- What's up, you beautiful bastards?
Welcome back to the "The Philip DeFranco Show".
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With that said, welcome back.
Hit that like button.
If you want me to punch you in the throat,
you weirdo, and let's just jump into it.
You know, the first piece I knew
is that we're gonna plow through is that
Dave Chappelle's name is plastered everywhere today.
We're talking headlines, trending on social media,
there's all-out warfare happening there.
And it's because Chappelle is facing criticism and backlash
over his new special, "The Closer",
which was just released on Netflix, a big debate happening.
One of the areas, getting him the most heat right now,
being where he talks about JK Rowling,
being canceled over transphobic remarks that she made.
And essentially saying that he agrees with her.
- You know, sexually, she said, that gender was a fact.
And then the trans-community got mad as (beep),
they started calling her a TERF.
I didn't even know what (beep) that was.
(audience laughs)
But I know that trans people make up words to win arguments.
- But then explaining that TERF stands for
trans exclusionary radical feminist, and adding:
- I'm team TERF. I agree, I agree, man.
Gender is a fact.
- Also at another point in the special,
saying the genitalia of a trans woman
is something more akin to like, beyond meat.
And so unsurprisingly, there were a lot of people
that took issue with this, including the likes of GLAAD,
who tweeted out, "Dave Chappelle's brand has become
synonymous with ridiculing trans people
and other marginalized communities.
Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning
his latest special is a message to the industry
that audiences don't support platforming
anti-LGBTQ diatribe.
We agree."
Also, you had Dana White.
No, not that one.
A program officer for True Colors is an organization
that helps homeless LGBTQ+ youth saying,
"Nothing Dave Chappelle says changes the facts
that trans women are women, trans men are men,
non-binary people are non-binary,
that LGBTQ+ people should live free of harm
and discrimination.
He is wrong, and Netflix has empowered him
to be wrong loudly."
You know what, the focus of this wave
has been on Dave himself.
There's also been a really big emphasis on Netflix
giving him this platform and mic to say all of this.
David Johns, the Executive Director
of the National Black Justice Coalition,
saying in a statement that, "Netflix should
know better, perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence."
Also calling for Netflix to remove the special.
You also have the likes of Jaclyn Moore,
a writer and Executive Producer
of Netflix's "Dear White People".
Saying that she shared the story of her transition
for the company, and has loved working there.
But will not work with them as long as they continue
to put out and profit from blatantly
and dangerously transphobic content.
Adding, "I love so many of the people I've worked with
at Netflix, brilliant people and executives,
who have been collaborative and fought for important art.
But I've been thrown against walls because, quote,
'I'm not a real woman.' I've had beer bottles thrown at me.
So Netflix, I'm done."
Actually adding the Chappelle was one of her heroes
in the past, but saying, "He's not listening.
Those words have real-world consequences,
consequences that every trans woman I know has dealt with."
"I just can't, I can't be a part of a company
that thinks that's worth putting out and celebrating."
There was also a thread from a person who says
they work at Netflix, condemning the company.
And in the thread, writing,
"Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special
where he attacks the trans community,
and the very validity of transness,
all while trying to pit us
against other marginalized groups.
You're gonna hear a lot of talk about 'offense'.
We are not offended."
Right in this thread, hitting on the note
that trans people aren't complaining about being offended.
Rather, they're objecting to content
that harms their community.
Writing, "Promoting TERF ideology,
which is what we did by giving it a platform yesterday,
directly harms trans people.
It is not some neutral act.
This is not an argument with two sides.
It's an argument with trans people who want to be alive,
and people who don't want us to be."
"This all gets brushed off as offense though,
because if we're just 'too sensitive,'
then it is easy to ignore us."
But they're then sharing the stories
of numerous trans people who have been killed,
to point out that those people are not offended.
And saying that they lost their life
because of real-world consequences
that come from transphobia.
Closing that thread, "That these 38 people died
for the crime of being themselves?
