Sup, you beautiful bastards. Hope you're having a fantastic Thursday,
welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show and let's just jump into and the first thing we're gonna talk about today one of
the more requested stories in the past day is seemingly becoming a classic story of someone rising in popularity and then
saying the N word. So lets talk about Ninja.
Tyler "Ninja" Blevins of course the now massively popular gamer, Twitch streamer, YouTube personality,
he is in the news because of this clip:
...Yeah, I’m supplyin’ the wood like Elijah. In the cut, smokin’ on indica..My n**** my....artmentalize ya.
They say, they say life is a bitch. And if that is the case then I’m finna surprise ya.
Whoo!
The best part of that clip is the guy on screen if you don't know who that is it's not Ninja
It is Nadeshot. Just his face when he hears it. Now, the context of the situation if you don't know is that
he was singing Logic's "44 More" but if you go through that song the n-word is actually never used
so it looks like maybe he was ad-libbing or he was trying to use a crutch word and stemming from the situation
of course we saw people that were angry, outraged, some just shocked or surprised.
very quickly the articles started popping up some of them even comparing what he did
to what PewDiePie did. PewDiePie, ok, Felix he he had his own controversy
But I would say that these are different situations
Felix while he said that it slipped out he it was in the context of him calling someone the word
Whereas with ninja it was him singing although still it wasn't actually a word in the song. And following this incident and the reaction
Blevins went to Twitter this morning to kind of clear the air
And as far as my opinion and reaction to this I would say, one,
As far as apologies go I think that really hits home and kind of explains the situation. Two, I do hope that we can acknowledge
That situations are different and context matters and that ninja was not aiming this at anyone
And it does seem to be somewhat of a slip-up, but also three
I am hyper aware that I'm not part of a group of people that has had a word
Held over them in such a way where I would be offended and because of that I want to pass the question off to you
What what are your thoughts around the situation? Harmless mistake while this specific song that he was trying to sing did not have the word
A lot of music does and so that can end up just kind of popping in or no, this is a problem
You're not happy. You're maybe you're glad ninja apologized or no. It's not enough
Whatever you're thinking, and why I'd love to know in the comments down below. Then we had a quick Russia update
We of course a right in the middle of the reaction and fallout from the Russian double agent who was poisoned on UK soil
internationally we've seen around 150 Russian diplomats expelled specifically in the United States sixty Russians
were given the boot and kind of as expected the news is coming down
That Russia is giving sixty US diplomats the boot. And additionally, they'll be closing the US consulate in
St. Petersburg and so of course this was kind of the expected reaction. It is a small update, but to a very very big
Situation that continues to escalate and then let's talk about rapper DMX in the news because he has been sentenced to one year in prison
For tax fraud and reportedly this happened because according to the IRS X did not give it to him. "It" specifically being
1.7. Million dollars in taxes, also if you didn't appreciate that last line. I don't care it was for me. ok, actually,
I'll explain it for those that don't understand DMX had a song in the past called
X Gon Give it To You with the line "X gon give it to you"
And so I switch it around for this to be about taxes
Also, if you're wondering why I've been explaining jokes yesterday and now today
I just watch Ricky Gervais's new comedy special and I realize that you can make an entire
Special and get paid 40 million dollars by Netflix by literally just explaining jokes you already said.
Trying to get a slice of that joke explanation money pie also since the story's already off the rails
I say one the comedy special was actually kind of funny, and I'm not completely shitting on Ricky Gervais
And two if you just want a shit ton of really really good comedy James Acaster
Just put out a four "episode" special. I don't even know what to call it
It's like for comedy specials stacked on top of each other as if they're episodes
And he's fantastic and amazing
And then I feel ashamed that I didn't know his name before this that said back to DMX
as far as why he couldn't "give it to ''em" according to prosecutors
He had been giving it to other people. Prosecutors are saying the DMX of weighted taxes by living a cash-only lifestyle
And he would deposit royalty checks that he received into other people's bank accounts
Also, reportedly DMX has 15 children by multiple women so that's that's that's yeah. It's a lot of monetary upkeep ultimately
That's where this story ends
I I literally picked it because I just I just wanted to say X didn't give it to him. Next.
And from that, I want to share some stuff
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Yes please.
Then we had Shawn Mendes on Hot Ones. Which actually two updates when I found out my episode of Hot Ones will be going
up next Thursday and also because I thought it'd be fun. I brought back a
conversation with the podcast an interview show that I like to do from time to time. Last time I posted one was a while ago
with Casey Neistat. Sean Evans will be on and that episodes gonna be going up on this channel on Sunday.
- Its annoying on like 10 different levels.
- Oh wow. I love that. There's there is something there
- I'd like to see it go 107 episodes Kevin if you're watching
- None of you guys fucking know me
- Yeah, nobody's in my pocket trust me nobody's fucking paying me
- Never mind. We're cutting this...
- I don't want to create a false expectation. No you gotta follow me like the wave. It's so strong-
So on Sunday if you are in the mood for a bonus video
I got you covered. Also the members of the DeFranco Elite, yes
I'll be releasing it early there, and if you want to see the full versions of everything I just shared,
the secret link of the day, anything at all. Links as always are in the description down below.
