Elon Musk sent out a message
saying to Vladimir Putin he would fight him man--
mano a mano to determine, like,
what happens in Ukraine. He's like,
"No war. Just me versus you."
Which I think we should actually go back to.
I think we need to stop these wars.
Just send your best fighter and we sort this thing out.
However, I will say this,
if I am putting my life in somebody's hands,
I'm not choosing Elon Musk. All right?
If I'm choosing-- if I'm gonna choose a billionaire to fight,
like, I'm going Bezos first. And I mean buff Bezos.
Not, like, the garage Bezos. I mean, like, like, the guy now,
you know what I mean-- Where it looks like he puts his money
in his muscles. that Bezos.
But Elon Musk... yeah.
It's also crazy that he just offered this himself.
"I will fight you for the future of Ukraine."
Ukraine is like, "I'm sorry, come again?"
-♪ ♪ -ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from the heart of Times Square
in New York City, the only city in America,
it's The Daily Show.
Tonight, Brady is back.
Putin bans Instagram.
And Evan Rachel Wood.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
Hey, what's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah,
and joining me for today's headlines is the one and only
-Michael Kosta! How you doing, Kosta? -Oh, man.
I'm tired. I mean, I woke up at... 4:00,
but it was really... 8:15 or... (stammers) or was it...
I woke up at 8:15, but it was actually 4:00-- my... (sighs)
-Do you get confused by it? -Wh-Wh-- The time thing?
Was I early today or was I late?
I-- You know what, I don't, I don't know.
Because in South Africa we don't do that, so I don't even know...
-(stammering) -I don't even know it happens sometimes,
because everything changes automatically
-except my microwave. -Right. (stammers) And-and that's
southern hemisphere, so the clocks,
they go the other direction, is that right?
Because I get all screwed up here because it's light outside,
or is it dark? I-I think you should go on with the show,
but this daylight savings thing's really... messes me up.
-Well, that's why you're here, my friend. -Yup.
To add a much needed perspective.
All right. Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
♪ ♪
We begin with major news from the world of sports,
involving Tom Brady.
Seven-time Super Bowl Champion and the guy who
taught Gronk how to read.
Six weeks ago, Brady retired from professional football--
which was a huge deal, because Because Brady is arguably
the greatest quarterback of all time, okay?
He's played for 22 seasons and he's been going to Super Bowls
so long his first halftime show was a bunch of
Gregorian monks chanting. So, yeah.
It was big news when Tom Brady retired.
But you know what's even bigger news than retiring? Uretiring.
Let's move to a headline that everybody's talking about
this morning. A surprise twist in the retirement of Tom Brady.
Yeah, turns out, uh, it wasn't much of a retirement after all.
-(laughter) -The NFL great announcing he is going to be
back with his Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022 season,
citing, "unfinished business."
NEWSWOMAN: In his announcement on social media, he says this,
Yes! Tom Brady is back in the NFL!
Oh, I love this so much! I love it so much!
Because he is the most loved and the most hated athlete
in the game. I love this guy! He's the main character!
What's the NFL without Tom Brady? Huh?
Him leaving the NFL is like when Charlie Sheen
left Two and a Half Men. Yeah, there were still
two-and-a-half men, but which men?
Not men we cared about. Where's the cocaine?!
Step it up, little kid.
And I get why Brady's back.
First of all, you have seen the price of gas right now?
This is not the time to quit your job.
Also, some people are just not made for the retired life,
especially Tom Brady. Think about it.
For 22 years,
he's had men the size of little trucks
trying to tackle him.
That's adrenaline.
Yeah. Can you imagine how boring his homelife is right now?
Even hiring his own commentators probably didn't help.
"Oh, Tom Brady searching under the sink
"for the soap refill. Can he find it?
"He's got it! Tom Brady's got the soap!
He needs to go back to football."
So, of course Tom Brady wasn't gonna retire, man.
