- Sup you beautiful bastards,
hope you're havin' a fantastic Monday.
Welcome back to The Phillip DeFranco Show.
Buckle up, hit that like button, and actually,
a quick note before we get started,
you may be wondering why the heck I have a phone number
on my t-shirt.
Well, it's for exciting reasons, and also fear and paranoia.
Regarding fear and paranoia, a lot of things are changing.
Hell, last week, one of the last big stories
we talked about, YouTube making massive changes
that have a lot of people concerned.
You've got some notable and surprising videos being removed,
more that will be removed in the future,
strikes that will come down soon,
and I'm genuinely concerned
about what the implementation is going to look like.
Also because, you know, in the past,
it seemed like certain news topics have been penalized.
It's also never a great feeling when the people
that thought they were set
to get notifications don't get them,
they're complaining, its out of your hands.
And also, not to just hammer YouTube, right,
this is not YouTube exclusive.
Right, you look off-platform to places like Facebook,
where they've made it harder and harder
to reach the people who've followed you.
Who have signed up saying,
yes, I want more from this person.
Now Facebook's created this environment
where it feels like you like have to pay them
to be able to connect to all the people.
All right, so that's the part where I say
this is a little bit of that concern and paranoia,
worry about what the big players are going to do next.
Right, wanting the fewest things and people
in the way of us actually being able to communicate.
Right, and then there's also the exciting stuff,
because in addition to, of course,
me being able to text the entire group,
it gives me a place where it's easiest and fastest
to talk with y'all one-on-one ever.
I soft launched the number over the weekend,
on Twitter and Instagram.
It has been so fun connecting with y'all.
Now obviously, there are a lot of people,
but I've been dedicating an hour each day
to hit people back one-on-one, wish people birthdays,
doin' just weird stuff.
A lot of people, for some reason, want me to,
like, flip them off and threaten them.
It feels weird that that's a thing
that's associated with me,
but this is the world we live in, and it is my fault.
Also, very awesome, is in addition to being able to text,
you know, like, the whole group,
or just one-on-one, is the in-between.
Something that's a goal of mine in 2020 is
to do some meet ups, do some live shows.
Let's say I'm in Atlanta, Georgia.
If, when you signed up, you said you lived there,
or somewhere close by, I can specifically text you and say,
hey, this event's happening, come through, free tickets,
give away, whatever's happening.
There's also a lot of other potential that
I haven't even touched on here,
but I'm so incredibly excited.
And finally, three last things I want to note.
One, no this is not a sponsorship.
I'm not being paid to do this.
In fact, I'm paying to use this service,
to make it easier to communicate
with y'all without being stifled
by the big players out there.
Two, other than the other first two,
or three text messages that you get when you're, like,
signing up, adding my number to your contacts,
none of it is a bot or any AI, it is me sending it.
And same way the other side,
the texts come directly to me.
And finally, three, as for right now,
this number currently only works
in the United States and Canada.
Also, if you are in the United States or Canada,
and you text and it does not work for you,
that should be fixed by Friday.
And the reason for that is that we're currently waiting
for approval from T-Mobile,
so that's likely not going to happen till this Friday.
So text me, 813-213-4423,
but, with all that said, let's just jump into it.
And the first things we're gonna talk
about today are two bits
of internet business slash personality news.
The first being, if you haven't already seen it
on another news site, PewDiePie has quit YouTube.
Mirror breaking news, tweeting, breaking,
PewDiePie quits YouTube, saying he's too tired to go on.
BirminghamLive, PewDiePie reveals real reason
he has quit YouTube.
Mail Online, of course,
your destination for real news, writing,
YouTube megastar PewDiePie quits video site
after earning approximately 25 million pounds
because he's quote too tired and doesn't want to think
about vlogging anymore.
And of course, this is huge news.
The biggest individual name on the platform,
leaving, quitting, why?
What does this mean for the space?
All questions we should be asking if this was a real story.
All of this click bait stemmed from a small part
of a video where Felix says,
- I have special announcement to make.
I am taking break from YouTube.
Next year.
I wanted to say it in advance,
because I made up my mind, I'm tired.
- So he's not quitting, he's takin' a break.
It's something that I recommend creators,
especially creators with a crazy schedule do.
I mean, hell, while it's scary,
this is the last week of Philip DeFranco shows for 2019.
