- You might lose your mind over this one,
with people going after each other's throats
over this incredibly viral situation where at the center
you have pro baseball player Anthony Bass.
And that's because Bass over the weekend
shared this photo on Twitter saying,
"The United flight attendant just made
my 22 week pregnant wife traveling with a five-year-old
and two year old get on her hands and knees
to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter.
Are you kidding me?"
And while he seemingly
was expecting everyone to be on his side,
that is definitely not what happened.
Responses and quote tweets galore,
criticizing and mocking Bass.
Mike Drucker responding,
"Just because you're rich
doesn't mean everyone's your servant.
I hope this helps."
Another saying, "And she should do it again."
People criticizing his mindset saying
"Pregnancy and flying with kids is hard,
however, it comes with the understanding
that you are responsible for them.
Flight attendants are not maids
and the cleaning crew should not be expected
to pick up trash simply because
someone did not want to do it themselves.
An airplane is not your house."
Others ask him where his personal accountability
or consideration for the low wage worker was.
But a lot of the general gist
was your child, your responsibility.
Twitch Bass didn't offer many responses
but did comment that United does have a paid cleaning crew
and that's who he expected to clean up the mess.
That also receiving more criticism
including from the likes of Hank Green,
which you know the situation's blown up
when one of the nicest people on the Internet's
dunking on you with Hank saying,
"...and Jesus said, clean up after my kids,
and do it quickly for the plane turnaround is quick
and the airline hired you."
But, like I said, people going at each other's throats
with not everyone against Bass.
No matter how big the story got,
you saw a decent number of people defending him saying
"I think it's disgusting that the stewardess
made a pregnant woman clean up a mess.
If they're going to supply popcorn on the plane
be ready for messes to clean up.
If you don't like it don't serve popcorn."
As well as arguing "You pay for a service, the flight,
and airlines pay for cleaning service
if kids drop toys, parents should pick up,
but if a passenger vomits
do they make that person clean it up?
If you drop and break something in a grocery store
do they make you clean up an aisle? No."
And as far as how all this is playing out
you had United replying to the tweet
and Bass adding that they're now handling
the situation internally.
So with that, I gotta ask you, what are your thoughts here?
Is Bass in the wrong? Is Bass in the right?
Why or why not?
And then I need you whiny little peasants
to leave Pity City please. Thank you.
That, is an only slightly paraphrase version
of what this millionaire CEO said to her employees
when they asked about their yearly bonuses.
This is Andi Owen, the CEO of Miller Knoll,
a massive office furniture company
that's been kind of going through a rough patch.
Currently facing the reality
that employees could lose their yearly bonus.
And so in a virtual town hall meeting
Owen addresses this question.
And she starts off calmly with a classic,
do what you can, be kind, give good customer service,
kind of, CEO script.
And then she pivots.
- Don't ask about what are we gonna do
if you don't get a bonus?
Get the damn $26 million.
Spend your time and your effort
thinking about the $26 million we need
and not thinking about what are you gonna do
if we don't get a bonus.
All right? Can I get some commitment for that?
I would appreciate that.
I had an old boss who said to me one time,
you can visit pity city but you can't live there.
So people leave pity city, let's get it done.
Thank you. Have a great day.
(chuckling)
- Oh Owen. That boom, why?
But, you know, this clip winds up online,
it goes absolutely viral
and internet detectives dig up Owen's compensation package.
And they found that it's really not a surprise
she's more concerned about sales than her employees.
With her reportedly taking $5 million home last year
with around 3.9 million of that being in stock rewards
and incentive-based compensation.
With all of that being on top of her fixed salary
of nearly $1.1 million.
And the thing is, with the situation,
it's such an unnecessary ugly L for her to take
because one of the key things here is,
reportedly the company hasn't even determined
bonuses for employees yet
and they won't until the books close in May.
So she had the room to turn this into,
like we're in it together
rather than getting defensive and being condescending.
Especially for employees that you hired
with a system of, like dangling a carrot in front of them
with having part of their pay being a bonus structure.
And at the end of the day,
what everyone ends up seeing is kind of a mask off situation
regarding the CEO and the whole system in general.
Also, while we're talking about companies hitting
their quarterly quotas, I should mention,
over at beautifulbastard.com we are now restock,
we're temporarily out cause of fun manufacturing thing.
So if you've been wanting
to snag yourself some of the sports gear,
or emotionally exhausted, or I love naps,
or really so much more,
all of that is available again over at beautifulbastard.com.
And then Love is Blind and Netflix
have a massive problem right now
that's completely unrelated to that whole livestream fail.
Though there were a few hours there
that I thought my wife was going to destroy her laptop
'cause it would not work.