He's the GOAT. His grip on the NFL is tighter
than whoever braided Drake's hair.
Yeah, you want to talk about a GOAT? That person's a GOAT.
How the hell did you turn Drake's short hair into braids?
That's witchcraft, that's how.
So, with this move, Tom Brady
has officially, officially, officially confirmed himself
as the greatest of all time.
Because, you see, this move right here
is what all the greatest do.
They retire, and then they come right back.
Yeah. Michael Jordan did it.
Jay-Z did it.
And the greatest of all time, Jesus.
Yeah. That guy retired from life for three days
before he was like, "Nah, the game needs me."
You know what my favorite part of this story actually is?
Is the night before Brady unretired,
there was an auction for the football that Brady used
to throw his final touchdown pass,
and someone paid more than half a million dollars
for that ball.
(chuckles): Yeah. I mean...
If you... If you ask me, I mean,
this actually just makes the football cooler.
You know? 'Cause if I was at somebody's house
and they were like, "Yo, you want to see the football
from Tom Brady's last touchdown throw?"
I'd be like, "Yeah, maybe. Not really."
But if they were like, "Hey, you want to see
one of the worst purchases ever?"
I'd be like, "Hell, yeah!"
(laughing): "Wait, you're that dumbass?
"You paid... You thought it was his last throw?
You idiot! You dumbass."
Oh, man. Oh, Kosta, what do you think about this story, man?
(sighs)
Look, I-I mean, it seems to me like Tom Brady's acting
like someone who's has been hit in the head
every day for the past 30 years, you know what I mean?
I mean, I feel bad for his kids.
You know? They finally get Dad back in the house,
and after a month, he's like, "I'll do anything.
You know, I'll do anything to get back to work."
I think what he realized, Trevor,
is when you retire, you see and hear
how much people really love and admire you.
-Yeah. -And maybe that was something
that-that compelled him to return.
And, you know, the...
You don't realize how much you're missed until you're gone.
-That's true. That's interesting. -Yeah.
And I think I'm gonna... I'm gonna steal a chapter
from Tom Brady's book,
and I want to announce to you tonight
and to... and to the crew here
that I'm retiring from The Daily Show, okay?
And, uh, now, like Tom Brady, I'll be paying attention
to what you are saying about me once I'm gone,
but I am retiring, okay?
This is my last performance on The Daily Show.
And, uh, thank you,
and feel free to share with others
how you feel about me.
And, uh, you know, thanks a lot.
So, thank you, everybody.
Thank you, guys. Thanks.
Thanks, Trevor. I'm retiring, so this is it.
I'm gone now. I'm retiring from the show.
Not listening, but I am paying attention
to what you're saying.
All right, let's move on
from the greatest quarterback of all time
to the greatest disease of all time, COVID-19.
The virus that goes away then comes back
more times than an evil twin on a soap opera.
More than two years into the pandemic,
several countries in Asia and Europe
are now facing record infection rates.
And things have gotten especially bad in China,
where the government has just imposed lockdowns
on 51 million people.
And for those watching from the United States,
this is a real lockdown, right,
where you can't leave your house,
not an American lockdown where everything is open
but there are stickers on the floor that everyone ignores.
And in most countries, in most countries,
including the U.S., things are going in the other direction.
In fact, restrictions are being lifted so quickly
that things are getting a little confusing, you know?
Like, for example, okay, right here in New York City,
Mayor Eric Adams has lifted the rule
that you have to be vaccinated to attend indoor events.
Okay? That's gone.
But there is still a rule that you have to be vaccinated
to go to your workplace.
So if someone's job is at an indoor event,
they can't go to work. But they can show up to work
to watch their colleagues do their thing. Yeah.
Which is exactly what happened this weekend.
A big matchup at Barclays Center
with the Nets taking on the Knicks,
but Kyrie Irving, who's ineligible to play in the city
for failing to comply with the vaccine mandate
for city workers-- he might have stolen the show.