And then let's talk about this story involving Donald Trump and the Secretary of Veteran Affairs.
David J Shulkin was the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, but yesterday Donald Trump announced that he is being replaced
and he did this via Twitter tweeting
And we'll get to Ronnie in a second. So some things to know about Shulkin if you not familiar,
He was the last Obama era appointee in the White House administration
he was massively popular his position was approved by a
100 to 0 Senate vote and there are places just depicting him as that
But it is very important to point out that he has had his own scandals.
There have been reports for a while that there's been a lot of infighting at the VA
It was being reported to his own press correspondence core was openly hostile to him so much so that he actually began
Organizing and dealing with his own press correspondence on his own cell phone.
but there is Trump connected to that because the people involved in the infighting at the VA were political appointees put there by Trump and
also Shulkin was being investigated by the DA's Inspector General and that Inspector General releasing a
Scathing report last month on Shulkin's use of government funds to pay for a vacation to Europe if you didn't hear about this
Shulkin had a trip to Denmark and London, both places
He had legitimate VA related meetings set up
But according to the report a staffer changed the contents of the email from Denmark making it seem that his wife was invited to an
Important dinner so because of that he was able to secure
$4,000 in airfare for her as well as lodging and normal expenses the inspectors report also saying that during the trip over half of the
Time wasn't even spent doing VA things instead
They were sightseeing doing tourist
activities and to top it all off allegedly they accepted inappropriate gifts such as Wimbledon match tickets. Shulkin denied the
Allegations saying they were politically motivated saying as far as the tickets they were from a close personal friend who had extra tickets there was
No conflict of interest as far as the situation with his wife
He said he had no knowledge
Emails were ever altered to give the impression that he and his wife were invited to a dinner and in fact such a dinner did
Take place the investigator also agreed there was no evidence
He knew and he ended up paying for his wife's airfare and the portion of the trip anyway
And then on top of that there are also claims from the inspector general that the VA was being run poorly some of the examples
Provided there reportedly there were things like renting three in-home use hospital beds for
$875,000 but to just buy the bed would have cost only
$21,000. Understand there are a good number of people defending Shulkin people saying that he is being targeted for political reasons
But I do think that it is important to point out that this just didn't come out of nowhere
That said hours after his dismissal
Shokan had an op-ed in The New York Times in it he praises the work the VA has done
He talks about changes that happen to the VA since he's been there
Things like veteran trust of the VA jumping from 46% four years go to 70% now reducing unemployment
of Vets to just 3.5% and then he took aim and fired at the administration saying:
And as far as the man replacing Shulkan,
We have Ronnie Jackson. And as you've likely seen in headlines Ronnie Jackson is Donald Trump's doctor. Although that is a simplistic way to describe it,
Ronnie Jackson is the White House physician, and he's actually been there since 2006. He's a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy although
he's just been nominated for a promotion and as far as in the White House. He was brought on by George Bush
He was kept on and then promoted by Obama Donald Trump
Of course has kept him one of the last times we talked about Jackson was back in January
Talked to the press about Donald Trump's mental and physical health and Trump passed cognitive tests saying things like Donald Trump had incredible genes
Listing Donald Trump's weight is 239 pounds
Which just so happened to be one pound shy of obese while there was a lot of doubt and ridicule about that even members of
the Obama administration defended Jackson. Dan Pfeiffer tweeting:
Alyssa Mastromonaco tweeting:
That said even people saying that this is not a partisan pick do have concerns this seems to be
Mainly stemming from he does have experience
But it's mainly with military medical roles and not inside of the VA system VoteVets
Responding to this pic by saying "he has never managed an agency like the VA" and that "now is not the time for people who
need training wheels". And where I want to end this story is I want to pass this question off to you
Specifically if you are an active member of the military or you are a veteran
I know the show has a sizable audience with the Armed Forces
So I'd love to know your thoughts on this specific story the removal, the pick. How does it make you feel?
Why are you having those feelings?
I'd love to know. If you feel like, has there been progress over the past few years or no
It's a shit show, it needs to get better, things need to be run differently. Let me know in those comments.
And then let's talk about the situation around Howard University. Late Tuesday
An anonymously written article was posted on Medium alleging that howard university
officials stole nearly 1 million dollars in financial aid funds. Claiming this happened between
2013 and 2017. Saying that it involved at least four other senior financial aid administrators
Alleging that Howard University president Wayne Frederick has known about the misappropriation since at least May 2017
also at least seven senior level financial aid officials have either resigned or been removed and saying this is all happening while the office
Of financial aid is in debt for nine million dollars the article then goes on to make some very specific
allegations with screenshots of financial aid programs
and naming names, counting amounts. And according to this article the embezzlement
was first allegedly discovered by a student employee who they call "Chase". Saying he noticeed that the
office was dispersing refund checks nearing one hundred thousand dollars in a single aid year and the reason that stood out is federal law and
Financial aid policies limit the amount students can receive to the cost of attendance
and the yearly cost of the school the time was $43,501.
also one of the main people named in this piece is a guy by the name of
Tyrone Hankerson Jr. According to the piece between 2014 and 2017 he was repeatedly awarded a
$65,000 university need-based grant. These grants reportedly intended for low-income students
who are in desperate need of assistance in a danger of having their education disrupted
by their inability to pay and that grant usually only ranges between $2000 to
$5,500 a semester. And on top of this the piece alleges that Hankerson also received several other scholarships.