But, if you're unfamiliar,
it's this show that debuted a month before the pandemic.
With it quickly becoming a lockdown favorite.
I mean, you had 30 million households
tuning in to the first season.
On the premise of this reality show is simple,
you put 30 men and women on blind dates
where they only talk to each other through speakers
and then if they're a match,
they get engaged and they see their dates
for the first time.
And when you watch a show, it looks like a lot of people
are just having an unmitigated good time.
- Oh my god. - Hi.
Oh my God, oh my God, you're so beautiful.
Holy shit.
(chuckling)
- Hi.
- That booty. Look at that booty.
- But now, according to an explosive report by insiders,
some former cast members
say the show is actually very traumatic
and they're claiming all sorts of mistreatment by producers
who allegedly kept them from getting adequate sleep.
Some of them so exhausted
they actually fell asleep in the middle of their dates.
A cast member saying the sleep deprivation was real.
I feel like they do it on purpose
because they're trying to break you.
They want you on your edge.
And to that end, it's alleged
that the producers constantly push alcohol on the cast.
Though, more important supplies were often scarce,
things like food and water
with the producers allegedly intercepting deliveries
of bottled water after the sinks weren't working
and adding alcohol to the mix.
With the 10 days of filming,
life was managed basically 24 7 by the producers
and production assistance.
With contestants spending all of their time
on the windowless sets,
and only getting sunlight when they used a bathroom
in a trailer outside.
Or you even had three contestants saying
they often lost track of time or what day it was.
The production company dictating when
and where they could sleep and eat.
One cast member saying that
after not getting enough food, water, or sleep,
she was drinking champagne when she faints it.
But there, instead of fetching medical attention
the crew just gave her a COVID test
and then immediately threw her into an on-camera interview.
But beyond just being treated
like a nothing disposable thing,
former contestants say that the show failed
to provide sufficient mental health services
during and after the show.
With several saying they were then left depressed
and saw therapy after filming.
One even quitting her job
because she felt unable to return to her old life.
As well as three others who say they had panic attacks
while filming, including Brianna Holmes,
who actually ran off set to escape the cameras
and collapsed on the stairs of the hair and makeup trailer
shaking and sobbing.
With Brianna saying of the camera operator and producers,
"They literally chased me off the set to the trailers,
camera's in my face.
I'm like, this is too much.
I don't want this. I don't wanna be here.
I don't want to do this."
So she quit saying the 20 hour filming days
and the pressure to get engaged to someone you barely know
in two weeks is overwhelming.
You also had another cast member claiming producers
pressured her to stay even after she confided
that she was having suicidal thoughts.
With this happening right after she had a panic attack
over her depiction on the show.
With her hiding in the closet outta fear
that her hotel room was bugged with hidden cameras.
And Love is Blind ultimately airing a scene
suggesting she had a panic attack
because she was upset about her date
speaking to another woman at the cast party.
And all this obviously connected to allegations
that the show seeks to exploit people's mental health
and emotional distress for prophet.
With Nick Thompson a season two contestant explaining
"You're thrust into this situation without any support
and everything's amplified.
It literally ruins lives."
And so actually last year
another former cast member Jeremy Hartwell, sued Netflix
and the show's production company, Kinetic Content,
and accusing them of subjecting contestants to unsafe
and inhumane working conditions by depriving them of sleep,
not supplying enough food and water,
and providing an excess of alcohol.
Also arguing that Kinetic Content willfully misclassified
contestants as independent contractors instead of employees,
meaning that their $1,000 weekly stipend
translated to about $7.14 an hour.
Is a less than half of the $15 minimum wage in California.
Now as far as Kinetics response to all this,
they've denied everything and told Insider,
"Wellbeing of our participants
is a paramount importance to Kinetic.
We have rigorous protocols in place
to care for each person before, during, and after filming."
We've also seen some fans defending the show
arguing the contestants knew what they were getting into
and they did so voluntarily.
The contract even warning
that appearing on the show may open them up
to public ridicule, humiliation, or condemnation.
We've also had former contestants saying,
it's just impossible
to know exactly what you're signing up for
until you're in the thick of it.
And at that point, it's already too late
as the contract says that members of the cast
actually have to pay $50,000 in damages to Kinetic Content
if they leave the show without producer approval.
But I do wonder if anything will actually change here,
because this isn't new for reality TV.
Exploitation of cast for sensational content
that's reality TV.
And it's not even like a, oh my God,
imagine what could happen if something really went wrong.
I mean, in 2018 and 2019
you saw two former Love Island UK contestants
die by suicide.
Right? I mean there was even an investigation
about America's Next Top model that just came out recently
with former contestants saying they had onset panic attacks
and sustained injuries while filming in unsafe conditions.