He attended the game as a fan
and watched his Nets win from the sidelines.
He paid for a ticket just like a regular person.
Yeah, guys, I-I don't care...
like, how COVID compliant you are,
shit like this makes zero sense.
Can we agree on that? Can we agree--
What, so Kyrie can go inside, not wear a mask,
even hug a teammate, but he cannot play!
I don't get it. Why?
Does the ball have a weak immune system? What's going on?
I mean, it's crazy, just think about it, just think about it.
Kyrie can't play, but he can sit in the stands, right?
Like a fan. And then, as a fan, what happens if he gets picked
to take the half-court shot to win the car?
Can he do that? What are those rules? How does it work?
And you know the funny thing about Kyrie being in the stands
is that this is the one time a fan is screaming at the team
that he could play better than them and he actually could.
They probably looked over like,
"Who's saying that sh-- Oh, yeah, yeah, my bad."
I actually wonder if Kyrie's the only person
that this has happened to. Like, are there other people
who can't work because of vaccine mandates but then
they still show up to the office to cheer on their coworkers?
You're killing it, Steve! You're killing it.
Send that report, baby! You got this. You got--
Oh, shit. Did you just click "reply all"?
Oh, man, you're so screwed.
Boo! Take him off. Take him off!
All right, let's move on to some entertainment news.
Awards season is now in full swing,
and every event brings so much to look forward to.
Who's gonna take home the big prize?
Who's gonna win the red carpet?
Will this finally be the year
they use in EDM song for the in memorium?
♪ All these people died, died, died, died, died ♪
♪ Di-di-die, died-died-died, d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d, died ♪
♪ They're all dead. ♪ (imitates fast beat)
Now I see why they don't do that.
Now, of course,
there's always the question
of who's gonna give the most viral speech at an awards show.
And today that award goes to the director Jane Campion.
NEWSMAN: The Critics Choice Awards last night,
the Netflix film The Power of the Dog
getting plenty of momentum heading into the Oscars,
walking away with the award for Best Film.
Director Jane Campion taking home the Best Director award.
While onstage, she made this comment
about Serena and Venus Williams that has people talking.
Give my love out to my fellow-fellow-fellow--
the guys. (laughs)
(laughter)
The nominees. And-and, you know, Serena and Venus,
you are such marvels.
However, you do not play against the guys.
(chuckles)
Like I have to.
(laughter)
-(man cheers loudly) -(cheering)
Okay.
Okay. I know, I know,
I know a lot of people are angry about this.
I know.
But, honestly,
I can see...
I can see both sides.
First of all,
first of all,
Campion was obviously trying to make a point
about how hard it is for female directors
to break through in Hollywood,
which is true.
Right? I mean, in her defense,
name a female director.
Huh? See? You see? Nothing.
Yeah, you were like, "Uh, Steven Spielberg?
Uh, please don't cancel me, Trevor!"
Too late!
And that's what Jane Campion means.
It's a big deal when a woman breaks through
in a category that's always dominated by men.
Yeah. And if you-- if you watch the clip,
you can see Serena Williams loved that moment.
She was clapping hard.
But Venus, Venus, well,
she looked like someone just told her
how well-spoken her backhand is.
Now, on the other hand, on the other hand,
I get why a lot of people found this cringey.
I totally understand it.
Because it felt like a white woman on top of her game
was telling two Black women on top of their game
that her game is harder than theirs.
Which can sound rude anytime
but especially in an awards speech,
where, traditionally, the only person you're supposed to offend
is your spouse when you forget to thank them.
And, also, if I was Campion,
I wouldn't want to be challenging the Williams sisters
to anything.
'Cause they are competitors.
Yeah, knowing them, they're gonna start learning
to direct movies and then go on to win next year's Oscars
in straight sets.
And because of the backlash, because of the backlash,
Jane Campion apologized today, because, obviously,
she felt bad. Right?
