Robby Starbuck | The Sage Steele Show

If Mark Zuckerberg is serious, if they're really turning over a new leaf at Meta and Facebook and Instagram, and they want to be a nonpartisan actor, and they want to show that to the public, then, you know... I think there's very simple things they're going to do in response to this. They're not gonna fight us. They're not gonna choose a PR war.

First of all, I cannot believe that we're actually meeting in person. We connected on Twitter probably like seven? Long time ago. Years ago? Yeah, long time ago. Long time ago. I think before either one of us knew. where our lives would be heading. We couldn't have even dreamt of it. First things first, glad to see you in person. I'm kind of becoming a Tennessean.

Yeah. No, you're honorary. Okay. Thank you. You've gone from being an LA guy. Now you got a draw. Yeah. Unfortunately lived in LA. Yeah. But maybe a little bit, you know, Landon, my wife has definitely rubbed off on me because she's from Texas. So over those 17. years of marriage you know that y'all started to get addicting to me and I started using it too and you know you just you in many ways when you're married you

you pick up pieces of each other, you know? And so she's definitely picked up pieces for me too, you know, where I'll catch her like making an argument sometimes and it almost sounds like it's me and she'll use like the cadence I talk in and I'm like, that's so weird. And then she'll catch me being like, y'all need to.

you know to the kids and she's like hey when did you pick up the y'all you know so uh between texas and tennessee you got the y'all down for sure and you've got these very texas tennessee boots so um i don't have like really sexy pink socks or anything for you but i just found out something that made my day yeah i was like okay you're gonna be okay with my sock you know obsession and you're like oh my god i love fuzzy socks yes you're the first man

that has ever not basically complained about asking you to wear fuzzy socks. What's up with you? Basically, I'm obsessed with socks to a weird degree that I probably shouldn't even admit on camera. My kids and my wife make fun of me. They say I'm ready for the sockpocalypse because I don't throw away socks and I buy socks.

a lot and i love specifically warm socks and so i hate having cold feet so my feet are always warm i i think like there's nothing worse than having your hands or feet cold thank you and i don't understand how my wife lives with it because she's like tiny right and her hands are always

freezing cold and so i'll grab her hand and it's just like cold as it's like she's been in the freezer the whole time like my hands feel like i've had a hand warmer on them all day like forever so and i think that comes from always wearing warm socks It's miserable for me to be cold. So look, do you want to go there today? Yeah, we can go for it. Here's the thing.

I hope they're big because I have gigantic feet. What's gigantic? 13. And you're about 6'2". Yeah. That's big for your height. Every man in my family is 13, 14. Yes. But they're all 6'7", 6'8". That's what I told you. I think I stunted my growth as a kid, you know, because I was super tall.

You know, by the time basically sixth grade, I was almost as tall. So I'll go with the black one. I knew you would. That's definitely manly. Your fuzzy socks are manly. These feel stretchy too. So I think these are going to work. I'm so excited. your guests do they go over the top of their socks yeah usually i don't have a desire to see your toes or anything i mean i'm sure they're great however

This is working. This is working. This is a first time, isn't it? And we can advertise our shoes then. Actually, yeah. I need a deal for my shoes. And then is the deal everybody does like Indian style? Well, not everybody is as flexible as you.

about the Starbucks. I won't use any names. Let's just say Tyrus. This is the Maha side of me. This is the Maha side, exactly. I eat healthy, you know, and get outside and swim. RFK, speaking of Maha, RFK, when I asked him to put it on, this is like last May. He's like, you want me to put them on now? Like with my suit? And I'm like, sorry. Was he super confused? I don't.

think he was too pleased about it but he did it yeah well that's all that matters right i'm the first one to do it that's happy about it yes and then sit crisscross applesauce with me used to be called indian style back in the day but apparently that's offensive so well yeah so you know But you know I like to just go there. Exactly. Well, technically, I've always said I'm slightly more Indian than Elizabeth Warren because I think I have like 0.00001% in my genetic profile.

I'm not afraid of the backlash. I think I'll survive. Let's go. And we're really good at backlash at this point.

This is amazing timing because I go on Twitter today and what do I see? No, you have the worst timing actually. Because last time I was supposed to come on and do this, I canceled on you because there was like... late breaking news that i had to handle and i was like super sad that it happened that way because i felt really bad i hate canceling things and then today you know it was really like 48 hours ago my lawyer was like

you really should not have anything on deck on the day we're filing. We're filing on Tuesday. And it was like posed to me like, you need to cancel everything you have that day. And I was like, I'm not canceling the stage. I was like, we have the worst timing because big things happen. I would have understood. And for those people wondering.