I'm also probably not going to come back
until January 21st or 27th.
For me, that's a scary amount of time to be away,
but I need to handle a lot of personal stuff.
I need to recharge.
I also need to do some stuff with the business.
And I think breaks are helpful which is why,
really, the real headline
to this PewDiePie article should be
top YouTube creator promotes self care,
in order to prevent burn out,
even though during the time, he'll make less money.
Now obviously, that headline likely gets less clicks,
but it's also based in reality.
Additionally, if I can give some brief,
unsolicited advice to those in the main stream media.
For example, CNN, they did not go the route that others did,
completely misrepresenting the situation.
They tweeted out their article saying
that PewDiePie will be away for a little while.
But, they also used it as an opportunity
to bring up past allegations of racism and anti-Semitism,
and just kind of stir that whole pot again.
I don't know if you realize this,
you have a crises of credibility problem.
When you do stuff like this,
you provide an update to the story and you use it,
seemingly for no reason to, once again,
try to muddy up someone's name,
people see you as being incredibly biased and predatory.
And you have millions of people,
a lot of them younger, seeing this main stream outlet,
go after someone they see as a buddy.
Seemingly without cause,
because it seems so incredibly disconnected
to those things in the past.
So just really understand, you are trading short-term clicks
for long term distrust.
And, I just realized what was wrong with my hair.
We're running behind today, I'm not fixing it.
Then in other creator news, we should talk
about Tana Mongeau, and the controversy,
and the backlash there.
She, if you didn't see going into the weekend,
won creator of the year at the Streamy Awards.
She was up there nominated with the likes
of Collins Key, David Dobrik, Emma Chamberlain,
Mr. Beast, Ninja, Safiya Nygaard, Simply Nailogical.
One, the way it was announced, was a little odd.
It was announced by friend of the show, Casey Neistat,
who started out by announcing that David Dobrik had not won.
Dobrik even seemingly responded, give it to Tana,
and she actually won.
While on stage, Tana acted very shocked.
- I don't feel like creator of the year.
I've never felt like creator of the year.
I feel like the misfit, the outcast,
all of those things.
- And on the internet, the reaction, aside from her fans,
were very excited, the reaction was,
yeah, how did you win?
You had creators like David Dobrik
and Mr. Beast who have just hit different levels
of success this year.
All right, for Mr. Beast, specifically,
people are saying, you know,
his videos just hit crazy numbers,
subscriber gain is wild.
He has amazing initiatives like planting 20 million trees.
All right, people are asking how could he lose?
And the answer is simple, it was a fan vote.
Creator of the year and show of the year are
the only two streamy categories that are audience vote.
And Tana, unlike a lot of the people that were nominated,
heavily campaigned for herself.
And if you look at the engagement on the post online,
there's far more engagement on Tana's.
So there's that, but a question I'll pass off
to you is who do you think is the YouTuber of the year?
Let me know in those comments down below.
Then briefly, we should mention the big update
to one of last weeks most viral stories.
That being the incident where Tommy Callaway,
who was identified as a youth pastor
and boy scout leader, appeared to have been caught,
on camera, smacking the butt of Alex Bozarjian.
All right, and last week the focus was
on the incident at hand, what happened,
people found him.
Alex spoke out, he spoke out.
He called what he did misjudgment in character
and decision-making.
In general, looking at the comments,
it appeared that most people thought his excuse was BS.
And the update to the story is that actually,
on Friday, Callaway was arrested and charged.
According to reports, he turned himself in
on charges of sexual battery,
which is punishable by up to 12 months in county jail.
And Callaway was released on a $1,300 bond,
his court date is pending.
But ultimately, yeah, that's the update to this.
And I'll say for me, personally, it's hard for me
to see Callaway giving any statement
and feeling like, yeah, that guy means it.
Because what he calls what he did a misjudgment in character
and decision-making, saying he really hears Alex's words,
that he's going to do better.
And so it seems like maybe he's owning it,
but then he says, you know, yes, I touched her back.
I did not know exactly where I touched her.
But then you look at the clip, and you're like,
wait, so was the goal to hit her in her lower back?
So, for me, it doesn't really add up.
It's gonna be interesting to see happens
with this charge but, to connect it, right,
speaking of touching backs,
just to mention this quickly,
Harvey Weinstein gave one of his first interviews
in over a year.