She wasn't trying to hurt anybody.
If I'm honest, I don't think she meant anything nefarious.
She was trying to tell a joke. It landed weird.
You know, you almost wish
that someone could have intercepted her
right before she said that line. You know?
Where's Kanye when you actually need him?
Actually, don't answer that. Don't answer that.
All right, that's it for the headlines.
But don't go away. Because when we come back,
we're gonna bring you all the latest from the war in Ukraine.
And, spoiler alert, it's still bad.
-So don't... -I guess I'm unretiring, so...
-Oh. -'Cause I want-- Do--
I'd love to have my job back.
What-- Well, but you were retired though.
Ri-- But-but I'd like to unretire,
'cause I was retiring to hear what you had to say about me,
and-and you didn't--
It seemed like you just kind of...
skipped right past that.
So I'd love it if I could have my job back, please.
Oh, damn. I-I... Roy took your job.
(stammers) Oh, Roy-Roy took my job?
But Roy already has a job.
Yeah, and then he was like, he could use another one.
-He's-he's got another job? -Yeah.
It was, like, a whole-- 'Cause you were gone and then, like...
I retired, but then I went like that,
'cause I just wanted to hear what you were...
I thought you had, like, a thing in your eye,
and I was like, "That's why you're retiring.
Your eyesight's going."
Trevor, I just wanted to hear you say some nice stuff
-about me, but-but it never happened. -Oh, man.
-I'm just unretiring. -Oh, man.
I'm sorry. I'll-I'll say it now. Man, my bad. I didn't know--
-Um, nice things about Michael Kosta. -Yeah.
-Cool. -What I love about Michael Kosta is that,
even though he's left the show,
-he doesn't begrudge anybody at the show... -That...
...and he leaves his-his security clearance behind
and he doesn't make a scene of it.
And he doesn't make anybody feel bad.
I do-- I do appreciate all this, but I-I really do need the job.
That was just kind of a c-comedic...
Oh, shit. Okay, um...
-So, can I work here or does Roy... -Let's...
It's Roy's fourth job, but maybe-maybe I...
Let's-let's-- You know what? Let's-let's talk--
-let's talk about it and then, um... -Okay.
Yeah, that was, uh... Let's chat to Roy.
-We'll-we'll chat to Roy. -We'll-we'll figure--
we'll figure something out. We'll figure something out.
-Thanks. -And even if we don't,
I mean, we'll never forget you.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
It is now day 19
of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
a war that has quickly turned Ukraine into a giant battlefield
and Russia into a giant North Korea.
So, let's catch up on the latest developments in our ongoing
coverage of the war in Ukraine.
♪ ♪
Thanks to a fierce Ukrainian resistance, Russia has been
frustrated by its inability to capture any major city so far.
Which is why more and more, they've decided to
just bomb those cities from the sky.
Apartment complexes, hospitals,
basically, the less threatening the building, the more
Russia wants to bomb it. And that has led to a fierce debate
in the West over how to respond.
Should NATO send Ukraine fighter jets?
Should NATO enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine?
So far, the answers to both of those have been, "No,"
over fears that doing either would spark a direct conflict
between NATO and Russia.
But over the weekend, it was Russia edging everyone closer
to direct conflict.
A war that many fear could spill into other countries has taken
a dangerous turn, with Russia firing on a
Ukrainian military base close to the Polish border
and the NATO alliance.
The sky turned red, witnesses say,
when roughly 30 Russian missiles struck the Yavoriv training base
in Western Ukraine, leaving this smoldering crater,
35 people dead and an escalation of the war now only a few
miles from Poland, a key NATO ally.
The base was routinely used by U.S. and NATO trainers
over the years.
NEWSWOMAN: The attack came a day after Moscow warned
it would try to destroy foreign shipments of weapons to Ukraine,
calling them "legitimate targets."
Yeah. Believe it or not, for the first time, Russia bombed
a military base very close to Poland's border.
