Buying Sydney Sweeney’s Dirty Bath Water Has Divided The Internet & Today's News
PDS Published 05/29/2025
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Sydney Sweeney is selling her bathwater!
Now, before you click off and go googling, ya nasty, let me tell you the whole story.
Right, Sydney Sweeney has partnered with the soap brand Dr. Squatch to sell a limited run of bars of soap actually made with Sydney’s bathwater.
We’re talking 5,000 bars that reportedly will come with a certificate that confirms the bathwater inclusion. []
WIth Sydney saying,
“When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap. It’s weird in the best way.” []
Now, this partnership isn’t coming from nowhere - Sydney has been starring in Dr. Squatch ads since last year.
One of which actually featured her in the bath - with Sydney referring to it in today’s announcement, saying,
“You kept asking about my bathwater after the @drsquatch ad… so we kept it.” []
As for the selling of bathwater in some capacity, Sydney obviously isn’t the first to do it.
We saw the idea really take off with streamer Belle Delphine back in 2019.
Then Amouranth jumped onboard and even wanted to take it further - at one point suggesting a “Gamer Girl Bathwater Energy Drink.”
But Sydney may be the biggest name we’ve seen committing to the “selling their bathwater” thing.
And the reactions have covered the WHOLE spectrum - with some people going damn near feral at the idea while others have been disgusted.
Then you’ve got people saying this is actually a genius business idea while others saying that gimmicks like this are going to hurt her career in the long run.
But I would love to know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.
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I think it’s safe to say that tens if not hundreds of thousands of people across America woke up this morning to some terrifying news.
That being the announcement that the State Department and Homeland Security will “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students in the U.S. [Quote]
Specifically including “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” [Same quote]
Now this news sent shockwaves across the academic community, because as of last year, there were about 277,000 Chinese students in the United States. [Quote same link, find “277”]
Making China the second biggest source of international students, just behind India.
And that’s already down from more than 370,000 before the pandemic. [Same quote]
But right now there’s a lot of confusion about exactly who’s getting deported, and how many will be affected.
Because first of all, it’s not clear what “critical fields” means.
Right, many have interpreted that to mean advanced subjects like biotechnology, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, but this leaves a lot of students unsure about whether their particular field counts as “critical.”
Also, as The New York Times notes, despite concerns that the Chinese government recruits U.S.-trained scientists, there is no evidence of such scientists working for China in large numbers. [Quote, find “recruiting”]
And then secondly, it’s unclear what constitutes a “connection to the Chinese Communist Party.”
Right, because as of the end of 2023, more than 99 million people, or about 7% of China, were officially members of the CCP. [Quote, find “99”]
Some of which, though not all, overlaps with the 74 million members of the Communist Youth League. [Headline]
And when it comes to university students in particular, the numbers grow even more.
With one 2016 paper finding that up to 75% of those in Beijing apply for party membership during their undergraduate years. [Quote, find “2016”]
But very notably, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re true believers.
Right, other research suggests they’re more likely motivated by career advancement, political gain and social status than ideology. [Quote, find “social status”]
Kind of like how it was simply pragmatic to get your membership card for the communist party in the Soviet Union or the Ba’ath [Pronounce 00:09] Party in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
With John Burns, an emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong, explaining that the best students in China’s elite universities are approached by the party and asked to join. [Quote same link, find “wise”]
And telling NBC it’s “probably a wise decision on their part” as the CCP is the “network of all networks” to get ahead in China. [Same quote]
So it’s not obvious that CCP membership is as nefarious as it might seem, and either way, Burns says the U.S. government has “no independent way” of verifying a Chinese student’s membership. [Quote same link]
That is, unless the students themselves or people who know them reveal it. [Same quote]
But the White House’s announcement goes beyond just revoking visas, with it adding:
“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.” [Quote]
So all of this is a drastic change from previous policy that does not bode well for U.S.-China relations.
Right, because historically, even the children of most top CCP officials could attend American universities.
Hell, even Xi Jinping’s daughter graduated from Harvard in 2014 under a pseudonym, though administrators knew who she really was. [Quote, find “2014”]
Meanwhile, as of last year, there were only about 800 Americans studying in China. [Quote same link, find “800”]
Not because China won’t take any more; right, there were 15,000 Americans there just a decade ago, and in 2023, Xi said the country was ready to welcome 50,000 American students over five years. [Quote, find “50,000”]
So naturally the Chinese foreign ministry expressed disappointment at this morning’s news, with a spokesperson saying:
“This politically discriminatory move exposes the hypocrisy of America’s long-proclaimed values of freedom and openness, and will only further damage the United States’ international image and credibility.” [Quote]
And many Americans agree, with for example Gary Locke, a U.S. ambassador to China during the Obama administration, telling The New York Times:
“Shutting the door on Chinese students doesn’t just betray our values — it weakens our leadership in science, technology and innovation.” [Quote]
Right, that because American research institutions have long attracted some of the most talented students from other countries, benefiting from their expertise.