And in that, he said that he deserves a pat
on the back when it comes to women,
which isn't the thing that you'd expect
to come out of the man who has been accused by 80 women
of sexual assault or harassment.
Also reportedly saying that he feels like a forgotten man.
Although, regarding that notion, among the reactions,
and there were a plenty,
23 women who have accused him of misconduct released
a statement on Sunday night.
This including Ashley Judd and others said,
Harvey Weinstein is trying to gaslight society again.
He says in a new interview he doesn't want to be forgotten.
Well, he won't be.
He will be remembered as a sexual predator
and an unrepentant abuser who took everything
and deserves nothing.
We refuse to let this predator rewrite his legacy of abuse.
So there was that, also it's not the last
you're gonna hear of Weinstein over the next month or so.
That's because his rape trial is scheduled
to start on January 6th
So we are gonna keep an eye out on this situation,
but also see what happens there.
But from that, we're gonna shift gears,
and I want to share some stuff I love today.
And today in awesome, brought to you by Raycon.
And Raycon, if you don't know,
is company that was founded because people were just sick
of premium audio being so expensive.
So along, with a bunch of audio engineers
and music industry people, they developed Raycon's line
of awesome wireless headphones and earbuds.
And their flagship model, the E25,
is definitely my favorite.
With the 6 hours of playing time,
seamless Bluetooth pairing, more bass,
and a more compact design
that gives you a nice noise-isolating fit,
it's really just a bonus
that they're also incredibly stylish
and come in some new fun colors.
Though, I will say, yes, they're stylish,
they're comfortable, they sound amazing.
My personal favorite thing is that they're so minimal.
They're actually the only wireless headphones I have
that fit while I have my helmet on,
so they're perfect for my commute.
And it also doesn't hurt that, yes,
Raycon earbuds sound just as amazing
as other premium audio brands,
but start at about just half the price.
And so, if you want to join me in owning a pair
of your own, just click that link
in the description down below to get 15% off your order
and free two-day express shipping.
But yeah, main point, click that link.
Check it out and enjoy.
And the first bit of awesome today,
is after today's show, if you haven't seen yet,
you should definitely Mark Rober's new video,
Porch Pirate vs. Glitter Bomb Trap 2.0.
It's a fantastic video in it's own right,
and also, Macaulay Culkin is in it.
Then we got brand new trailer for Top Gun: Maverick.
There's also a new little teaser out for A Quiet Place 2.
Then we had Sofia Nyguard baking a wedding cake
with every possible cake flavor in it.
We got a Billy on the street with Mariah Carrey.
BBC Earth gave us Penguins.
Marvel Entertainment gave us Ant-Man's tiny ice cream cone.
And of course, if you wanna see the full versions
of everything I just shared, the secret link of the day,
really anything at all, links, as always,
are in the description down below.
And then, let's talk about this controversy
around the Hallmark Channel.
And the two things right off of the top,
one, I wasn't aware the Hallmark Channel was
a real channel before this story came out.
And two, this controversy isn't around Hallmark movie,
a TV show, but rather a commercial.
You know, everyone's favorite part of cable television.
And specifically what we're talking about today is
six different ads that Hallmark ran
for a wedding planning company called Zola.
And the reason we are talking about this today is
because several of those ads featured
a same-sex couple getting married.
And for some context, here's a look at one of those ads.
You see two women getting married,
they're commenting about guests and features of the website,
and it ends with the two women sinning.
I mean kissing, sorry, I want my grandma
to think that I was on her side for a second.
But on Thursday, Hallmark sent an email to representatives
at Zola saying the channel was pulling four of it's six ads,
with that email reading,
we are not allowed to accept creatives
that are deemed controversial,
and going on to say the decision not to air
overt public displays of affection
in our sponsored advertisement,
regardless of the participants,
is in line with our current policy,
which includes not featuring political advertisements,
offensive language, R-rated movie content,
and many other categories.
But on that regardless of participants note,
of the two ads that Hallmark kept,
Zola noted that one still showed
a bride and groom kissing passionately.
And so then in a statement to several news outlets
on Friday, a Hallmark spokesperson further tried
to clarify the decision, saying Crown Media Family Networks,
the network that runs the Hallmark Channel,
made the decision to pull the commercials.