But with all that said,
I will ask as someone that's never watched a show,
especially if you've been watching the show,
old seasons, new seasons.
What are your thoughts regarding these allegations
and the situation in general?
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And then... The children yearn for the minds.
That's kind of the gist
coming from Iowa Republicans right now.
And this coming as Iowa Senate
debated massive rollbacks in child labor laws last night.
What we're looking at is allowing 14 year olds
to work six hour night shifts.
15 year olds to work in plants on assembly lines
moving items up to 50 pounds.
16 to 17 year olds would be able to serve alcohol,
and maybe most notably, allowing teenagers 14 to 17
to work at previously prohibited job sites,
like meat packing, slaughterhouses, demolition and roofing,
if they're in training programs.
- Roofing, excavation and demolition
are some of the deadliest occupations for adults
to say nothing of teenagers.
Roofers have the fifth highest rate
of work caused deaths in America.
That fatality rate is almost 10 times higher
than a typical American job.
No Iowa teenagers should be working
in America's deadliest jobs.
It jeopardizes their lives
and the lives of everyone else at that work site.
- The Democrats accusing Republicans
of throwing kids in the line of fire
to address worker shortages in these industries.
An accusation that Adrian Dickey,
the Republican proposing the bill,
tried to refute saying,
"I never even considered that to be an issue
when this bill came in front of me.
It simply is providing our youth an opportunity to earn
and learn at the same timeframe as his classmates do,
while participating in sports and other fine arts."
Essentially framing this is just expanded options
for teens to find jobs.
And adding that parents would still need to give permission
to their kids for these jobs.
But I mean, the debate last night
went from tense to just stalled completely
after Dickey refused to accept questions from Democrats
who quickly slammed the move as totalitarian.
- This is completely unprecedented
and we're told that this is a new policy
from Iowa Senate Republicans
based in response to a Supreme Court ruling,
here in the state of Iowa,
that used debate on the Senate floor to strike down a law
that Republicans had supported.
So now what we're being told is that Republican senators
are not going to answer questions about legislative intent.
- Dems then holding several closed door meetings
deferring the bill as the night stretched on,
offering several amendments,
such as increasing workers' compensation
for minors injured on the job,
also striking out that alcohol provision.
But the Republican majority said, to hell with all that
and just managed to pass the bill as is
just before 5:00 AM this morning.
And understand it's very likely gonna become a law
with the House also debating a similar bill.
The two will then need to be reconciled,
and if they are,
it'll head to governor Kim Reynolds who has said
that she's in favor of opening up child labor laws.
And as far as what everyday local people believe
they're pretty split.
With a poll conducted by the Des Moines Register
finding that 50% of Iowans support the legislation,
42% oppose it and 8% are unsure.
So pretty even split, which is why I wanna ask you,
where do you land on this?
And then music as you know it's done, it's over.
Right? I say that because over the last few days
you may have heard a song by Drake and The Weeknd
going viral called "Heart on My Sleeve".
And in it, they sing about Selena Gomez
who previously dated The Weeknd,
and we saw a blow up on TikTok
with videos being viewed 15 million times,
even getting over 600,000 streams on Spotify
and another 275,000 views on YouTube according to Billboard.
Though the the number is everywhere gonna be much higher.
But here's the thing,
that song was not actually made by Drake and The Weeknd,
it was made by AI.
With it being posted first on TikTok
by a username Ghostwriter977
with the song now being pulled from streaming platforms.
Also, the upload of it on YouTube was taken down
with there, notably, being a message,
citing a copyright claim from Universal Music Group.
With the BBC reporting
that their active efforts to remove this from YouTube
and on TikTok.
But really if you search for it, you're gonna find it,
'cause most people are reposting it going like,
oh my God, I can't believe this is a thing.
Universals also released a statement
regarding the AI generated music saying,
"It begs the question as to which side of history
all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on:
the side of artists, fans, and human creative expression,
or on the side of deep fakes, fraud
and denying artists their due compensation."
And adding, "These instances demonstrate
why platforms have a fundamental legal
and ethical responsibility
to prevent the use of their services
in ways that harm artists."
And keep in mind,
this song, with these two artists, it's just the latest.
Right? With tons of AI covers going viral
of Ariana Grande singing songs
by artists like Kanye West and Justin Bieber.
But also, I gotta say,
the future of all this is not solidified yet.
And I mean that both in what AI generated music
is going to look like in the future,
as well as what is the point of view
and tone going to be from the music industry.
Which is also something
music critic and YouTuber Anthony Fantano hit on
when he first heard this new song.