Also, many universities get a large part of their annual revenue from international students paying full tuition.
But for Trump, politically speaking, this move is kind of perfect.
Right, it combines his trade war with China, his crackdown on immigrants, and his attack on universities in a single headline-grabbing declaration.
Plus it fits with everything his administration’s been doing over the past few months.
Right, they’ve already revoked thousands of student visas, and detained or deported some allegedly for their political expression.
I mean, just yesterday, the State Department halted scheduled interviews with foreign citizens applying for student and exchange visas. [Headline]
And last week, Homeland Security announced it was revoking Harvard’s certification to enroll foreign students, justifying the move in part by claiming, without evidence, that the university coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party.
Though a federal judge temporarily blocked that, so it’s still being fought out in court.
And then, during his first term in 2020, Trump canceled the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese graduate students and researchers after announcing they were banning from campuses Chinese citizens with direct ties to military universities in their country. [Quote, find “1,000”]
But today’s announcement seems to be more dramatic, and in the administration’s words more “aggressive,” than those previous policies.
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A popular influencer just had to file a lawsuit to stop people from trying to access records about her son’s death.
Right, this is a tragic story, and the influencer here is named Emilie (Emily) Kiser.
She has four million followers on TikTok, 1.7 million on Instagram. [][]
And she and her husband Brady have two sons, Trigg, who is three, and Theodore, who was just born in March, and she often posted about their life together.
But on May 12, her son Trigg was hospitalized over an accidental drowning incident, and the Chandler Police Department in Arizona later confirmed he died as a result of the drowning on May 18.[]
With local police saying an investigation into the incident is ongoing and not releasing further details out of respect for the family’s privacy.
And because the word “investigation” sometimes rings alarm bells, I will note that Arizona Central reported that drownings are always investigated to rule out any cases of abuse or extreme neglect, and it would be incredibly rare for charges to be filed in a case like this.[]
Because at the end of the day, this looks like just a horrible, accidental, worst case scenario for any parents enduring this loss, including Emily.
But that has not stopped people online from endlessly speculating about it all since there were still a ton of headlines about the loss of her son.
And even though she has turned off her comments on both Instagram and TikTok, you have people posting tons of videos of their own discussing it.
Some kind of blaming Emily for not having a fence around the pool, others questioning some of her posts or parenting, and some talking about how they want updates on the situation.
In fact, when the news about a local toddler drowning was first reported, that child was not even identified, but people still connected the dots on their own and made Emily a trending topic after tracing a photo in a local news story to Emily’s house, before anyone’s name was formally revealed. []
And according to a lawsuit Emily just filed, some have also been trying to access records regarding her son’s death and the investigation around it.
Right, Emily filed that suit to keep records regarding her son’s death private, with the complaint saying:
“Emily and her family desperately want to grieve in private, but sadly, the public will not let them. Trigg’s death has become a media frenzy. Appallingly, 100+ public record requests have been filed with both the City of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office. The records requested presumably reveal graphic, distressing, and intimate details of Trigg’s death.”[]
Right, and Emily stated that she is unaware of who is making these 100+ requests, and the suit claims many of them are seeking the information “for commercial purposes.”
And some of these requests could very well be from newsmedia and reporters, right, outlets like USA Today did note that it had filed a request to access the police report for journalistic reasons.[]
But the state of Arizona does not consider newsgathering to be a “commercial” purpose when it comes to record requests.
According to the suit, the files people are trying to access potentially include a police report, graphic security camera footage, body camera footage, a 911 recording, and more.[]
But Emily claims that neither she and her lawyer have even seen the documents, and Emily does not ever intend to.
With the suit calling the high number of public access requests an “invasion of privacy” and adding:
“Emily is going through a parent’s worst nightmare right now… Emily is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle.”
“To allow disclosure in these circumstances would be to turn Arizona’s Public Records Law into a weapon of emotional harm, rather than a tool of government transparency.”
“Arizona’s Public Records Law is not intended to serve public curiosity.”