That actually does offend me."
Right, so you have all that being said,
all of that happening, but then you also have people
defending Chappelle for his special,
specifically with people noting that if you look
at the end of his special,
Dave talks about a trans fan and a trans comedian
by the name of Daphne Dorman.
Saying that he was able to talk to her about real stuff,
that he befriended her, had her open for one of his shows.
But then, in the special, telling the audience
that she ended up dying of suicide in 2019,
with Dave saying that this came after she stuck up for him
when he was previously accused of transphobia.
Or Dave saying that trans Twitter absolutely dragged her.
And he's not sure what the trans community ever did for her,
but she was part of his tribe.
He's saying that after her death,
he worked with Daphne's family to make a fund
for her daughter.
Dave Chappelle also closing his special
by pledging not to make any more jokes
about the LGBTQ community for the time being.
At least, not until he felt like
they could be both laughing together.
Well, obviously there have been divided public reactions
to that, people saying, "See, he actually cares,"
other people saying that he was using Daphne as a shield.
As far as what Daphne's family is feeling,
they're actually sticking up for Dave
amid all these accusations,
with two of her sisters telling the Daily Beast
that they were outraged by the fact
that some thought his set was transphobic.
One sister telling the outlet, "Daphne was in awe
of Dave's graciousness.
She did not find his jokes, rude, crude off-coloring,
off-putting, anything.
She thought his jokes were funny.
Daphne understood humor and comedy,
she was not offended.
Why would her family be offended?"
Another sister adding, "Dave loved my sister
and is an LGBTQ ally.
His entire set was begging to end this very situation."
With her then also adding on social media,
"At this point, I feel like he poured
his heart out in that special and no one noticed.
What he's saying to the LGBTQ family is,
'I see you, do you see me?
I'm mourning my friend in the best way I know how.
Can you see me? Can you allow me that?'"
Ultimately, that is where we are with this story right now.
And I wanna pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts regarding this story?
I'm not even gonna be like this or that,
because I understand there are a lot of different feelings
about a lot of different things,
a number of things we didn't even get to
in this section.
Yeah, let me know what you're thinking and why,
in those comments down below.
Then, in news, it seems to prove that bullying,
I guess, sometimes works.
YouTube Rewind is canceled for forever.
Right, you remember that yearly tradition
where YouTube tries to make a round-up of trends,
creators, memes, and popular videos from the site.
And then most of the people on that site
then make fun of them, or get angry with YouTube,
saying in their announcement this morning,
"Thank you to all the creators involved in Rewind.
We'll be looking for your rewinds as we refocus our energies
on celebrating you and the trends that make YouTube fire,
with a different and updated kind of experience."
And honestly, I get it.
I feel like trying to make a YouTube Rewind video
for everyone that consumes and makes for the website
is an impossible task.
I think that's part of the reason
this corporate made has to be safe.
Let's try and celebrate everything,
even though we can't get to everything.
Thing was always received so poorly,
but when content creators did their own Rewinds,
they were received so much better.
Like a lot of us think of YouTube as this one site,
but it's so many different sites,
we're so many different people.
We kinda touched on it earlier this week,
or we talked about our influences,
are YouTubers celebrities, right?
Someone might lose their mind over someone
that has like a crochet channel.
There are tons of people on this website
that have over 10 million subscribers
that you've never heard of.
It's like YouTube, going into the end of the year,
I'm very excited to see other creators
do their version of Rewind.
But I understand why YouTube's calling it quits here.
But from all of that, I want to take a second
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Then in the news this week, of course,
we've talked about Facebook and Twitch
taking some very public L's,
but they're not the only social app
getting a ton of heat right now.
And the receiver of said, heat, is Snap.
And this, because NBC News recently put out
an in-depth look at how teens are using social media,
particularly Snap to buy drugs.