Just 15 miles away. Which definitely seems like a warning.
I mean, 15 miles is basically nothing
according to my friend who can't stop telling me
that he's training for a marathon.
I get it. You run far.
In fact, 15 miles is basically as close you can get
to bombing Poland without actually hitting it,
which means this missile strike was basically Russia going,
"Oh, I wish a NATO would."
And on top of that, Russia's also warning
that it's not gonna just let the West
keep sending weapons into Ukraine.
It's gonna start attacking those shipments.
Which is scary,
but, I mean, of course they want to stop
those shipments from coming in.
You know, NATO is sending Ukraine
its most sophisticated weapons.
Meanwhile, Russia is fighting
with the equivalent of a flip phone.
So, if you're a UPS guy
who gets a package that looks like this,
you might want to watch yourself.
Now, both of these developments are concerning
because, like I said, nobody wants World War III.
We don't want it to start for any reason.
I mean, America hasn't even defeated
all the Nazis from the last World War.
And like my mom always says, you can't have more
until you finish what's on your plate.
But while everyone is trying to keep the war
from spilling into the rest of the Europe,
as it turns out,
it might already be spilling into China.
NEWSWOMAN: We're learning this morning that Russia
has asked China for military support
and other aid for this invasion.
That is really concerning for the West
and could be a real blow to these Ukrainian forces
if, indeed, uh, this happens.
U.S. officials tell us it's true,
and the White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
is traveling to Rome today to meet with Chinese officials,
and he says he will warn them not to help Vladimir Putin.
We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing.
We will not allow that to go forward
and allow there to be a, uh, lifeline to Russia
from these economic sanctions
from any country anywhere in the world.
Okay, look, I-I can see
why America doesn't want Russia teaming up with China.
That would be an unstoppable power couple.
Like Bennifer but with nukes.
But getting tough on Russia is one thing.
How does America plan to turn the screws on China?
"Hey, you better do what we say, or we won't let you sell us
"literally everything we need to survive anymore
because we haven't made anything ourselves in 30 years."
Shit. I bet America would sacrifice three or four states
just to keep getting new iPhones.
And whether China decides to help Russia or not,
you've got to admit, this is embarrassing for Russia.
I mean, think about it.
They're not even, what, three weeks into this war?
And they're already like,
"China, can you help us?
We ran out of war stuff."
It's like when you were a kid at the arcade
and you used up all your tokens
trying to beat the first level of a video game.
Then you just got to walk around,
begging other people for their tokens.
And when that fails,
you spend the rest of the party fingerbanging all the machines,
hoping someone left a token behind-- remember those days?
But as Putin looks for help on the battlefield,
the fallout is also continuing to mount inside his own borders.
Seemingly every day, Russia becomes
more and more isolated from the rest of the world.
They can't fly anywhere, they can't order anything
off of Amazon. They can't even use Airbnb.
Which means now they have to film themselves
going to the bathroom.
And every day, the Russian people become more cut off
from the truth about the war.
All the independent media has been shut down.
So the only thing that they have now is state TV.
Although today an antiwar message
managed to slip on the air.
Provocative and courageous move from an antiwar protester
in Russia. Watch her bold and brave act
during a prime time broadcast on Russian state TV this evening.
(speaking Russian)
TAPPER: That sign reads, in Russian, "No war. Stop the war.
Do not believe propaganda. They tell you lies here."
The last line of the sign read "Russians against war."
The program appeared to quickly cut away to video.
At this hour it's unclear what happened to this woman
after her on-set protest.
Russia, of course, does not allow freedom of speech.
Wow.
That is either an incredibly brave protester
or a very horrible cue card person.
No, for real though, for real, that was actually
an employee at that state TV channel, which is brave.
That's one of the bravest things I've ever seen.