And so Emily is trying to block the public from obtaining any records related to her son’s death, or for the Court to at least conduct a full review of all records until they can decide if any portions can be lawfully disclosed.
You also just have people online slamming anyone who has crossed a line in trying to find out more information on what happened.
Especially since Emily is dealing with the two months postpartum, just to make it all that more painful:
“I think we all need to take a look and take inventory of some of these parasocial relationships we have, and it happens often with celebrities, where we feel entitled to people's lives, we want to harass and ask invasive questions, we want updates repeatedly, and we have no respect for their freakin privacy. Come on. (1:36-1:53)
And so I would love to know your thoughts on this story, on the lawsuit, on people allegedly trying to access these documents, anything at all.
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Hailey Bieber just sold her skincare and beauty brand Rhode in a one billion dollar deal.
And it is making tons of headlines for a combination of business and celebrity gossip reasons, so let’s talk about both.
Right, it was announced yesterday Elf beauty acquired Rhode, with a deal comprising $800 million in cash and stock, and an additional potential earning of $200 million based on future growth over three years.
Elf is known for being a very budget-friendly brand with dupes of high-end products, it is sold at major retailers like CVS, Target, Walmart, and more.
And Rhode was founded by Hailey just a few years ago in 2022 with a focus on intentional skincare and beauty.
Its products are only available online, though in another major recent deal, Sephora announced the brand would be coming to its stores later this year.[]
So it has been a big year for Rhode already, and under this new acquisition from Elf, Hailey will continue on as the founder, also serving as the Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation, and now acting as a Strategic Advisor to the combined companies. []
With Hailey saying:
“We can’t wait to bring rhode to more faces, places, and spaces. From day one, my vision for rhode has been to make essential skin care and hybrid makeup you can use every day. Just three years into this journey, our partnership with e.l.f. Beauty marks an incredible opportunity to elevate and accelerate our ability to reach more of our community.”
And this business deal stands to be huge for both parties, right.
You had the Wall Street Journal noting that for Elf, it will help diversify its supply chain, because currently most of its products are made in China and subject to major tariffs, meanwhile Rhode’s suppliers are based in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of Asia. []
Then for Rhode, well, this really cements Hailey Bieber’s status as a beauty mogul, following the likes of Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, and more, who were able to take their star power and turn it into major beauty business ventures.
But it also comes as there has just been a ton of headlines suggesting there are issues in her relationship with Justin Bieber.
Right, without getting into too much nitty gritty detail on the gossip, Justin faced a ton of backlash when she was on the cover of Vogue because he wrote that he previously told her she would never accomplish this, and people just thought that was a shady thing to share with the public.
This then prompting people to resurface old clips where it looks like Justin is being rude to or ignoring Hailey.
This also just comes as some of Justin’s public behavior and odd social media posts have prompted concern and criticism, there are also rumors about him using drugs.
That, and there have also been a ton of reports suggesting he is in some financial trouble and had to sell off his music catalog because he had gone broke.
The Hollywood Reporter recently saying he lost millions from canceling a tour and still owes his former manager, Scooter Braun, money.[]
Right, so you get the picture, even though his reps have pushed back on a lot of this, his public image is not doing too hot right now.
And while Hailey has always been the target of internet ire, a lot of the heat is getting more turned up on Justin lately.
And so some have seen the headlines that Hailey is now raking in this big payday with Rhode and are jumping to big conclusions on what this means for the couple.
Some seeing it as her selling her own company to pay off Justin’s debts. [][]
Others hoping it means she is getting her ducks in a row for a divorce. [][]
Then you have some who just see this as a major accomplishment considering all the noise that has been in the background of her life, writing:
“Everyone in her business but she really be IN HER BUSINESS fr, love that for her.”][
“a billion dollar company in three years while being harassed by the entire internet and going through a pregnancy and postpartum, hailey bieber you’re THAT girl.”[]
“say whatever you wanna say about hailey bieber but that woman is a true hustler.”[]
And so I would love to know your thoughts on any of it, the business side, the celebrity gossip side, anything here.
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Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal!
At least most of them, and at least according to the US Court of International Trade, which has now given the White House ten days to comply.
And specifically, with that, a three-judge panel’s unanimous decision refers not only to the tariffs imposed on goods from China, Mexico and Canada in response to what it said was the unacceptable flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants into the US.
It also applies to the universal 10 percent tariffs put in place to address trade deficits as well as the “reciprocal tariffs” of between 20 and 50 percent that have been imposed on dozens of the country’s trading partners.