This is the tweet, and then I will let you explain. Robbie Starbuck, at Robbie Starbuck on X. Today, I'm announcing a major multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against Meta.

the owner of facebook and instagram the case is wild and has implications for all of us and you go into describing how they falsely called you a criminal meta suggested that your kids even be taken away from you and your wife what is this so it's just a wild honestly it sounds like something out of like a horror dystopian you know futuristic film like some weird version of the terminator where last august i found out that their ai at meta was

telling these insane lies about me. And the way I found out is at the time I was exposing some of the crazy far left policies that were going on at Harley Davidson. Most Harley dealerships were actually very much in support of what I was doing, but there was one dealership. There was one dealership in a Bernie Sanders home state of Vermont where they were not. too happy with me. And so they attacked me online in various different ways. And one of them was they posted a screenshot from Metis.ai.

To be perfectly candid, when I saw that first post that laid out some of these lies from Meta's AI, I thought it was a fake screenshot. I thought, like, there's no way Meta's saying this stuff. Like, they're a massive technology company. They have the means and research ability.

to fact check this type of thing for anybody who has, you know, kind of somewhat of a following in media or things along those lines. And so I said, well, we'll test ourselves. We tested ourselves and it was even worse than what we had initially saw from that Harley Davidson. dealerships post. And, you know, I think the evidence there that people believe AI stands in that first moment where we discovered it via that post, right?

So over time, it gets worse. And we had actually notified Meta immediately that day through my legal team and myself notifying executives at Meta. So both my legal team's doing their thing. I'm directly going to the executives at Meta. collectively we notified the company and the executives immediately within a 24-hour period and then after that you know it's this weird game of like cat and mouse for a very long period where they were essentially

You know, I would refer it to I would say they're giving the runaround to my lawyers the entire time where it was very clear to us like they didn't intend to actually fix this problem. And it was more so an attempt on their part to make it go away. And so what they did initially.

And this was a ways after we had given them notice and everything. So it was still like totally inappropriate timing what they did, but they essentially blacklisted my name. So if you tried right now to search for me via Meta's AI, what you would get is a response if you say my name to it and you say,

like give me a biography on Robbie Starbuck it would say sorry I can't help you right now and it'll do that for any question about me which itself casts a shadow over you because people go well what did he do to get him his name banned right from this platform but even if it didn't um they did this so poorly that it continued to defame me until today so still today

Up until now, this moment we're having this interview, if you go on MetaZai and you say, hey, who's the guy who was responsible for changing DEI policy at Harley-Davidson and Tractor Supply? It'll say my name. And then you say, tell me more about the Robbie guy.

what's the deal with him it'll go into the same defamation it did before except for it goes even further now now it tells advertisers not to advertise with me because i'm apparently such a horrible person um employers not to ever employ me or consider me for employment because i'm an

extremist and also go so far as to drag my kids into this and suggest that authorities should strip me of my parental rights because my kids should be raised by somebody who's more inclusive of transgenderism for children and DEI.

And so... you know this is beyond the point of absurdity at this point and it's very clearly defamation even their own ai when confronted with the facts of our case admits that a court is likely to see it as not only defamation but defamation with with very clear actual malice

And the fact that the company made no attempt to actually change and get rid of these lies, I think is very important because sort of one of those lines in the legal sort of framing of this is that once you notify a company,

There should be an immediate effort to actually fix the problem. And that didn't happen. You know, and they very clearly didn't fix it when this is able to happen today. Right. But there's long term effects to all this. You know, over that same course of time, over a year, death threats against me increased rapidly.

It's the most I've ever had death threats in my life. In fact, there was just an arrest in Oregon of a man who wanted to kill me. And so these things are increasing at the same time these lies are seeding out and spreading to all.

kinds of different places i've had people walk up to me in real life and ask me about the january 6th stuff i wasn't even in dc on january 6th because that's one of the first lies we heard was that metasai said i was not only at january 6th but that i was arrested and i eventually pled

guilty to disorderly conduct for J6. I wasn't there. I was here in Tennessee, and provably so. The Wall Street Journal confirmed it in the story they did today. So... you know that being the case that's something that follows you where people in real life think there must be a reason why this massive company would say that about you

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first of all i hate the death threats i hate that that's happening to you it's still shocking to me that because of your opinion basically people want you to die Yeah. And to try to take your kids away. One of the things that stands out to me immediately is, you know, I've seen a little bit of an evolution with Mark Zuckerberg and...