Although, knowing Russia's propaganda machine,
it's probably gonna find a way to, like,
twist this whole thing. Yeah, they'll be like,
(Russian accent): "You saw the sign-- 'No war.'
"There is no war. Everything is normal. All good."
(regular accent): But this protest aside,
it's almost impossible for Russians to get information
from the outside world now. Even on the Internet.
There's no Facebook. There's no Twitter in Russia.
And now there's no cat photos.
Instagram has gone dark in Russia.
The country shut down the social media platform at midnight.
Russian regulators gave people 48 hours to
save all their photos and videos before the service ended.
So there's are all these influencers in Russia
with, like, 23 million-something followers
that are, like, sobbing and very upset
that they're losing all their followers.
NEWSWOMAN: Reality TV star Olga Buzova posted this video
of her crying and saying,
"It feels like a big part of my heart
and my life is being taken away from me."
Yeah. If you thought being a Ukrainian refugee was bad,
imagine being forced to pick up your whole life on Instagram
and move it over to Cameo.
That's tragic.
I mean, for real though, Instagram shutting down
in Russia does really affect people's lives.
Because Instagram is used in a lot of ways.
You know? Yes, it makes influencers money, yes.
But it also gives small businesses
the opportunity to promote themselves.
It lets people share important life updates with each other.
You know? It lets creepy dudes tell women
who are clearly porn bots that their ass is flames.
It does a lot of things.
But...
luckily for Russians going through Instagram withdrawal,
Putin has come through again with a new app
that I think is even better.
(Russian accent): Comrades, are you sad that Mother Russia
has banned neo-Nazi Instagram?
Well, do not worry
or we put you in jail.
Now you do not need Instagram,
because Russia has new photo app.
Instavlad.
Instavlad is new Russia-approved way to waste time on toilet.
Now you can show haters around the world
you're still living best life.
Does not matter if you can't fly anywhere and have no money.
You are happy eating stew at home.
And Instavlad has all the best filters,
so you can see what you look like if you had reason to smile.
And with Close Comrade mode,
your private pictures will only be visible to your best friends
and also our secret police.
And if you want sexy thots,
we have the hottest one.
Look at him. He is so sexy.
Like and comment. Comment some more.
You did you not comment enough.
Now we put you in jail.
Instavlad.
You know you like it.
All right, when we come back,
Evan Rachel Wood will be joining me on the show
to have a really important conversation
about how we deal with sexual abuse.
So stay tuned.
Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight
is actor and activist Evan Rachel Wood.
She's here to talk about her
new documentary about surviving domestic violence,
entitled Phoenix Rising.
WOOD: He called me 158 times and cut himself every time I didn't
pick up the phone, and said he was gonna kill himself.
This is when people in my life started saying,
"Y-You need to get a restraining order."
And I said "absolutely not."
Absolutely not. That-that-- The getting a restraining order
seemed crazy to me, because I was like,
"You're only gonna make him more mad," and I think a lot of women
feel like that, that's why they don't get restraining orders.
Because you will anger the beast.
Evan Rachel Wood, welcome to The Daily Show.
-Thanks. Thanks for having me. -It's good to have you here, um,
especially to talk about a topic that I think is one of the more
sensitive topics that we-we're discussing in society today,
but also one of the more pertinent topics that we're
discussing in society today.
-And it's in and around the issue of abuse. -Mm-hmm.
You know, sexual abuse, which, as we learn from the
Me Too movement, is far more rampant than people would have
wanted to admit or even some people realized.
And you've created a-a documentary here.
Let's start with the why, maybe.
And not why the documentary, but the timing of the documentary.
-Mm-hmm. -So many people want to let go of pain in their life.
So many people want to move on.
It feels like you've done the exact opposite. You've gone
back into the pain. You've gone back into the story.
-Why, and why now? -Well, it is 16 years later.
So, uh, I do get a lot of people commenting on how
I'm able to speak about things and put on a brave face and...
and... how "strong" I am.
Um... But it-it took 16 years to get here.