Except while they think they're getting prescription pills,
like Percocet, Oxycontin, or Xanax,
dealers are actually giving them counterfeit pills,
containing deadly doses of fentanyl.
In fact, horrifyingly, the Drug Enforcement Administration,
AKA narcs, has a two out of every five
fentanyl-containing pills, seized and tested in the US,
contain enough of the substance to kill.
So with that, you had DEA Administrator, Anne Milgram,
saying that social media companies
aren't doing enough to crack down on these trades.
- [Anne] Social media companies know
that their platforms are being used for this,
and they need to understand that Americans are dying.
They're dying at record rates,
and they need to be a partner in stopping it.
And so in the wake of all of that this morning,
we saw Snapchat announcing several new changes
that they're making to curb drug dealing on the platform.
Among those changes, the platform's now directing people
who search for drug-related keywords
to a new educational portal called "Heads Up".
Though, to be clear, "Heads Up" just appears
as one of the top search results.
To actually view it, you still have to voluntarily click it.
But you also have Snapchat saying they've hired more people
to directly respond to law enforcement requests
for data during criminal investigation.
That has ramped up actions against drug dealers,
and that it's introduced improved in-app tools,
including proactive detection.
And adding that the development of these tools
was in place months before the NBC report was published.
Also saying that in the first half of 2021,
its enforcement rates have more than doubled,
and that it's already proactively detected 260% more cases.
So the main point of this story
is drugs are no longer a thing.
Sorry, crime.
(computer chime)
Then let's talk about news, that classic,
will they or won't they story?
Let's talk about Texas abortion.
Ha, I tricked you into caring about real news,
even though there is a question of how can the man
with the world's worst tattoos still get Jennifer Lopez?
That's- he's got a personality or a dick, I don't know.
No, the real news, a Federal Judge in Texas
issued an order on Wednesday,
temporarily blocking enforcement
of the state-strict new abortion law.
All right, at this point you know, the highlights and hits,
bans abortion as early as six weeks,
before many know they're even pregnant,
with no exceptions for rape or incest.
With it notably skirting previous Supreme Court rulings
on abortion, by allowing private citizens,
rather than state government officials,
to take legal action against anyone who helps a person
terminate their pregnancy after six weeks.
And so this new ruling, this temporary ban,
means that US District Judge, Robert Pitman,
has sided with the Justice Department,
which asks for the law to be blocked
while the legal battle over the statute
makes its way through the Federal Court.
In his ruling, Pitman barring court judges and clerks
from accepting any lawsuits that the abortion law
would have allowed.
And ordering the state to publish his decision
on all, "public-facing court websites,
with a visible, easy-to-understand
instruction to the public that SB 8 lawsuits
will not be accepted by Texas courts."
But, and it's a big one, it's unclear if this policy
will actually do anything to change the situation in Texas,
because the language in the law says that violators
can be sued retroactively for abortions they help conduct
while the legislation is in a block,
if the suspension is lifted.
And they can do this for up to four years
after the abortion-at-issue is performed.
So that's why, even though it seems that the ruling
favors clinics, some are still very hesitant
to resume full activity.
But even with those fears,
many have applauded this order as a key step
in a fight that is far from over.
Many women's health groups, issuing statements
similar to one from Nancy Northup,
the President of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
And in that, saying, "The clinics our group represents
hope to resume full abortion services
as soon as they are able, even though the threat
of being sued retroactively will not be completely gone
until SB 8 is struck down for good."
But also with this, the state, for its part,
has already filed a notice of appeal
in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals,
which is known as one of the most
conservative courts in the country.
And with that, the state is essentially setting
the next stage for the legal battle,
and hoping that the court reverses the new orders.
So yeah, for now, we have to wait, what happens next,
but what's happening next is legal ping-pong.
It's all a lot of stuff that's happening,
has real-world impact that people are talking about
until it gets to the big show.
And how I wanna end today's show
is a tale of two vaccines.
The first, probably being the one
that comes to your mind, COVID-19.
