent
of what happened over a long period of time.
Things like we learned that they made fake
athletic portfolios for the girls,
even having them pose on rowing machines for photos.
Though, for the most part, we have never heard
from Olivia, herself, because once again,
it's a legal situation, that makes sense.
But as of today, that has changed.
With her mother now serving two months in federal prison,
her father serving five months, Olivia Jade
decided to go to Red Table Talk.
It's a Facebook show hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith,
her mother, Adrienne and her daughter, Willow.
One of the big standouts from this video that was released
that is blowing up right now, is Adrienne
talking about why they should not have her on the show.
- I just found it really ironic
that she chose three black women
to reach out to for her redemption story.
I feel like here we are, a white woman comin' to black women
for support when we don't get the same from them.
It's just, it's bothersome to me on so many levels.
Her being here is the epitome of white privilege to me.
- I understand where you're coming from
but let me just be clear.
I never want to be the thing
that was done to me by white women.
I never want to be that. - Okay.
- I also believe that these are the kind of attitudes
that feed the same thing that we're fighting.
It's like people look at us, they say,
"You're black and you're female,"
and they automatically put us in a category.
So looking at her as being white, young,
and privileged and then putting her in a category,
it's the same thing.
So I just see it as this cycle.
- It's not our responsibility
to raise her consciousnesses.
- There's gonna be lots of people that agree
with you, girl. - 100%
- [Jada] And we gonna get the heat.
- And, I mean, Jada was right.
We've seen a lot of people debating this online,
many agreeing with Adrienne.
Though as this spread to different audiences,
some people kinda disappointed she was focusing
mostly on the race stuff, though I would say
this is a 30-minute piece of content.
Most people are reacting to clips
and Adrienne actually even addresses this
later in the episode.
- I want to take the focus off too, a little because I,
I put a lot of emphasis on the, just for me personally,
from the racial point of view.
But also, just the fact that the measures that were taken
to get you into a college or university
doesn't have anything to do with race.
It's people that have worked hard to earn the right
to be in that college and your parents' decision
to pay somebody to alter your,
whatever it was that they did.
You understand what I'm sayin'?
So that doesn't have anything to do with race.
That just has to do
with financial privilege and entitlement.
- But, as far as the content of the conversation
with Olivia Jade, as far as what transpired,
we did see Olivia Jade admit fault,
calling it a mistake.
- I think that what hasn't been super public
is that there is not justifying or excusing what happened
'cause what happened was wrong.
And I think every single person in my family
can be like that was messed up, that was a big mistake.
But I think what's so important to me is like
to learn from the mistake, not to now be shamed
and punished and never given a second chance.
- But here, as far as reaction, we also did see some people
take issue with her, referring to this kind of as a mistake
as almost an accident, I think
is how some people received it.
One of the sticking points for a lot of people
as far as Olivia Jade's involvement
involves those fake rowing pictures.
As far as the public understanding, it seems that
she was at least somewhat privy.
And in this interview, she also says that she was
kind of led astray?
- I think that I put a lot of trust into a person
that claimed their profession was college counseling
and it led me in a wrong direction.
And it's not to shift blame, but it's just to explain
like, I wasn't aware of what was going on.
But I did work hard and when this did come out,
I was a little confused when I saw stuff
about what I had written on my application.
And I remember writing on my application
about my YouTube channel and VidCon
and they were two very different things, you know?
So there was a lot of it that I was like whoa.
And I'm sitting, you know, reading things online,
and I'm like if only people knew how much,
how, how bad I feel that this happened.
- Also something from the conversation of the crime itself,
one of the things in this scandal where Olivia Jade
really took a hit where people were referring to her
as kind of this entitled brat.
This, because there's that infamous YouTube video
where she's talking about going to college,
but really not sure if she's actually going
to go to classes, she's really only looking forward
to game days and partying.
Right, she didn't care about school and that, of course,
infuriated so many people.
And people watch that clip and they're like
wow, you and your family stole this spot
from someone who was probably going to be far more deserving
that actually needs to go to the classes.
But today, we saw Olivia addressing that video.
- Like, the fact that you even could say those things
just shows how fortunate you were,
that you didn't have to worry about that,
that you knew you were going to be okay without it.
And that sits with me and makes me cringe
and it's embarrassing that I ever said
those types of things.
And not only said them, but edited it,
uploaded it, and then saw the response
to realize it was wrong.
- And that is essentially where we are with the story.
These are just some highlights.
If you wanna watch the whole thing,
I'll link to it down, below.
But, and for Olivia Jade and her parents
who are serving prison time, the legal situation is done
and now they just have to deal
with the court of public opinion.
And, you know, a lot of people are going
to watch this interview
and have drastically different takeaways
because a big part of this is do you believe her.
And I, I personally don't know how to feel about it.
I am a big believer that we should not punish the children
for the sins of the parents.
I'm a big believer in giving people second chances.
While not okay, I understand the argument
that you see everyone around you do doing something
and you also just kind of trust your parents.