Bezos, you know, people like that who were right there at the inauguration. And there's this kumbaya. And most importantly, even before the inauguration, an acknowledgement by Zuckerberg that there was interference to...

Major levels. After Trump won, yeah. Yes. Yeah, of course. It was a very comfortable time for him to adopt that new approach. That's exactly what I said, too. Like, weak. Where have you been this whole time? And it's only after you get, you know, your arm twisted a little bit, probably.

What has the response, if any, been from them before the lawsuit? Because I know that he was part of this. They didn't apologize to me, not even privately. They didn't apologize to me. He himself, he never responded to the outreach that I made. And this began. When? August, 2024. Okay. So August, 2024 began the outreach. Our lawyer, my lawyers and their lawyers had discussions over a long period of time. But it was, I will say, even their legal team was not.

They were not in any way hurried to have this conversation. Because at the very beginning, I think this is important for people to know. I did not go to Meta asking them for damages. That wasn't our primary concern. Our primary concern at the very beginning was let's fix this problem so this never happens to anybody else again, because this is face squarely at me right now. However, my first thought is in the future, this is going to...

decide who our presidents are, not just in America, but across the globe. Because the reality is people increasingly use AI to get information. It's over 50% in a recent Quinnipiac poll who say that they at least sometimes trust the information they're getting from AI, 22%. trust it at least most of the time, if not all the time. Okay, so in a future election, those people ask, what's the difference between candidate A and candidate B?

and an AI is allowed to lie and invent crimes, you can only imagine the insane things it's going to say about the candidate that the company does not want to win, right? Correct. We've already seen that. Yeah, and you don't need to shift 50% of the electorate. You need to shift 2% to 5%.

And if they can do that, they decide who our senators are, our presidents are. And so there has to be clear lines here, not just for me and for the sake of, you know, like restoring my name and reputation and things like that, but for the sake of our country and our election. And so...

That's why even in our lawsuit, we make it very clear, this is not a partisan thing. This is not like, hey, conservatives versus Democrats. This is just like Americans should all be upset about this because they can do it to you next. The reality is we're facing a future where AI is going to play a role.

custody decisions. They're already talking about it with CPS, being able to use it as a way to analyze the reputations of people in CPS cases. They're talking about using it in loans and deciding what your reputation is when you go try to get a mortgage. alone.

With insurance, this year, for the first time in my life, I was denied for homeowner's insurance, car insurance. I was denied for personal umbrella insurance. And what we were told by insurance companies was that I was considered a risk. So we don't know that the J6 stuff may have come up.

in something and they're analyzing it. But we do know insurance companies are using AI to get information now. And so we have to get into discovery to even see if maybe that is the reason why I was denied by multiple insurance companies. It took a long search for us to get an insurance company.

was willing to insure me for my home, my umbrella, cars, you know, everything. Basic things. Yeah, basic things. And I've never, to be very clear, I have paid on time. I've never missed a payment in my entire life for insurance. I have never had a massive claim against me or anything like that.

normal i pay my bill every month and that's it's on auto pay you know like that's it like i don't even think about it and that was a shocker for even me so you don't know if that plays a role in it right and so that's something that starts to become a worry with everything you do is like how is this affecting

other parts of my life that I don't even realize. I don't think I have realized until very recently the depth that AI is used. I was at Best Buy last night trying to buy a camera for my son and the kid pulled out. chat gpt and went ai to compare the cameras for me and i'm like gosh i guess i thought as a someone who works here you would know it's like yeah maybe this is what we do and i'm like okay i guess everything is correct doctors now

I've seen a doctor go to a computer and they're having a chat with AI about the symptoms that you're giving them. And they'll read you what the AI is saying. And I'm like... Is that the doctor? I'm confused. Yes, and then where is that doctor, the eye doctor, getting the information? And inevitably, it's always, you need to be tested for COVID. That's always the... Right? You could come in and be like, I'm bleeding out of my ear.

And they're like, we need a COVID test, you know? Yeah. And that's when I leave the doctor's office altogether. Correct. What's your ultimate goal? To change this forever. to set the standard about what ai can do when it's dealing with our reputations you know and how we use it we need to be responsible like ai has so many wonderful things that it can do and i'm very optimistic about those things but i'm not optimistic

optimistic about it if the future is a place where we allow AI to run wild it's the wild wild west and they can do anything to defame people destroy their reputations destroy families because think about it too right now it's starting by saying I'm unfit to be a parent it's

starting by saying that I'm a criminal. But what if AI starts inventing even more personal lies? What if it says that, you know, your next door neighbor is a pedophile, you know, and somebody kills him because they think like... you know he did something you know horrific this can lead to very real world harm to lots of people if you allow it to run wild and invent lies about people so that's the goal

end this reality before it really unravels where ai can destroy reputations yeah i think it's i mean i have had like millions many issues with these quote-unquote leaders of these companies and as much as to your point oh now it's easy for them to come forward and say yep You know, I shouldn't have done this, shouldn't have done that. No, the problem is the damage has been done to so many levels that I don't even know that we fully understand. Well, here's the thing.

