- Today, we gotta talk about the absolutely wild fallout
from these Taylor Swift conspiracies,
the coming chaos at our Southern border,
what's getting exposed with George Santos getting arrested,
what's actually about to go down
with this whole Tucker Carlson situation,
and so much more on today's
brand new "Philip DeFranco Show".
So welcome back, buckle up, hit that like button,
and let's just jump into it.
Starting with, I want you to meet 33-year-old Kouri Richins
because she and her three young sons
were absolutely devastated when her husband of nine years,
Eric, suddenly died last year.
But this Utah mom, rather than just like collapsing
in on herself, which would've been understandable,
she showed that you can take
a horrible, inexplicable tragedy
and actually do something productive with it.
With Kouri and her children writing a children's book
about dealing with grief called, "Are You With Me?"
You know, it's important to talk about how to process grief.
It is a trauma, right?
It could be a lifelong wound.
And so she talked about grief on TV,
also going on to promote her book,
which was also published about two months ago.
- I just wanted some story to read to my kids at night,
and I just could not find anything.
I couldn't find anything that really suited them
or help them find comfort and peace.
And so, you know, I was like, let's just write one.
- But as it turns out,
while she was in front of those cameras,
police were investigating her as the prime suspect
in her husband's murder.
And the reason we're talking about this today
is they have now formally charged her,
claiming that she served her husband a Moscow mule
spiked with five times a lethal dose of fentanyl,
and documents showing that she asked a drug dealer
for quote "Some of the Michael Jackson stuff,"
and they sold her 15 to 30 fentanyl pills,
with Eric, then three days later becoming ill
and reportedly telling friends he thought his wife
was trying to poison him.
And sure enough, she asked a dealer
for more pills two weeks later,
which was six days before Eric's death.
And so of course, with this, you have reports,
with some family friends saying they're absolutely shocked
by the news or they look like an incredibly sweet,
picture-perfect couple.
But one, you never know actually what's happening
in a person's life or relationship.
And two, unfortunately, this is your daily reminder
that everyone is capable of everything.
In life, we just see a mixture of what people
are putting out there and what we wanna see.
But you can truly never get all the way in there.
And then, Twitter is gonna get even messier.
And this time, it's not even Elon Musk's fault.
And that's because Tucker Carlson's
making his triumphant return to news
with the show on Twitter, with him posting a video yesterday
criticizing the news media
and what he called the lies and half truths that it spouts.
Also talking about free speech,
but claiming that the media puts limits on free speech
and that most public platforms
do not support free speech anymore except for one.
- The last big one remaining in the world,
the only one is Twitter, where we are now.
Twitter has long served as the place
where our national conversation incubates and develops.
Twitter is not a partisan site.
Everybody's allowed here.
And we think that's a good thing.
- And a very key thing,
Tucker saying he'll bring a version
of his old Fox News show to Twitter.
They're not getting specifically into when exactly
it's going to start, or how it might function
on Twitter compared to standard television broadcast.
But also a key thing I wanna mention here.
It does not appear that he's doing this in partnership
with Twitter like some outlets have reported,
or at least, that's what's officially being said
with Elon Musk taking to Twitter to say,
"I want to be clear that we have not signed a deal
of any kind whatsoever.
Tucker is subject to the same rules
and rewards of all content creators.
Noting rewards means subscriptions
and advertising revenue share coming soon,
which is a function of how many people subscribe
in the advertising views associated with the content.
I hope that many others, particularly from the left,
also choose to be content creators on this platform."
With Musk adding that the perk of Twitter,
as opposed to the one-way street of traditional broadcasts
is that viewers can interact with and critique what's said.
And Musk saying that anything misleading here
would be subject to community notes.
But with all this, you know, you're a smart person,
you're probably thinking,
"Well, this seems too smooth, what's up with his contract?"
And while there, even though Carlson and Fox News
went their separate ways, or he got fired,
it's being reported
that he's actually still under contract with Fox News.
And some have even said that even that brief video
that he posted to Twitter yesterday
could violate his contract,
which bars him from hosting programs outside of Fox.
So some have speculated that Fox News
could try to block this show from happening.
Also saying this could mean that negotiations
between the two have broken down.
But then you have others saying that Tucker's
probably ready for this fight,
that he's willing to walk away from the cash Fox News
still owes him.
Also, that when it comes to contract violations,
Carlson could have a you started it first argument
up his sleeve.
I mean, he's accusing Fox News of fraud
and breach of contract,
with his lawyers arguing in a letter
that his non-compete should no longer be valid,
which would give space for him to start another show.
But all that's gotta play out between the lawyers
and the legal system.
In the meantime,
we get to see what the hell's gonna happen
because as I have said consistently,
I believe that Tucker is bigger than Fox News.
And all we've seen over the recent weeks
is evidence to support my belief.
With the most apparent things being where the eyes
have gone since his departure.
The Fox News ratings plummeting,
while Tucker Carlson releases a video on Twitter,
and each time, it's gotten over 20 million views.