But, there's also, when it comes to Olivia Jade,
there's this intangible thing.
It is a thing that I cannot describe
and it might be bias that's the problem.
But, I have doubts and so like any other time
that I've felt like this, ultimately what happens from here
is a judgment on actions.
And hopefully, Olivia Jade is sincere
in trying to do good from this situation
after it brought to light a number of issues
in the world to her.
But, only time can tell if that is a talking point
or an actual motivation moving forward in life.
But, like I said, where we are now
is in the court of public opinion.
And so to ye the jury,
what are your thoughts on this matter?
But, from that very quickly, let's pay the bills
and thank the fantastic sponsor of today's video, Raycon.
You know, Raycon was founded by audio engineers
and some of the music industry's elite
to develop an awesome line of wireless earbuds
at nearly half the price of their long-stemmed competitors.
I personally use mine all the time
for listening to podcasts, working out,
and of course, the countless Zoom calls
everyone has to do these days.
And not only do they look amazing,
but more importantly, they are comfortable,
sound great, and have a minimal design
with six hours of playing time,
seamless Bluetooth pairing, more bass,
and a more compact design for a comfortable
noise isolating fit.
Not to mention though, they are stylish
and come in a variety of colors, as well.
And Raycons are a great holiday gift
because it's something they could use every day.
For work, or play, at home, or on the go,
they're perfect for everyone.
And best of all, they even have a 45-day
free return policy.
And Raycon's also being generous for the holidays.
On top of their everyday great prices,
they are also offering you beautiful bastards 15% off.
So you right now can save big on your gift shopping.
You just have to click that link
in the description down, below
or go to BuyRaycon.com/deFranco
to get 15% off your order, today.
And then, let's talk about this
absolutely wild story out of Florida.
And I know when I say that some of you are like
oh, what did Florida man do today?
But this story actually centers around a woman
by the name of Rebekah Jones.
She's a former employee of the Florida Department of Health
who has been widely praised for building and running
the state's COVID-19 dashboard
before she was fired from her position back in May.
And at that time, Jones told local reporters
that she was fired because she had been ordered
to sensor data, but she refused to,
saying she'd been ordered to manually change data
to drum up support for the plan to reopen.
And in fact, according to emails obtained
by the Tampa Bay Times, Jones objected to the removal
of records showing people had symptoms
or positive tests before the cases were announced
and adding that department staff gave the order
shortly after reporters requested the same data
from the agency on May 5th.
Now, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded
by denying the accusations
calling Jones's firing a non-issue
and claiming she was fired because she was insubordinate
with them also doing a lot of work
to undermine her character, downplaying her role
in developing the COVID dashboard, casting doubt
on her credentials and painting her
as a disruptive employee and a criminal
pointing to unrelated charges of cyberstalking
and cyber sexual harassment,
though notably, the second charge has been dropped
despite DeSantis falsely claiming that it wasn't
with him also saying that these other factors
were part of the reason she was fired.
But Jones who of course disputed DeSantis's account
continued to fight back.
In June, for example, she launched her own dashboard
of Florida coronavirus that she bills
as a more transparent and independent alternative
to the state's tracker.
In July, she filed a whistleblower complaint
against the health department asking for her job
to be reinstated with pay.
She's also reportedly been very vocal on social media
posting criticisms of DeSantis and his state agencies.
And actually, the reason that we are talking
about her today, is because yesterday,
we saw her post this video on Twitter.
- Come outside, outside.
- Who else is in the house, ma'am?
- [Jones] My two children and my husband.
- Where is your husband, ma'am?
- Call 'em down, call 'em down.
- [Jones] You want the children, now?
- Call 'em all down.
- Mr. Jones, come down the stairs, now!
- Police!
Come down now!
- Search warrant, please come down the stairs!
- [Jones] Do not point that gun at my children!
He just pointed a gun at my children!
- [DeFranco] With Jones, writing a series of tweets
"There will be no update, today.
At 8:30 this morning,
state police came into my house
and took all my hardware intact.
They were serving a warrant on my computer
after DOH filed a complaint.
They pointed a gun in my face,
they pointed guns at my kids.
They took my phone and the computer I use every day
to post the case numbers in Florida
and school cases for the entire country.
They took evidence of corruption at the state level.
They claimed it was about a security breach.
This was DeSantis, he sent the Gestapo.
This is what happens to scientists who do their job.
Honestly, this is what happens to people
who speak truth to power.
I tell my husband and my two children are upstairs
and then one of them draws his gun on my children.
This is DeSantis's Florida."
And adding, "If DeSantis thought pointing a gun in my face
was a good way to get me to shut up,
he's about to learn just how wrong he was.
I'll have a new computer tomorrow
and then I'm going to get back to work."
And shortly after that a spokesperson
for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FDLE,
confirmed in a statement that they seized Jones's
computer equipment while executing a search warrant
with the spokesperson also claiming that
when the agents arrived, they first knocked on Jones's door
and called her in an attempt to minimize disruption
to the family and adding,
"Ms. Jones refused to come to the door for 20 minutes
and hung up on agents.