If Mark Zuckerberg is serious, if they're really turning over a new leaf at Meta and Facebook and Instagram, and they want to be a nonpartisan actor, and they want to show that to the public, then, you know... I think there's very simple things they're going to do in response to this. They're not gonna fight us. They're not gonna choose a PR war. They're gonna go and say, you know what? You're right. In principle, you're right on this. We need to make changes.

We're going to come to the table and fix it. And I think they'll do that very quickly. If they're serious about that change, if they're serious about wanting to be that nonpartisan actor, that's what they'll do. Quickly? What context is that? Because this was filed today. It was filed today. What's the date? April 29th. Yeah, it was filed today. I think very quickly they'll come to the table.

My expectation is they should be briefed on it pretty quickly here. The video has been up. I put a video along with it and I checked. It had been up for like 35 minutes. It already had almost 200,000 views. So I think that it's going. It's going to be... you know a video that goes all over and also wall street journal just dropped a story on it that'll be front page news you know and so unfortunately this is where we are in society where in order to make a change you have to scare the

crap out of people and the only way you do that is with massive amounts of money which is part of why i'm doing this too because i'm very aware that i'm very lucky to be in a position to be able to you know figuratively shake the tree and a lot of people can't do it right but this is going to happen to normal people it could be the reason that custody gets taken from a mom you know it could be the reason that a guy loses his job that he's worked at for 20 years because when

They come up for a review or a promotion. AI tells the company actually this person's a criminal, even though they're not. And it's like, then you have to prove a negative. Why is the AI saying that about you? And it casts a shadow over you. But to your point, you have the means.

going to be okay so many others will not they won't be and they won't have the ability to have anybody even hear them because you know what the other thing about this too is it sounds so absurd That to be honest with you if two years ago somebody had come up to me and they said that this was happening to them I would have thought they were kooky I would have thought like

I'll look at it, but this person's got to be kooky. There's no way a company this big is taking that kind of stupid risk where they're defaming people in such an obvious way, creating crimes that they supposedly committed. There's no way they would say somebody needs to have their parental rights taken.

You know, so to a certain degree, even if somebody were to come and claim these things, if they don't already have some sort of trust bond with a very large following, like they're going to have a problem even getting people to believe this is happening.

and so that's the other concern is like okay are there better things i could do with my time yeah like i don't want to be doing this you know but the truth is it is having a a very negative impact on my reputation not just on my lives but it'll have a negative impact on my kids lives because

Say it becomes the top AI, right? And people start to believe this in a very, very large way. Right now it's people coming up to me and I don't know exactly how far it's extended, but it's extended somewhere. But what if it extends to a place where that is what 95% of people think about me who know who I am. And then they see my kids love me and they, you know, they are.

with their dad, hanging out with their dad, like by proxy, it makes them look like they're like a collaborator with some horrible person, right? I don't want it to have that kind of effect for people. So I do think there's a very serious long-term implication you have to nip in the bud, right? So... It's worth the fight. And I think we have to do it to set a standard about what is acceptable. Well, thank you. That's the thing. It's not just about you. It's so much bigger than that.

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blood flow and say goodbye to that brain fog today. phrase. It's like, oh gosh, what's someone on the crazy left doing here, right? You're a community organizer and all those things. But the stuff that you have stood up for and fought back on is what I want to make sure everybody fully realizes. And it's probably leaving some off this list, but you've been vocal.

like me, but in the Robbie Starbuck way, anti-DEI, pro-freedom of expression, freedom to own a gun, freedom of movement, religious freedoms, of course. Thank you for being out there and protecting girls and women's sports. It's so basic. Hashtag science. Human trafficking. you're pro-life proudly pro-life um anti-gender affirming care there's so many so many things that you've stood up for as well as you know a run for political office as well um which was historic in its own way because

They removed me from the ballot, which to be honest, before I ran, I didn't know you could do that in America. I thought you could, you know, you run for office, people get a right to vote for you. And it resulted in the most write-in votes in history in the state of Tennessee. And also the most in, I believe, congressional.