And the first thing that I did when I got out was
try to get as far away from it as possible.
Try to forget it ever happened.
You're-You're running. You're trying to forget
-that it ever happened. -Yeah.
Um, and then, of course, it catches up with you,
and, uh, I-I couldn't run from it. It started--
the trauma started to seep into other areas of my life.
So I threw myself into-into therapy,
which I highly recommend if you have the resources.
-Yeah. Yeah. -Unfortunately, in this country,
you know, mental health is not always at the top of the list.
Um, and-and it really...
I... I-I was planning on taking this to my grave.
-I really was not planning on saying anything ever. -Wow.
I-I was that afraid.
Um, and that afraid of retaliation.
I just did not feel safe, and I felt very alone.
I thought I was the only one.
And you'll hear that a lot from-from abuse survivors.
When I, uh, first was asked to testify
for the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights
in front of Congress about my story,
I really thought that was gonna be it.
I thought, "Okay, here. I'm gonna tell my story,
and that's it. I'm gonna be done."
And then women started popping up-- and men-- online
-that had eerily similar stories. -Man.
But new details that I knew they weren't lying.
There were very, very specific details that I...
Uh, there's just no way you could know those things
unless-unless you were toe to toe with that person.
So I knew it was real, and that's when it changed.
That's when I knew I couldn't stay quiet.
You know, when you say "that person,"
I guess one of the reasons the story is as big as it is
is not just because of what happened
but it's because of who it involves.
-Yes. -You know, you named Marilyn Manson.
In cases of abuse, oftentimes, we think of it
as being black or white, good and bad.
-Yes. -You know, we... There are layers to people,
which make it complicated.
And you've talked about... you've talked about his history.
You've talked about, you know, his history with abuse.
You've talked about his-his history
with, you know, the issues that he deals with mentally,
-et cetera. -Mm-hmm.
I-I found that particularly interesting
because I felt it cloudies a subject
that is already quite complicated,
and yet because of that,
-it deserves to be part of the conversation. -Mm-hmm.
Why did you feel it necessary to say,
"Hey, this is the person who abused me,
"and this person also suffered abuse,
and this person is also going through things"?
Why do that knowing that it would then,
you know, almost cloud some people's judgment
in, like, who's guilty or who's not
or even... or even who's accountable sometimes?
Of course. And-and that's...
Uh, it-it can definitely get complicated in that way,
because I-I do believe in accountability
and healing and-and reform, and I think there is a...
a-a time and a space for that.
And I think we need to leave more space for accountability.
Otherwise, nobody's gonna be accountable.
-Right. -Um, but, uh, I-I just knew
we're never gonna get to the root of this problem
if-if we don't go into the background,
um... and-and the root and the cause,
because violence in the home
is-is the root of so many issues in this country,
in the world, it bleeds into almost
every area of society, and we don't even realize it.
Um, and violence begets violence. It's-- it is a cycle.
Um... And, uh, there are people
that can stop the cycle.
Um, and there are some people I feel--
like Brian-- that don't want help.
And he's had every opportunity,
-he's had so many people try. -Mm.
Um, and he has-he has refused it every time.
Um, and, uh,
once... I mean, I don't know how much I can say.
But there, you know, there-there have been allegations
and, uh, stories that have come out
on the-on the Internet that involve minors.
And... you got to draw the line somewhere.
And-and with children...
I-I have to draw the line there.
Um... and, uh,
I don't believe that he will stop
until he is stopped, and sometimes
the greatest act of love is stopping that person
from hurting themselves or hurting anybody else.
We in society often say, we go, "Well, why didn't do you
do it sooner? Why didn't you come forward sooner?"
And-and so, I would love to know from you
how time-- how you think
-time affects the-the mental state, -Mm-hmm.
the relationship and the entire world
of somebody who's experienced sexual abuse.
People underestimate the...
the power of that kind of trauma
and what it does to your body and to your brain.