Though, notably, those have been paused since April and aren’t set to kick in until July 9th – with Trump trying to use the threat of those tariffs coming back to strong-arm other countries into more favorable trade deals.
But in any case, beyond that, the ruling doesn’t affect Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars –
And it also likely wouldn’t affect tariffs he’s threatened against pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and other major imports.
And that’s because these tariffs haven’t been implemented in the same way.
Right, the ones that the court said were illegal?
Trump put them in place by invoking a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act –
Seemingly doing so as a way to avoid waiting for Congress or having the government compile reports and request public comments as is usually required. []
And notably, before Trump took office, no president had ever invoked the law to impose tariffs on other nations.
In fact, the law doesn’t even mention tariffs, it mostly deals with trade embargoes and sanctions. []
And so with that, you had the three judges in this case – who were appointed by Reagan, Obama and Trump – emphasizing that they weren’t passing judgment on the “wisdom or likely effectiveness of the president’s use of tariffs as leverage.”
And explaining that they were “impermissible not because it is unwise or ineffective, but because [federal law] does not allow it.” []
And adding to that, they said Trump’s tariffs lacked “any identifiable limits” and found that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act didn’t “delegate an unbounded tariff authority to the President.” []
Of course, with that, the White House said it would appeal – with the deputy press secretary saying in a statement that “foreign countries’ nonreciprocal treatment” of the U.S. has fueled “historic and persistent trade deficits”
Claiming that “these deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defense industrial base.”
And adding: It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.” []
With then Trump adviser Stephen Miller, echoing that last sentiment in a social media post saying “the judicial coup is out of control”. []
And so we’ll have to wait and see where the appeals process ends up but, notably, if all courts uphold the ruling, businesses which have paid illegally imposed tariffs will be entitled to refunds. []
That said, even if that does happen, this may not be the end of the tariffs.
Right, for one, Trump might still be able to temporarily launch import taxes of 15% for 150 days on nations with which the U.S. runs a substantial trade deficit.
And in fact, the court’s ruling notes that a president has this authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. []
And secondly, Trump could also attempt to impose the same tariffs but just in a different way, with one former official telling the Washington Post:
“The president still has ample authority to impose reciprocal tariffs, just through other legal means.” []
On the flip side, however, you have a law professor involved in the case against the government saying he doesn’t “think they could impose anything this sweeping under another statute.” []
And so in the meantime, we’re seeing the markets react cautiously, but positively.
With Nasdaq futures jumping nearly 2% overnight, for example, and the dollar rising against the yen and euro.
But ultimately, we know anything could happen tomorrow, or the next day, to send us spiraling in the opposite direction, so we’ll have to see where this ends up long-term.
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A top House Democrat has reportedly launched an investigation into Trump’s meme coin dinner.
Right, we’ve talked about this dinner before a few times on the show before it actually took place last week — including when we had Sen. Chris Murphy on earlier this month.
But to get you up to speed, what you need to know is that Trump launched a meme coin right after the inauguration, and the whole setup has caused widespread allegations of corruption.
And that’s in large part because 80% of the coin is held by the Trump Organization and two other affiliated businesses.
Now, Trump, for his part, has argued that he does not personally benefit from the coin because his assets are in a blind trust operated by his sons.
But many experts have said that his family is still enriching itself, and even if Trump can’t reap those profits now, he will once he leaves office.
So, as a result, critics say that this structure creates a situation where foreign entities, billionaire CEOs, or anyone else who wants to cozy up to Trump can just buy a fuck ton of the coin and then ask for political favors.
A scenario they say is especially likely because this is a meme coin, meaning it has no independent value tied to it other than just the popularity of Trump himself.
With many arguing that this essentially creates a workaround for foreign investors to support Trump financially without directly violating federal laws that ban them from donating to political campaigns or presidential inaugural funds.
And those concerns were heightened even more when the Trump-affiliated businesses that operate the coin announced that it was hosting a contest where people would buy large quantities of the coin —
And the top 220 holders would win a special dinner on May 22 with the president at his golf club outside of D.C.
But the contest also created an incentive for the wealthiest individuals to pour even more money into Trump’s coin, because the top 25 holders would also win a VIP tour of the White House and a separate private reception with the President.
So, with that, you had many arguing that the president was explicitly allowing people to buy access to him by investing in a coin that will enrich him and his family.