history um for the entire country because people were pissed it was a protest vote like you can't do this this is crazy you know so thousands and thousands and thousands of people show up and in a congressional race it's a lot of people and uh say you know this is not okay you know so it was it was good in its own way but it also prepared me for a lot of things that would happen later you know in life um so this is only 2022 yeah right yeah well 2020

2020. Oh, 2020. Yeah. Okay. So it certainly did prepare you. No, sorry. Actually, you're right. 2022. You're correct. It's 2025 now. I'm losing the years here. Okay. Things move very fast. But yes, no, you're right. Actually, 2022. I was thinking 2020. Because I started the run in 2020. Like at the end of 2020, I believe it was when I said, I'm going to go do this. And the height of COVID, really.

How did you become an activist? How did this even begin with this young man from glitzy, glamorous Los Angeles, California? Well, it's not so glitzy glamorous anymore. I won't say that. It's actually kind of disgusting now. It used to be a lot nicer. I have a brother that lives in West Hollywood. Yeah, and it used to be a lot nicer. And it's definitely not nice anymore. Like I will say the last time I was in L.A. about seven years ago.

we took our kids to Malibu Beach. It was like our spot. And when we left, you know, to move to Tennessee, the very last thing I remember is our youngest who could barely talk says, Daddy, what's that? And she's not our youngest anymore, but she was our youngest at the time.

And I looked down, it's a hypodermic needle in the sand. And I was like, we're making the best decision ever. This is insane. And Malibu Beach, you know, and they've got chain link fences they had just put up because of homeless people that they had allowed to just do whatever they want, you know, which is there's.

There's nothing compassionate about it. They like to pretend they think they're being compassionate. There's nothing compassionate about what they're doing. They're allowing these people to live in squalor and to die ODing on the streets or maybe on the beaches, you know, and then they put the public and kids at risk. But...

To answer that question, how I got here, you know, I made it in Hollywood at a very young age directing, you know, Oscar winning actors, actresses, some of the biggest music stars. And to be perfectly honest, in some way, that was a really negative thing. Because if you make it at a young age,

especially not coming from a Hollywood family, not coming from money. And you're just sort of like outworking other people. There's this constant fear that drives you that you're going to lose everything, you know? And so constantly having that fear.

You don't want to upset the apple cart, especially when I was a really young dad. It was like, if I felt uncomfortable about something, I was supposed to just like stuff it down. Right. And you just do your job. You're there to do a job. You get paid good money. You got to do the job. And so, you know, I.

for a time I think convinced myself you're putting lipstick on a pig you know and somebody else would make it worse and it would be worse for society and worse for the next generation you know like they're directing rap videos or whatever because I directed some of those and at a certain point though i got to a stage where i was getting closer to god and i had really opened my heart to faith in jesus and i was i was asking myself if i was who i wanted to be are you somebody who on your day

And this is a question that really changed my life. I ask myself consistently, on your deathbed, are you going to... be happy with who you are if your kids know every part of who you are and what you do and what you stand for are they going to believe that you were the man that you taught them to be as as you know the woman you want them to be the man you want them to be for your sons and your daughters

And at the time when I first asked myself that question, I said, no, I'm not. I'm not living up. I don't remember exactly. I'd say I was probably 29 at that point when I was asking that question. I knew that I could be better.

and that I wasn't being honest about how I felt, and I wasn't making a difference in the world. It didn't matter if I was directing famous people and getting paid a lot of money and all that. I was making no difference in the world in a positive way. And if anything, if I look at it objectively, I was probably...

making a negative difference in the world because i was perpetuating a culture that is leading us into i think a lot of very very bad dark things you know um and it wasn't intentional obviously it was like i was young and kind of stupid and trying to just like

make it you know and and provide for my kids and everything but at a certain point that's not an excuse right and so i had to be honest with myself that um you know god had blessed me with a lot of different abilities and i had to take risks and do what was right and so obvious conversation is with my wife where it's like, hey honey, I want to burn my career down and who knows how we're going to make money.

it was one of those moments where and there's been a lot of moments like this with Landon where you know you married the perfect person because There was absolutely no pushback. She was immediately like, yes, you need to do this. Like, I know the risks involved, but you need to be true to yourself. You need to do this. I feel it in my heart too.

you know this is the right thing for our kids for our family and i know you i know how hard you're willing to to work and and do whatever is necessary for our family and our kids and take care of us and so i trust you go go and do this and she was like the biggest push you know ever wow and uh so i just did it you know and i started to talk about politics and and you know everything i thought was not working and i started to apply the skills that i had from hollywood to activism so