- I don't know who this is not gonna be good for
entirely right now at this moment,
but I don't think it's very, I don't think it's very good.
There's a lot of people talking about like,
oh yeah, this is gonna like,
you know, turn the industry upside down.
The labels are in trouble now.
And for sure it's got them sweating a little bit.
If it didn't, I don't think they would be going
to the lengths that they are
to have this song taken down
off of a streaming and everything.
But, once they, like figure out the recipe for this thing.
(exhaling deeply)
Just like with streaming, it's gonna be a payday for them.
There's gonna be so many new Juice World songs
and like, you're not even gonna know
where they're coming from. I promise you.
- And what he's talking about there should be considered
because if there is money to be made
the music industry is gonna grab that bitch.
But I mean, think about it.
How many artists, or companies, sell their old catalog?
Right? It's not crazy to then jump to the idea
that people are gonna sign away their future AI songwrites
or companies are going to to leverage that.
Because like we've seen in the past,
sometimes there are technological jumps
that it just fucking completely flips an industry
and you can't fight it so you have to evolve with it.
And that will be a good and bad thing,
it just depends on for who.
And then your favorite show,
or that movie that you're looking forward to,
might be about to get hit with a delay.
And that's because Hollywood's getting incredibly close
to having a massive writer strike on its hand.
With the Writer's Guild of America
just passing a strike authorization vote
with nearly 98% of members approving a strike.
And the WGA represents TV and film writers.
Now, it is important to note, that right now,
this does not 100% guarantee a strike will happen
but it does mean that when the writer's contract
with studios expire on May 1st
they can take to the picket lines.
But between now and then
the WGA will still be negotiating with studios
with the union leadership adding,
"Writers have expressed our collective strength, solidarity,
and the demand for meaningful change
in overwhelming numbers.
Armed with this undeniable demonstration of unity
and resolve, we will continue to work
at the negotiating table to achieve a fair contract
for all writers."
Right? And as far as the specifics,
there are several issues at hand here,
but a lot of it really boils down
to how streaming has changed the industry for writers.
With streaming popularizing what's been called minirooms,
which actually has no one set definition,
but in many cases, they involve a studio
getting a small group of writers
to develop and write a series in a very short span of time
before it's even picked up.
And because the studio
technically hasn't picked the show up yet,
they can justify paying writers less
than a normal writer's room.
Plus, with many rooms convening
for only a short amount of time,
it creates instability for writers
who have to be on the constant lookout for their next gig.
And very importantly,
writers are also seeking to correct how residuals
have been affected by streaming
as those are often how middle class writers survive.
Because when something they wrote airs on TV
or was sold on DVD, they'd get a cut.
But streaming has essentially killed that
and made it far less lucrative.
So in recent years, it's just become increasingly difficult
for everyday writers to make a living
land at ease and paycheck.
With Eric Haywood,
a member of the WGAs negotiating committee saying,
"Writers are working more weeks for less money,
and in some cases, veteran writers
are working for the same money,
or, in some cases less money
than they made just a few years ago."
Now, as far as the Alliance motion picture
and television producers, which represents the studios,
they said this whole strike vote is inevitable
as part of the WGA's plan saying,
"Their goal is to reach a fair and reasonable agreement."
But then, kind of, jabbing the WGAs saying,
That's only possible if the Guild is committed
to turning its focus to serious bargaining.
With the WGA then pointing the finger right back at them
saying, Hey, you haven't offered any meaningful responses
to our core economic issues.
You know, it's been so long since the last writer strike,
but I mean, this could be huge.
Right? Some of you in general,
or maybe if you've been with me since then,
you remember back in 2007, 2008,
Hollywood was essentially shut down for a hundred days
a cost Los Angeles economy $3 billion.
I will also say though,
selfishly it was a great thing for online content creators.
People started seeking content online.
Our numbers went up.
You started seeing really interesting projects,
like Dr. Horrible sing along blog.
But again, that is a silver lining to a situation
that left a lot of people in some hurt.
Which is also why the LA Times
even just put out an op-ed saying,
"We can't afford another writer's strike.
Not Hollywood, not L.A., not the country."
And they're condemning the studios
and saying they need to stop screwing around
and come to the table with reasonable responses
to the WGA's core demands.
But if the strike does actually happen
as far as where you'll see it,
immediately you'd see late night shows hit.
And likely, it wouldn't be for like a few months
where you'd see your standard scripted series being hit.
But there we're seeing reports
that the studios are actually prepping for a strike.
Stockpiling scripts, getting reality TV ready.
But for now,
we're gonna have to wait to see how this standoff plays out.
♪ Sexy (indistinct), he's not sexy ♪
♪ Sexy (indistinct), he's sexy ♪