And that's because in a vote of 11 to 2,
the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance
on Wednesday that requires proof
of full COVID-19 vaccination to enter indoor establishments.
This, including everything from restaurants and stores,
to gyms, salons, theaters, and more.
With it set to take effect sometime in November,
and will only apply to patrons who were eligible
to receive a vaccine.
Those who can't be vaccinated for health reasons,
or they say religious reasons, must show proof
of an exemption, but they have to use outdoor facilities.
And if none are available,
then they can enter with proof
of a recent negative COVID test.
But for people who don't have the exemption, right?
People who just refuse to get vaccinated,
they can only use outdoor facilities,
only enter an establishment while wearing a mask
for brief moments, like to go to the bathroom,
pick up an order, or pay.
Also, any business found in violation of this mandate
could face punishment that includes a warning
or notice for a first violation,
a $1,000 fine for a second violation,
$2,000 for a third, $5,000 for a fourth.
And of course, with this, critics of the new ordinance
have argued that it's unconstitutional.
And, at the very least unenforceable.
Well, you've got city officials arguing
that an earlier surge in cases caused by the Delta variant
drove them back to this decision.
What's interesting is you have some calling this ordinance
one of the most sweeping of its kind in the country,
since it extends to so many establishments.
But also some say that it's weaker than others
because it still lets certain people indoors
with just a negative COVID test.
Still, the general vaccine requirements are indoor venues,
are something we were seeing in places
like San Francisco, and New York City.
And I mean, we'll see how it goes.
Could lead to a significant increase in vaccinations,
and/or fights recorded on cell phone.
And then, as promised, the second tale of vaccines,
let's talk about malaria.
Malaria, which has plagued mankind probably longer
than any other disease.
Just got easier to fight.
And this, thanks to a new vaccine called Mosquirix,
which was just endorsed by the World Health Organization.
It's targeted towards children
who are the most affected by malaria.
It's meant to get their immune system into gear,
to fight the deadliest of the five malaria pathogens,
and the most prevalent in Africa.
You know, this is a massive deal
because every year over 400,000 people die from malaria,
with over half of those being children
under the age of 5.
This is massive news, not just because
it's the first vaccine against malaria,
but because it's the first vaccine
against any parasitic disease.
Unlike viruses or bacteria, parasites are much more complex,
which means making an effective vaccine
against them is far harder.
Now, with that, understand this vaccine
isn't perfect, or a cure-all.
In clinical trials across Kenya, Malawi, Ghana,
it had about a 50% efficacy against severe malaria
in the first year.
But that dropped to near zero by the fourth year.
But still, it is so much better than the next best measure,
which is implementing bed nets for children,
that only cut malaria deaths by 20%.
So this is a massive jump.
Now looking into this, I do want to note
that the trials did not directly measure
the vaccine's impact on death,
leading some experts to wonder whether it will be worthwhile
to actually deploy.
But, as New York Times notes, "A modeling study last year
estimated that if the vaccine were rolled down
to countries with the highest incidents of malaria,
it could prevent 5.4 million cases,
and 23,000 deaths in children younger than 5 each year."
And at the very least, this is an important step forward.
With them noting, "A recent trial of the vaccine,
in combination with preventative drugs,
given to children during high transmission seasons,
found that the dual-approach was far more effective
at preventing severe disease,
hospitalizations, and death, than either method alone."
You're stacking several imperfect,
but very helpful things to try and protect people.
And so this is gonna be a meaningful situation to watch.
I mean, the countries that took part in the clinical trials
have already changed their vaccination routines.
And it's now possible, because of this,
we might see some very important, great leaps here.
But ultimately with this story,
and actually today's full show,
this is where it ends.
And hey, whether it be this last story,
or the first one with Chappelle, or anything in-between,
let me know what you're thinking
in those comments down below.
And as always, let's close it out.
My name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in.
I love yo faces, and I'll see you next time.