You know, I'm very thoughtful about the psychology of everything that goes on. And, you know, like say in the fight to ban sex changes for kids here in Tennessee, that was a big priority for me and my wife was banning that and banning, you know, the sexual adult shows. kids in Tennessee and so you know that's something where I feel like we we really applied a lot of the things I learned in Hollywood to create the social environment where

It was very clearly the majority that was saying, we want this, need this, demand it from our politicians. And for people who don't know, because they think Tennessee is a very red state, we went from a previous session where you couldn't get the votes to pass these bills. And you literally had.

some republican members thanking a vanderbilt doctor who does sex changes for kids what yes to a session later after you create this right and matt walsh was a big help in this too because we did the rallies together and all that um to a moment where it was like everybody on board with with passing these bills and it was a very clear majority of the governor signs it into law you know and everything and uh the drag show side of it too very interesting like

The worry that you have is sometimes people write bills for show. And when you write bills for show, bad things happen. Because even if you pass it into law, it's going to be struck down by a court. And I think the bill that ended up being run did great credit to Senator Trump. jack johnson and william lamberth who's in the house here um they wrote it very intelligently and it was a bill that just made a very clear fair standard that didn't pick on anybody in specific it just said

sexual adult shows that are very clearly, you know, crossing, you know, these thresholds and boundaries are not okay in front of kids or in the public. You can do what you want. If you're an adult, you want to go... do something that other people don't agree with. Like that's, that's your choice. We live in America, go to, you know, do whatever it is you think.

is fun even if we find it disgusting but you can't do it in front of kids you can't do it in public view of kids and um that has held up you know i think that that's that's a very clear standard and again we have to set these standards sadly because it's not 20 years ago where every adult understands in both parties that it's not acceptable to sexualize kids. But we're setting those standards and I think...

There's a reason people go through everything because I've had people ask me, do you regret any parts of your career in Hollywood? And I say no, because even though there's things I wish I hadn't made. You know, projects where I'm like, oh I wish I hadn't directed that rapper or whatever because I just think they're an awful person. At the end of the day, I learned everything.

about how i needed to fight the enemy yes and how to wage a successful battle against them because i know their weaknesses i know what works and doesn't work i know what they can't respond to and how they can fight and how they can't fight and so i don't regret it at all i think

there's a reason that we're put through everything that we do in life and you just you do have these moments though where you have a choice to make about whether or not you feed the good wolf or the bad wolf you know I think everybody has one of each inside them and what comes out and expresses itself is what you feed.

And so at those crossroads where you have to make that choice, are you going to feed the negative or the positive? Are you going to choose right or wrong? That's what defines who you are as a person, you know? And so when I hit that crossroads, thankfully, and probably to great credit to my wife, I chose the right. wolf and made the right choices i'm picturing you in hollywood directing the rappers and all of those musicians and um obviously it wasn't an overnight process yeah

But I love the question that you asked yourself, you know, on my deathbed. Yeah, my kid's going to be proud of me. Yes. Yeah. So what was the hardest thing to... cut out or change honestly and this is i'm weird i'm an anomaly i'm gonna say nothing because i'll say that the most beautiful thing about the process is how clarifying it is and i think you probably had an experience in

some sort of way similar to this where you know when you're in it and there's all these you know important people that you know want to invite you to things and so on and so forth like you get this idea that there's all these people who like you

And in truth, what you find out when you do something that steps outside the lines of what's allowed is you realize these are relationships of convenience. These are not true friends. And what I came to realize out of that situation is there was a piece of wisdom I great. grandfather gave me when I was really young and I didn't understand it until that very moment. And it was that when you die, if you have enough friends to fill up both hands, you are an extraordinarily lucky person.

And most people will never understand what that means. And he was exactly right. Because at the end of the day, like the people who really are ride or die, that it doesn't matter what you do, where you go outside the lines are there for you. It is a very small number. they will disappear super fast the minute you're no longer a ladder they can climb and so i always tell my kids and other people

Be careful about who you invest your time in. But when you find real ones that are really there for you, you put it all out there. Like, give that relationship everything. There's very few people like that. Most people are going to be gone the minute they can't climb you.

And that's sad but true. It's a hard realization. It is. And I guess in many ways it was a blessing that you learned it as young as you did. I'm still accepting it. And I'm 52. You know what I mean? It's hard. But I always do say... This is the stuff that we go through so our kids can be a little more wise and smarter with their decisions then. And my kids are, to their credit. And their ages are 16? 16, almost 13, almost 9, and then we've got a six-month life.