The debate surrounding these commercials
on all sides was distracting from the purpose
of our network, which is to provide entertainment value.
But of course, as we all know,
because we have eyes and ears,
and have seen it happen before,
a decision to pull something that sparked a big reaction
or a debate does not just get rid of it.
It just stokes the fire the other way.
You can't un-ring a bell.
Now, as far as part of the reason
of why they removed these ads, it could be, in part,
thanks to conservative group One Million Moms.
They protested these ads from the moment they came out,
saying that they went against the channel's quote,
family friendly roots.
They also started a petition
that got over 30,000 signatures,
and so it was no surprise that they saw Hallmark's decision
to remove those ads as a victory.
And actually, in speaking with the CEO
of Crown Media Family Networks, Bill Abbott,
they said that he told them that the ad had reportedly aired
in error, right, it was a mistake, an oopsie.
However, on the other side of this,
you of course had LGBTQ advocate groups condemning the move,
calling it a step backward for representation on Hallmark,
and you know the thing here is
that this isn't just about one set of commercials.
Hallmark is reportedly looking at pitches for LGBTQ movies.
Right, so you have a lot of advocates here worried
that this could affect the chances
of LGBTQ people eventually being represented on the network.
And on that note, Saturday evening,
we even saw Netflix's Twitter account throwing some shade
at the decision.
Titles featuring lesbians joyfully existing
and also it's Christmas can we just let people love
who they love, Let it Snow, Merry Happy Whatever.
The Schitt's Creek Twitter account replying
with a similar tweet about two characters on it's show.
We also saw Ellen DeGeneres tweeting isn't it almost 2020?
@hallmarkchannel, @billabbott what are you thinking?
Please explain, we're all ears.
And following all of that,
we ended up seeing Hallmark decide to ring the bell again.
With Hallmark backtracking from it's original backtrack
by saying that it will start re-airing those same-sex ads.
And in a statement title Hallmark affirms its commitment
to diversity and inclusion,
Mike Perry, the preside of Hallmark Cards, Inc. said,
the Crown Media teams has been agonizing
over this decision as we've seen the hurt
it has unintentionally caused.
Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision.
Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect,
celebrate traditions, and be inspired
to capture meaningful moments in their lives.
Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are.
We are truly sorry for the hurt
and disappointment this has caused.
And the statement goes on to say that Hallmark is,
and has always been, committed to diversity and inclusion,
and saying that it never intended to be controversial,
and that it has a track record proving
it's an inclusive company.
And in general, everyone who was angry was now happy,
and who was happy was now angry.
Right, you had the president and CEO of GLAAD saying
the Hallmark Channel's decision to correct
its mistake sends an important message
to LGBTQ people and represents a major loss
for fringe organizations, like One Million Moms,
whose sole purpose is to hurt families like mine.
And on the other side, you had the likes
of Franklin Graham, son of televangelist Billy Graham,
tweeting we can change the channel.
That's what I'll do if I'm watching Hallmark Channel
and an ad with gay people kissing comes on.
My family and many, many others have appreciated
their wholesome content.
But the LGTBQ agenda bullies everybody, including them.
And I know I'm gonna get shit for this,
cause he's a religious figure, but shut the fuck up.
Oh no, two women or two men kissing,
how will I explain this?
With words, fuckface.
Two consenting adults like each other, they love each other.
I'm sorry you get so attacked by other people being included
or represented.
But hey, that's the story, of course,
my opinion tacked on to the end of it.
Of course, if you have thoughts on it,
comment down below.
And then, let's talk about India,
where huge protests have broken out all over the country
over a controversial citizenship bill.
We talked about the bill last week,
when India's lower house of parliament passed legislation,
but for some quick background,
the bill in question would provide a path to citizenship
to religious minorities who illegally immigrated to India
from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
And this particular piece of legislation named six religions
that would eligible for citizenship,
but did not include Muslims.
Prime Minister Modi
and the bill's other supporters have said
that this will protect persecuted religious minorities
who migrate to India from predominately Muslim countries.
But opponents of the bill have said
that this is just a very targeted plan
by Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP,
with the goal to make Muslims second-class citizens
in India, arguing that this will make it easier
for the government to jail and deport Muslim residents
in India, including those whose families have lived
in the country for years, or even generations,
but not have proof of citizenship, which, in turn,
could leave millions of Muslims in India stateless.