And there's so many studies to back this up.
And-and this is what the laws do not reflect.
Is the effects of trauma on the brain.
And a lot of people, when they're--
think they know how they're gonna respond
to a situation like that, until you're in
a life-threatening situation and you're doing risk assessment
and are you in survival mode, and you're gonna
have that fight, flight or freeze response--
sometimes all three-- um,
you're just trying to survive that moment
and get the least amount of damage, you know?
And, uh, and then, once you're out, again,
like I said, you-you... your-your body and your brain
-do back flips to protect you from the pain. -Mm.
And-and that's how denial comes into play.
That's how, you know, addiction comes into play.
Bad coping mechanisms, 'cause are you just
kind of buried, because to-to face it,
to-to face the reality is-is almost unbearable.
I think, on average, it takes people seven to ten years
to be able to process, understand,
heal, and be able to put things in chronological order.
The laws, I mean, you know... (stammers)
In California, the statute of limitations
was one to three years when we started, uh,
advocating for the Phoenix Act.
And, you know, o... (chuckles)
one to three years
-is nothing to a survivor... -Yeah, it's nowhere near. Yeah.
...or-or to somebody that has experienced
not just one incidence of trauma,
which is...
You know, any act of trauma is-is terrible.
But, you know, i-imagine 24/7 for four years.
The damage that that would do on somebody's psyche
-and self-esteem. -Right.
And, um, with somebody like him,
who was very calculated in brainwashing,
in-in isolation,
um, it-it very much operates like a cult
in that, when you're in it,
you can't see the forest for the-- through the trees.
Up is down, down is up.
It's-it's you two against the world.
And it is a secret that nobody will ever be able to understand,
and you feel like you're a part of something, you know?
Um, and you got to... you got to break free of that illusion.
And-and it-it takes time.
It takes time and work and therapy.
I cannot stress that enough.
Um, but, you know, again, I-I had those resources,
I have a platform, I have privilege.
So...
it really breaks my heart to think of people
that don't have access to the things that I've had access to
and-and how alone they must feel,
and that really is what-what drives me.
Well, as I said at the beginning of the conversation,
it's one of the hardest conversations to have,
I think, because it makes us question
-a lot of what we've allowed in society... -Of course.
...who we are, who we were, and who we hope to be.
And, um, yeah, thank you for joining us on the show.
And I encourage everybody to watch the documentary
and hear your side of the story.
-Thank you. (chuckles softly) -Thank you so much.
The two-part HBO documentary Phoenix Rising
airs March 15 and 16 on HBO
and can be streamed on HBO Max.
We're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
Well, that's our show for tonight. But before we go,
please consider supporting Step Up.
They're an organization that provides mentors
for young women to nurture their personal
and professional growth.
So if you can support their work
with after-school and weekend mentorship programs,
then please donate at the link below.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there, get your vaccine,
and, remember, if Tom Brady inspired you to quit your job,
well, you better start begging your boss to take you back.
Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
NEWSMAN: It is one of those things.
You know, law enforcement,
they have to-- they have to keep these people safe.
And-and then-- You can see it right there.
The suspect trying to get into somebody's property
or still trying to hide
but, uh, doing a very, very poor job of it right there.
LAPD coming to a stop.
Oh, come on, guys! He's right there!
Our pilot today talking on O2, trying to tell the officers
that this suspect is right there.
And, a-a... and, again, you just saw that.
Oh, my goodness, I just feel so bad for those officers
making their way back now.
It's the blue car. There we go.
Keep coming around, Ange. Keep coming around.
That suspect-- There he goes.
Some of those officers must be getting that information.
There you go. There you go.
And now that suspect's going into custody. Wow.
-(newswoman gasps) -Wow. And...
They haven't seen him yet. This is unbelievable.
-There we go. -(groans)
NEWSMAN: (sighs) Oh, my gosh.
Sorry about that.