And then you went back to the web. Well, we went through that period where we were like, we don't have a baby in the house anymore, you know? You fixed that, didn't you? We were like, there's... probably a limited window here right because landon's uh just turned 40 so it's like you know you're you're supposed to you know hit this window um if you're gonna are you done and i mean i don't know i i would say see i will say this

I don't have almost any regrets in life. I have one very big one though. I wish we'd had more kids when we were younger. Me too. It's the only regret I have in my life. Just more period. Mine, when they were born, I was 29, 31, and 33. I wanted a fourth. my husband my ex-husband now but he he was done it too so we i convinced me to do three and obviously we are

Just so grateful that we did that. But I always tell people who are wondering, if you at all are considering having one and you're like, do it. You'll never regret doing it. But I know a lot of people who regret not. And you and I are in that category.

If I could go back, we would have 12 kids. Me too. I'm not joking. People say that and they think they're joking. I'm not joking. Fine. What about your wife who has to birth them? Yeah, so that's the tough part. I'm like, all right, so, well, I feel bad. But we know how happy we would be if we had 12. That's the thing. And now all three of mine are in college and gone.

breaks me but i just did my first college visit by the way yeah dude it's coming get ready it's oh no it was really hard it was really hard i just did it this last weekend i and it was just me and her and we drove there and it was really

was a great memory and we also we had fun on the road trip and stuff but it was it was a lot you know like just on an emotional level like I still feel like she's a baby like she was born yesterday and to see her on campus she already looked like a college student

And she was so poised and prepared. And we go to like, we went to this like pre-law meeting and I'm like, are we serious right now? Like she's a baby. Why are we in here? Like this is nuts. I was at Ole Miss with my youngest. She's a freshman at Ole Miss last weekend. And, you know, she's showing me around. She's doing this and that. And then she's like, hey, you meet me here. I'll meet you here. You do this. I'll do it. I'm like.

Okay. I'm taking orders from a freshman in college. She has a whole plan. But she does. And this is what we do. Someone told me recently, as you get sad about kids leaving, etc. Empty nester, and it's so hard. We are not empty nesters. We are bird launchers.

I like that. And I kind of like that because that is what we're doing. We're raising them to grow wings big and wide and strong enough to carry themselves. They know where the nest is to come back. But it isn't about us, actually. The empty nest is about them. And we have launched them on. It might help as you get closer. My wife's going to love that. I'm going to have a mental breakdown still.

My wife will like that. But I'm definitely like, I'm going to struggle with it when she goes to college. I think more than anybody in our house, like the idea of one of my kids not being there, just like, I know it's not a, well, and to me, it's the big picture of.

life just going too fast as well. And that's what I wanted all to slow down. Plus, I'm like, I am so much more fun and cooler now than I was back then. I'm like, gosh, I wish, you know, I wish I could have taken that. But it's okay. We're not supposed to. I need before.

forget yeah i want to ask you um was there a friendship a person who is no longer on those 10 fingers you know that you still kind of are sad about, that you lost, that you thought maybe was a true friend but ends up... i don't really get sad about that type of stuff or disappointed i guess because i have a long list of a long meaning five or six okay yeah of people who i was like oh my goodness i thought

We were more than that, that we were beyond whatever work stuff was related. The human element, when you bring someone into your circle, whether it be with your family, your kids, or just... sharing things in your life and i have a couple like i'm not hurt anymore disappointed and surprised yeah i would say it's it's people actually because i never I never put much value in relationships I had with like celebrities because.

as much as we were friendly and stuff because i directed them and you know all that i was always very cognizant that the vast majority of the ones that i was working with that are actors or singers um there's and i say this i'm not trying to be mean at all this is just a genuine you know sort of read on the

situation a lot of them are severely mentally ill and the reason for that is multi-pronged number one they're in a reality where they don't know who they can trust ever if you're a true like a-list celebrity you don't know who you can trust

everybody around you is sort of suspect. You're addicted to the dopamine rush of the situation you're in, right? But at the end of the day, you'll never know who your true friends are. You'll never know if even boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives are truly there for the right reasons.

You'll never know that like deep down they wonder about that on a regular basis So it's very difficult to form real deep relationships with people in that position The people who I'd have disappointment in because I'd almost expect it from that group of people, right?