Other critics of the legislation, including legal scholars,
have said that it would violate India's constitution.
This, because India is a secular country,
and it's constitution says
that all religions must be treated equally,
as well as arguing that the bill would allow
for discrimination against the nearly 200 million Muslims
in India who make up about 15% of the country's population.
All right, so that's the background,
and the last time we talked about it,
we saw a number of protests being held
throughout the country.
But since then, these protests have become massive,
especially after the upper house of parliament passed
the bill on Wednesday, which of course,
was followed up by approval by India's president
on Thursday, officially making the bill law.
And so of course, as a result, these protests exploded,
with large demonstrations taking place
in several northeastern cities,
where the law could potentially have the biggest impact
on the immigration.
The Indian government responded
by shutting down the internet and deploying troops
in several areas in the region.
And since then, we've seen these protests not only continue,
but also grow and spread to major cities
and other areas all over India.
And at the same time,
we've also seen police significantly rationing up
the use of violence against the protestors.
And in fact, according to reports,
police say that on Sunday, at least six people were killed
and more than a hundred were injured
in protests in the northeastern state of Assam.
And among the reports and the protests on Sunday,
we saw hundreds injured when a protest
at a primarily Muslim university
in New Delhi turned violent.
Reportedly, students organized a large demonstration
with many witnesses saying that it started out peacefully,
but reportedly, police stormed the campus
after nearby buses and vehicles were set on fire.
Though, university authorities said
that the students did not burn the vehicles.
We saw a video circulating on social media showing
officers beating students with wooden sticks
and firing tear gas at them.
Police can also be seen chasing students into the library
and bathroom where they reportedly continued
to beat the students,
also reportedly firing tear gas into the library
and other enclosed areas like classrooms
and attacking a mosque
where some students were allegedly praying.
One widely circulated video showed a man who tried
to escape police by running
into a women's hostel being dragged out
and beat by the police force.
In the video, a group of female students can be seen trying
to fight off the police, who then just continued
to hit the man and poke at the women with wooden poles,
even after the man had been beaten to the ground.
And officials at nearby hospitals said
that more than a hundred people were brought in
after the violence, and according to the reports,
nearly 100 students were also detained.
Now following this, university officials condemned police,
saying that they had entered the campus by force
and without permission,
with the university's vice chancellor also telling reporters
that they would be filing a court case against the police.
But then the other side of this,
New Delhi police have defended their actions,
saying that they were responding
to violence started by the students.
Though, it should also be noted
that this was not an isolated incident.
According to reports on Sunday,
police used similar tactics
at another primarily Muslim university,
where dozens of officers are said to have forcefully entered
the campus and attacked students with batons and teargas.
But that said, despite the violence yesterday,
protests have continued in India today,
with large demonstrations being held
in a number of major cities.
And in fact, many are reportedly demonstrating
in solidarity with the university students
who were attacked by police yesterday.
And while some of the protests have been peaceful,
according to reports, students at one university threw rocks
at police who responded by throwing rocks at the students.
This, after the police allegedly locked the gates
of the university to prevent students
from taking to the streets.
And as these protests continued,
we saw Modi take to Twitter, writing violent protests
on the Citizenship Amendment Act are unfortunate
and deeply distressing.
Debate, discussion, and dissent are essential parts
of democracy, but never has damage to public property
and disturbance of normal life been a part of our ethos.
Also saying that the law illustrates
India's centuries-old culture of acceptance,
harmony, compassion, and brotherhood,
and describing the protestors as vested interest groups who,
he said, were trying to divide us and create disturbance.
Now while Modi was saying that,
we also got a different response and tone
from Amnesty International India,
who urged the Indian government
to respect the right to dissent by the students
and also investigate the allegations of police brutality,
writing students have the right to protest.
Violence against peacefully protesting students cannot,
under any circumstance, be justified.
And adding, allegations that the police brutally beat up
and sexually harassed students
at the university must be investigated.
But ultimately, that's where we are with this story now.
It is gonna be interesting to see
how these protests continue, what happens.
But of course, like with everything we talk about,
I'd love to know your thoughts on this
in those comments down below.
And that is where I'm going to end today's show.
And hey, if you liked this video, hit that like button,
if you're new here, hit that subscribe button.
Also, if you haven't already,
make sure you hit me up with a text, 813-213-4423.
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.