And as far as if the future for Tucker Carlson
is he has a Twitter show,
I don't necessarily believe that,
but also anything's possible.
Through paid subscriptions on Twitter,
he could make a nice chunk of change
with how many diehard fans he has.
Though honestly, I think that'd be very small potatoes
for what he could pull off.
But with how much Elon Musk has cozied himself
to the right over the past few years,
I don't think that any of his content's gonna be censored.
And so it gives Tucker Carlson a fantastic middle ground
to continue showcasing his numbers
so he can get an even bigger deal,
or set something even bigger up.
Regardless of how true,
or more importantly, how untrue the content he puts out is.
But in the meantime,
we're gonna have to wait to see what happens.
That's the story.
Some of my predictions.
And now I pass the question on to you,
what are your thoughts here?
And then I love Taylor Swift fans
because they are unapologetically unhinged,
I mean, passionate. (audience booing)
And I say that with love.
I married one of you,
but I mentioned this because Taylor Swift
has been at the center of rumors and conspiracies.
And that's because there's this memoir that's scheduled
to be released on July 9th by a mystery celebrity author,
with publishers promising that this comes from someone
with global appeal, even comparing it
to highly anticipated memoirs released last year
from people like Matthew Perry and Prince Harry.
And something else that you may
or may not know about Swifties
is that they're like junior detectives,
trying to read into clues about what Taylor
might be doing next in her career.
So many saw this memoir news,
and they were able to get enough clues together to say,
"Oh, this is Taylor's memoir, right?
It's getting released on July 9th,
the date that she mentions in one of her songs,
and that she called specific attention
to in a recent Instagram post."
Also, her "All Too Well: Short Film",
the character seemingly based on Taylor releases a memoir.
Then, on a much more conspiratorial front,
tons of people also noted that the upcoming book
is 544 pages, and five plus four plus four is 13,
which is Taylor's lucky number
that she frequently references.
And these things,
just a small piece of the mountain of evidence
Swifties were using.
People discussing this with the #TaylorSwiftBook
getting over a million views on TikTok
from people making their cases and theorizing.
With all this leading to run on the pre-orders.
And it even landing on the number three spot
for Barnes and Noble's bestseller list.
Even getting to the number two spot
on Amazon's bestseller list.
But then in walks Variety yesterday
to say that the Swifties got it wrong,
with the outlet writing that they can report for certain
that this mystery author is not as rumored, Taylor Swift.
And the Swifties threw this thing in the trash so fast,
with a book on Amazon now falling all the way down
to the number 32 spot.
But also, it doesn't end there.
Some smaller bookstores have now announced
that they're simply canceling all pre-orders for the book,
knowing that most people probably ordered it thinking
that it was gonna be Taylor's.
But as far as who the actual author is,
we won't know until June 13th.
And I gotta say good luck to that person
'cause you got people's attention.
It remains to be seen if that is a good
or a bad thing at this moment.
And then, working out consistently
for some people can be hard.
And I was absolutely one of those people,
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And then, you lying sack of crap.
You're finally being held accountable.
Also, just so there's no confusion,
I'm not talking to you specifically.
I don't know your secrets.
You're still safe, at least for now,
but the person I'm talking to right now
is Republican Representative George Santos.
Because good, old George got arrested this morning.
And if he does come across this video,
it won't be until after he is arraigned this afternoon
at the Federal Courthouse in Central Islip, Long Island.
And this is the Court of the Eastern District of New York
unsealed an indictment, charging him with 13 crimes.
Crimes including seven counts of wire fraud,
three counts of money laundering,
one count of theft to public funds,
and two counts of making materially false statements
to the House of Representatives.
And as far as the key specifics,
the indictment details three main allegations.
First, in 2020, he allegedly received unemployment benefits
despite being employed and running for Congress at the time.
Second, as he was running for office again in 2022,
he allegedly embezzled campaign contributions
and used them to pay down his personal debts
and by designer clothing.
And third, he allegedly failed to mention, overstated,
or outright fabricated many income streams
and assets in his financial disclosures
to the House for both congressional campaigns.
Which I know, for some of you watching,
you're going, "No, not my George.
Not good, old truth-telling George."
You know, 'cause you've been in a coma
for the past six months and you haven't seen all the years
of alleged lies being uncovered.
I mean, what, just off the top of my head,
he lied about where he went to high school.
He lied about graduating from college.
He lied about working for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
He lied about owning 13 rental properties.
He lied about founding an animal rescue charity.
He lied about producing the Broadway "Spider-Man" play,
which why would you lie about that?
Also, sorry, I wasn't done.
He lied about having Jewish ancestry.
He lied about his mother dying on 911.
He lied about his employees dying
at the Pulse nightclub shooting,
and stealing $3,000 from a GoFundMe
for a veteran's sick dog.
Now, luckily for him, most of the stuff I just mentioned,
not illegal, it just makes him a shitty person.