After several attempts and verbal notifications
that law enforcement officers were there
to serve a legal search warrant,
Ms. Jones eventually came to the door
and allowed agents to enter."
With the FDLE commissioner also saying
in a separate statement that the agents
"entered the home in accordance with normal protocols
and seized several devices that will be
forensically analyzed,"
also, disputing Jones's claim that the guns
were pointed at her and her children, saying,
"At no time were weapons point at anyone in the home."
But Jones has still stuck by her story that the officers
did point the weapons at her and her children
with her also telling reporters that is is not true
that she refused to open the door and saying
the delay was due to the fact that she was taking her time
getting dressed because she believed that she believed
that she was going to be arrested.
And as far as why they were serving this warrant,
according to an affidavit by an investigator
with the department, it was in connection
to an investigation the agency launched
after the health department reported that
an unauthorized person had illegally accessed
a state government emergency management system
to send a group text message to government officials
encouraging them to take action saying,
"It's time to speak up
before another 17,000 people are dead.
You know this is wrong.
You don't have to be part of this.
Be a hero.
Speak out before it's too late,"
with that investigator also claiming in that affidavit
that he had traced the message to an IP address
associated with Jones's house.
But notably, as IT experts explained
to the Tallahassee Democrat,
an IP address identifies a location
that an internet connection was made,
but doesn't prove that Jones sent the text message.
And while speaking to reporters later in the day,
Jones denied the allegations
telling the Tampa Bay Times that she was not a hacker
and didn't know how to even do
what she was being accused of, adding,
DeSantis publicly said I'm not a data scientist.
I'm not a computer scientist, and I wouldn't even know
what to do if I saw a database,
and now he's accusing me of hacking one?
It's a really 180, there.
I'm not a hacker, I don't hack.
I don't know shit about computers.
I know how to do statistics.
But they're also saying in an interview with CNN that
the language in the unauthorized text message
was not the way she talked and that it had obvious errors
that she would not make.
Adding the number of deaths that the person used
wasn't even right.
They were actually under by about 430 deaths.
I would never round down 430 deaths.
She also said she hasn't had access
to any health department systems in six months
and that all the information she had
was accessed legally from reports or sent to her
from other people still working for the government.
And also claiming that some of the drives
taken by police contained the legal proof
that state officials were lying in January
about things like internal reports and notices
from the CDC as well as what she described
as evidence of illegal activities by the state
with her going onto, again claim that this raid
was orchestrated by DeSantis, saying
this is what happens when you challenge powerful
and corrupt people.
If he thinks this is going to scare me
into silence, he's wrong.
With Jones's lawyer also doubling down on that sentiment
in a statement last night,
though he did not directly mention DeSantis saying,
"The actions of Florida law enforcement captured
on my client's video depicts unnecessarily reckless
and aggressive behavior in the execution
of a search warrant for computers.
Our client was fully cooperative, yet had guns
pointed at her and her family.
We are concerned that these action may be retaliation
in response to her whistleblower claim
against the Department of Health
and her criticism of the governor's COVID-19 response."
Now, that said, DeSantis for his part, has denied
any involvement in this raid with a spokesperson
for his office telling reporters yesterday,
"the governor's office had no involvement,
no knowledge, no nothing of this investigation,"
also adding that the FDLE launched the investigation
before anyone knew about Jones's alleged involvement.
But ultimately, that is where we are with the situation
and obviously, we're gonna keep our eyes on it
to see what actually comes from this.
Because as of right now, we have this video,
we have a number of claims, but it unfortunately
is a situation of who do you believe.
And when it comes to Florida, the state government
has made it very hard to just trust
with many eyes on and fingers pointed at DeSantis
for his handling of the pandemic,
the reopening that he instituted in the spring,
the same one that Jones said he used false data to support.
A reopening, that is, you might remember
led to massive spikes in Florida
making it one of the biggest hotspots over the summer.
And as the Miami Herald reported early in the pandemic,
"the state has consistently resisted
revealing important data points and public records
to the news media and taxpayers
relenting only in the face of lawsuits.
Information that was initially withheld
includes the number of deaths and infections
at nursing homes, medical examiner accounts
of COVID-19 fatalities, the extent of Florida's
testing backlog, infections and deaths
at state prisons, and precisely how early
cases began appearing in the state."
But with all of that I then want to pass the question
off to you, what are your thoughts on this video
that we just saw, what's happening in Florida,
any and everything, I'd love to hear from you
in those comments down, below.
And that is where today's show ends.
As always, thank you for being a part
of my daily dives in the news.
Thank you for being a part of this.
I hope you're doing well.
Also, hey, if you're lookin' for more to watch,
maybe you missed yesterday's Philip DeFranco Show,
there's a lot to cover there.
Or maybe you missed the brand new
personal video I shared.
You can click or tap right there
to watch either of those, right now,
or they're in the description down, below.
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.