An allegation that wasn’t helped by the fact that certain buyers explicitly told The New York Times in interviews and statements that they bought the coins or entered the contests, quote:
“with the intention of securing an action by Mr. Trump to affect United States policy.”
And it does seem like the dinner was a massive success financially.
Right, just the announcement of the contest alone caused Trump’s coin to surge 50%.
With an analysis by The Washington Post finding that crypto wallets linked to Trump and his partners earned around $3 million just in transaction fees alone by mid-May, a few weeks after the gala was announced.
Adding that, all in all: “Since Trump’s coin debuted in January, the president and his partners have received $312 million from crypto sales and $43 million in fees.”
And a large chunk of that appears to be from this dinner contest, with the data analytics firm Inca Digital estimating that meme coin buyers spent over $140 million to secure invitations.
But an analysis by the blockchain analytics company Nansen put the number at more than double that, reporting that, in total, “the winners spent $394 million on Trump’s official cryptocurrency.”
And adding that the amount spent by the winners ranged from $55,000 to $37.7 million, with the average investment being over $1.7 million.
But regardless of the actual numbers, we know for sure that we’re talking about a lot of money, which begs the question, who are the people who invested so significantly in the Trump coin and won personal access to the president himself?
Well, we essentially don’t know — and that really highlights a fundamental problem with this whole crypto-scheme.
Right, the identities of nearly all the coin holders are anonymous, and their purchases were made with untraceable wallets.
But we have gotten some insights — for example, The Post found that around half of the top 220 owners of the Trump meme coin have also received coins from crypto exchanges that reject customers from the U.S., indicating they could be foreign buyers.
And that was also backed up in an analysis by Bloomberg, which also found that “76% of the token value held among the top 220 valets likely belongs to foreign owners” based on their use of exchanges U.S. residents can’t access.
And at least some of the highest spenders have been identified, like Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who revealed himself as the number one buyer of the Trump coin.
Purchasing nearly $19 million worth of the token.
And that is super notable because his financial ties to Trump-linked companies have already raised eyebrows.
Right, in 2023 the SEC brought civil charges against Sun and several of his companies over allegations that they were fraudulently manipulating the market.
But after Trump’s win in November, Sun invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial — which is a whole OTHER Trump-related crypto venture that allocates 75% of its revenues to entities owned by the Trump family.
And in February, shortly after Trump took office, the SEC asked a court to halt the case against Sun and his companies.
Additionally, the day the dinner contest closed, a small tech company with ties to China called GD Culture Group announced that it would be investing as much as $300 million in both the Trump coin and Bitcoin.
And while it’s unclear how much of that ultimately went to the Trump coin, the move was still significant because, as The Times explains, any purchase from the company:
“would be the first known example of a China-linked firm buying Mr. Trump’s memecoin.”
And noting that the company stated in its financial disclosures that its subsidiary “might be influenced by demands from the Chinese government.”
Right, and so while the dinner generated tons of concern and criticism when it was first announced, that has only increased in the aftermath.
Which brings us full circle back to where we started, which is that The Washington Post is now reporting that Rep. Jamie Raskin — the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee — has opened a probe into the dinner.
With Raskin writing a letter to Trump demanding that Trump provide a guest list of the the 220 invitees, including:
“the full name, nationality, business affiliation, and how much each spent on $TRUMP memecoins.”
Additionally, Raskin also called on the president to provide “a detailed explanation” of the steps he and his partners took “to determine the source of the funds used to purchase” the memecoin and, quote:
“whether these funds have ties to foreign governments, foreign monarchs, terrorist organizations, drug cartels, or other criminal enterprises or activities.”
With him going on to argue that the publication of this list is necessary to, quote:
“let the American people know who is putting tens of millions of dollars into our President’s pocket so we can start to figure out what—beyond virtually worthless memecoins—they are getting in exchange for all this money.”
And adding that information about the source of the money each investor used to buy the coin is also needed in order to prevent Trump from pocketing “illegal foreign government” without the consent of Congress.
Right, with that last part specifically referencing the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bans federal officials from accepting gifts or titles from foreign governments without permission from Congress
And that is super significant because many experts have argued that this whole dinner situation is a clear violation of that provision.
Which is also a point that Murphy — who is a lawyer — made when he came on the show:
“I mean, there is no clearer violation of the Constitution, of the emoluments clause, than that. You can't give access to the White House to induce people to send you money personally. But that's exactly what he's doing.” 17:12 - 17:29
Right, and to that point, last week, you had a group of 35 members of Congress signing a letter calling on an arm of the Justice Department to investigate whether the dinner violated federal bribery laws or the foreign emoluments clause.