$22,863 for something called a mock trial scholarship. According to sources who have been involved with the mock trial including past leadership
They say that the team never awarded a scholarship of that amount ever. They wouldn't even have the budget to accommodate that amount.
All in all, the piece says that Tyrone Hankerson received $429,612
over four years. Now, following the article all these allegations on Tuesday the Howard University
Students Association released a brief response saying "We are aware of the allegations against the university leadership
And we are extremely
Disappointed in what has been presented thus far. We stand alongside our students and are looking for answers from admin regarding this issue."
The next morning tweeting:
It's been twelve hours and Counting we still haven't heard anything from university officials regarding the fraud allegations we need answers now
Also on Wednesday that original article was deleted, but we then got a response from Howard University
Specifically, Howard University president Wayne Frederick releasing a statement and some key highlights from that statement
One, it appears that he's been aware of a situation
since December 2016 saying "I was alerted in December 2016 that there may have been some
misappropriation of university provided financial aid funds." adding
"I immediately informed the board of trustees and together we moved swiftly to begin an internal investigation."
Also engaging an outside auditor who he says completed their
Investigation in May of 2017. And based off of what the president says in the statement it also appears that more money was misappropriated
...kind of. So we've talked about grants,
We've talked about scholarships,
But we didn't talk about remission. The president's statement saying "The investigation found that from 2007 to 2016
University grants were given to some university employees who also received tuition remission the audit revealed that the combination of university grants in tuition remission
Exceeded the total cost of attendance as a result some individuals received
inappropriate refunds." Tuition remission, if you do not know, is when you can enroll in a college for either lower or
No cost tuition.
So you get university employees getting their college paid for via remission
And then seemingly getting grants on top of that that they didn't need, to go to that school. The president says after they found out
About all of this they fire six employees. Adding, "We will refer this matter for criminal prosecution as appropriate." As far as the funds that
Were misappropriated the president said it was not federal funds
It was institutional funds also adding that since this incident the university has new policies new procedures in response to this post the Howard University
Student Association didn't seem too happy. Saying,
"We are frustrated to see the university statement being sent to the press and not address to students first
This clearly is a betrayal of our trust and should have been addressed to the Howard community months ago
I think we will be meeting with the admin later today to discuss the financial issues currently facing the university and it is our goal
To amplify your voices," That's the main whole situation
But then we have to talk about specifically Tyrone Hankerson. Tyrone was
everywhere yesterday some people angry and pissed off that he allegedly took money
That could have gone to people that really really needed it others
seemingly impressed with how he
Allegedly took so much money over an extended period of time. Posting photos like this one with the caption, "This man stole
$429,000 in financial aid at Howard y'all. Tyrone Hankerson a student-employee in the Financial Aid office. Set to graduate! & got caught
This the iconic photo we found on his facebook. Mink coat designer bag the FINESSE GOD TYRONE. I am DEAD"
Another saying "Y'all can't even spell embezzlement"
also this
Stylish candid which I'm actually a little bit impressed
It appears that he had the state of mind mid skip to still turn that wrist so you can see the watch
I don't want to hit on here. Is these have been widely shared photos although
Just we personally have not been able to verify that it is 100% him in those pictures
It appears that he's deleted his facebook
so I just kind of wanted to mention that note. Also I think it's important that we always try to share both sides of the story.
Hankerson's lawyer has released a statement to ABC some of the highlights,
So that's where we are right now
It'll be very interesting to see what specifics we get around the situation with Tyrone Hankerson
It's also going to be interesting to see how this affects
Howard University in general. Regarding tuition troubles are already in a weird place in 2017 there is an estimated 22 million dollars in uncollected
Tuition and as a result of that the university announced that to register for classes all students would have to have a zero balance
Or pay one-third of their outstanding bill and be enrolled in a payment plan
This is of course a move that would hit low-income students the hardest and that's of course why you're seeing so much outrage around this
Situation. It ends up looking like they're just punishing kids that don't have a lot of money meanwhile their own
House is a wreck, I also, and I didn't mention this earlier, Howard University the president's saying that this was not a specific
Response to the medium post which I personally
Want to call bullshit on because the timing just seems like too much of a coincidence
unless the person who brought the medium post knew the schedule for the
University knew that they were going to come out about this, but decide to post it first
I don't know, but I do want to pass a question off to you
What are your thoughts around this? Are you waiting for more information?
Are you furious? If so at who? I'd love no your thoughts here in those comments down below
It's actually where I'm going to ends at Asia
Remember if you like this video like I'm trying to do on this channel hit that like button if you're new here hit that subscribe
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Behind-the-scenes vlog click or tap right there to watch that lot so that's it of course as always my name's Philip Defranco
You've just been Phill'd in. I love you faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.