But for the charges unsealed today,
he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the top counts.
Though, and this is a wild one,
he could still cling on to his congressional seat.
There's actually nothing in the Constitution that bars him
from serving if he's indicted or convicted,
or with the only exception
being the 14th Amendment's prohibition
of certain treasonous conduct committed
after a member's taking the oath of office.
But if Santos is convicted of a crime that could result
in two or more years behind bars,
then House rules instruct him not to participate
in floor committee votes.
Although, he could also face enough political pressure
from his fellow lawmakers, many of whom have already called
for him to step down.
Which on that note,
you had House Speaker Kevin McCarthy saying
that he'll look at the charges before determining
if he thinks Santos should be removed from Congress,
but also adding that his policy is that any Congress member
should resign if found guilty of a crime.
You also have some saying the wait
for findings of the House Ethics Committee's probe
into Santos before making the decision.
But all that said, right now,
at the very least, you could say, not a good day for George,
if that's even your real name, sir.
And then, the situation at the Southern border
is about to pop off tomorrow,
and it's already a chaotic mess, right?
Because as of Thursday, the Title 42 migration restrictions
go bye-bye.
And in its place, you have the Biden Administration putting
in its own strict asylum policy, and Axios reporting
that's in addition to expediting initial asylum interviews
and getting Mexico to continue taking back migrants
of some nationalities.
But even Biden himself is trying to set expectations,
saying it's going to be chaotic for a while, right?
It's places like Axios have explained,
Biden's new policy will automatically
reject asylum seekers who illegally cross
into the US without first seeking protection
in a country they traveled through,
which is a change from the US's longtime policy
of giving people the right to seek asylum regardless
of where they cross the border illegally.
And noting, Title 42 also prevented migrants
from seeking asylum, but was tied to public health concerns.
And so this new policy is expected to let more migrants
be rapidly deported to their home countries or Mexico.
And it comes with severe penalties,
including a five-year ban on reentry.
Also, very notably is the timing of all this.
Reportedly, Border Patrol has a capacity
to have 19,000 individuals, roughly.
But as of Monday, there were 25,000 people
in Border Patrol custody.
And that says, border officials
once said that on Sunday alone,
they encountered nearly 10,000 migrants.
And two, as an estimated 150,000 people in Mexico
are reportedly headed toward the US.
So honestly, if there's not chaos in the coming days,
that would be a miracle.
And then, I gotta tell you that Hollywood's only
just now starting to experience the pain
from the writers' strike, which yes,
each day gets worse and worse,
but they may have an even bigger problem at hand.
And that's because starting today,
leaders from the Directors Guild of America,
the union representing directors,
begin their contract negotiations with the studios.
So that's two unions the studios
are having to deal with right now.
And on top of that,
the Actors Union's gonna start talks this summer.
But as far as what we know now, what do directors want?
Well, like writers, streaming residuals
are on the table.
But there, directors' concerns are much more focused
on international streaming.
They also want more data transparency,
a boost in health plans, and wage floors,
protections for creative rights,
and expansions for diversity initiatives
and safety standards.
But all that said, the timing here is key
because it's easy to see how this would give both writers
and directors some boosted leverage, right?
Because it's widely believed
that a director strike is far less likely
than a writer strike.
But if they did pick it at the same time as writers,
it would fully shut down all scripted productions
with absolutely no wiggle room for anything to get made.
So right now, the DGA is standing
in solidarity with the writers.
And as far as when we might see
some sort of official change,
the DGA's contract doesn't expire until June 30th.
So in the event that a strike arises,
it wouldn't happen until then.
But then of course, you got the Actors Union negotiations
looming in the summer.
I mean, we're looking
at a possibly very consequential time here,
especially, as this week, we had the news
that SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher
joined the picket line and said
that "This strike is a strike
for everybody in the industry."
And when asked about how this strike is impacting her
ahead of SAG negotiation,
she said that the guild is getting ready
to prepare strategically for what's to come.
But also, key thing, saying it is a different union
that represents a very large umbrella
of careers and added.
- So it's a very big, complicated conversation.
And I don't think what's very important to writers,
and I'm a writer too in the WGA,
is the kind of stuff that we're going after.
So although I'm very empathic for their needs
to be honored,
I feel like our conversation's gonna be very different,
and I feel very hopeful
that maybe we won't get to this point.
- Right, so notably creating some distance
there for their union, which is something
that actually rubbed some people the wrong way.
With one person, for example, responding to that quote
by writing, "As a member of SAG and WGA,
these comments are completely unacceptable.
We are fighting the same fight.
I'm so tired of SAG being seen as pushovers.
Many of us actors are not, even if leadership is."
But for now, we'll wait to see what happens
as the picketing continues.
And that's actually where today's show's gonna end.
But remember, if you're not 100% filled in,
if you're still needing some news,
this week, I've been uploading extra morning news videos
that you can check out right here
or in the links in the description.
That's said though, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco.
You've just been filled in.
I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.