Arguing that the event was, quote:
“just the latest example of President Trump disregarding ethics norms, introducing further conflicts of interest, and using his office for self-enrichment.”
Now, I’m no big city lawyer, but I think it seems pretty unlikely that the DOJ would actually investigate Trump for this — at least successfully before he and his allies tried to quash any potential probe.
But, as far as Raskin’s letter, you notably did have press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying last week that she would “raise that question” internally when asked whether the administration would agree to releasing a guest list.
Though she also argued that the event was “not a White House dinner” and that “the president is attending it in his personal time.”
Although, as The Post noted, he traveled to and from the dinner on Marine One, which is used for official capacities and paid for by taxpayers, blurring the line even more.
With the outlet noing that “there is no obvious precedent for a president flying in Marine One to a private event from which he and his family businesses are directly profiting.”
But that’s where I’m going to end this one for now, and with all that, I’d really love to know your thoughts around all this.
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This family got to hear the voice of their father for the first time in nearly 60 years.
Right, this is Riley Leroy Pitts - he was an Army captain during the Vietnam war, leading an infantry company and doing deeds to earn him 2 Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. [B Roll 3:56-4:06]
But just weeks before he was set to come home for Thanksgiving in 1967, at just 30 years old, he became one of the tens of thousands of American soldiers to die over there.
Following his death, President Lyndon B Johnson presented his wife Eula (U-la) with the Army Medal of Honor - making him the first Black officer to ever be awarded it. [B Roll 5:22-5:32]
But he was more than just a soldier - he also left behind his wife and 2 children, Mark and Stacie.
Who last saw him when they were 3 and 5 years old. [B Roll 3:48-3:55]
Life went on without Riley - his children grew up and had children of their own and they grew up in turn.
Then one day, Eula was watching the Ken Burns documentary on Muhammed Ali - which features a segment about Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam War.
And that segment also included interviews with soldiers who were over there at the time, getting their opinion about Ali’s choice.
Among those interviews was Captain Riley Pitts. [B Roll 7:15-7:25]
With Mark saying that his mother immediately called him about it -
[“She calls me - I’m at a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. She’s telling me, ‘Hey, I just saw your dad - they interviewed him in this Muhammed Ali series and um, you know, you should try to find that.’ The crowd is screaming and I’m like, ‘Muhammed Ali? Daddy? Wh-what are you?’ so I said, ‘Mom, I’ll call you back, okay?’” 6:41-7:01]
So Mark tracks down the organization and finds out that this footage came from the archives of ABC News.
So he sends an email to director of the ABC News Videosource Anthony Perrone (Per-own) - asking if there is any more to this footage than what was included in the documentary.
[“Then he said something that really just blew me away. He said, ‘It’s the first time my sister and I have ever heard our father’s voice as an adult.’ I just felt like if this is in this library, I’m going to find it.” 7:46-7:58]
And what Per-own found was more than 40 minutes of unaired footage of Captain Riley Pitts and his men fighting the war in Vietnam.
So ABC brought that footage to the Pitts family - with everyone tearing up a bit as they watched,
[Mark: “I’m seeing more than I expected. And I don’t know that I was quite ready for that much. I told you I wasn’t going to cry.” Stacie: “It’s a lot. It’s a lot. It’s a whole lot more than that little 15 seconds we saw.” Mark: “Yeah.” Stacie: “It’s a whole lot more.” Mark: “I just know that I missed out on something special.” 10:24-10:48]
[Mark: “I’m watching his mannerisms and that’s the first time that I, obviously, remember his facial expressions, his body language.” Interviewer: “He had a beautiful smile.” Mark: “He did. And you know, that’s a memory now. I don’t have - I don’t have much more than that.” 8:52-9:08]
Beyond just the footage of Riley himself, ABC also found footage of their reporters going back after he died to interview the soldiers he’d led.
So his family heard these men sing the praises of their father - decades after the fact.
[Soldier 1: “Leroy Pitts was more than an inspiration and a leader to his men. He was a man among men.” Soldier 2: “He was a very inspiring man. He did a lot for the morale of the company.” Soldier 3: “Without his leadership, everybody would have completely fell apart.” 9:30-9:43]
And it’s so interesting that the decision to include a brief clip of this Army Captain in a documentary about Muhammed Ali led to this reunion of sorts and a family hearing their father’s voice for the first time in decades.
But I’d love to know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.
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