Because their primary concern is like continue the dopamine rush. And that's why the vast majority of them are absolutely stupid when it comes to politics because they don't actually know anything. They rely on PR people to tell them this is what's going to be popular and acceptable. And then that world is very one-sided. That's it.

yeah and they know if you color outside the lines like they know what will happen right um everything gets taken away so the people i'd be disappointed in are people nobody would know but essentially they're they're people that you know i thought they knew my heart they know who i am That's what I mean. They know what I've done. Like they know the stuff that like doesn't get put out there publicly that is like where your heart really is. Your character. And that those people.

just stood by watching other people frame our family as at the time even just me endorsing trump in 2015 after the escalator ride I can't tell you the number of times we were framed as racist. Even our daughter, who's now our oldest daughter, at school was being called a racist by other students at the behest of their mother. Okay? And...

To see that all play out the way it did and the irony in it too, given that like she comes from a Cuban family. And so like the reason they were being called racist is because of Trump's immigration policy. And the irony in that is this is like a school filled with white progressive. kids that are the ones calling the latina racist right which is which is just like it it blows your mind how stupid these people can be but

That was a situation we found ourselves in. So I was disappointed in those people who didn't stand up and say, hey, you know what? I disagree with him on politics, but I know who he is. And I know that those people knew because they told me privately, but they didn't have the courage to stand up and say anything in groups of people. But it's a...

it's a small disappointment because to be truly disappointed, I would have to care. And to be honest, that's probably my superpowers. I don't care. I was going to say that that's unique. Yeah, no, it is. And I say everybody, God gives us all different gifts.

mine is that he genuinely gave me the ability to not care and to just do what i feel like is right where uh you know if i felt like the right thing was something that only Very small group of people in the world understood and you were going to be opposed by 98% of people and they would just

eviscerate you on a daily basis, I would 100,000% always be in that small group that knew what the right thing was and I'm willing to be eviscerated every day if that's what it takes because I can't live with myself.

the other way the alternative is unlivable for me you know and I teetered that line in Hollywood where it was like are you able to survive in this manner of pretending you're somebody you're not and I realized I can't it's very prevalent you know there's a lot more people who especially

especially among like the director producer class of people there's a lot more who are uh right wing than people realize they just don't want to lose their jobs but even a-list actors i mean there's a number of them you know there was the uh the um you know, clubs that existed. I mean, they were always secretive of conservatives in Hollywood among producers and directors and actors, not so much musicians, but there were some of them.

And what happened is when the primary in 2015 occurred, there was such a divide and such a fear. that people would like Friends of Abe was a very prominent one with a lot of A-listers. And when the 2015 primary happened, the concern was a list is going to come out that will name everybody. And so a bunch of people left and it disbanded.

they were so terrified that they would all be branded as you know these fascism supporters or something and there was some genuine divide that was going on between people who were like very anti-trump but considered themselves republican that were in that group and were like he's not a republican you know

the typical fight that was happening at that point in time. But there was a real fear of that because they understood what Hollywood had become. The fear is legitimate. Yeah, but there is a real larger group of people than people realize in the industry that does feel different. Here's the thing, though. It doesn't matter because the people who are left there that have not said anything at this point, in my view, are extremely cowardly because we have a reality now where the means are there.

for us to put the talents god gave us into different areas and to create parallel lanes because the truth is hollywood has failed and you just look at the box office numbers look at the difficulty that companies like disney are having and you see very clearly

that the old hollywood machine is not running the way it used to you know the most watched documentary of last year was our film the war on children over 60 million people watched it you saw the success of angel studios films being able to hit blockbuster numbers there's very clear

a lane for us to create outside of Hollywood and you know other people took the risks already so it's already there proof of concept so for the ones still sitting there especially some of the extremely bankable A-list actors who are sitting there still pretending that I'm not going to be honest about what I believe because I'm going to lose everything. Well, it's just a lie at this point. It's bullshit.

And so I have no respect for the cowardly attitude that they've approached it with. So I so agree with that. And I have to admit that I've struggled at times to not judge them because... Gosh, it would have been super nice and helpful and just a little bit of a relief to know that I wasn't alone when I was going through my little thing. Little thing, big thing, call it what you want when you stand up to a company like Disney. It's a big thing.

um and when you've been punished and your character is being assassinated and just the terrible things the death wishes death threats all that stuff and

You know now in the last few years. It's like oh, yeah, I was right there with you that I'm like were you yeah? Actually you weren't and some have come back into that and My empathy comes from knowing that there was a legitimate fear in 2021 when my battle kind of first started to speak up and be true to yourself even if it's about the most basic things

Because you were going to get shut down and canceled. I lost so much money, so many deals and sponsorships. And then more importantly, the friends. So I understand the fear. Here's the thing, they were never your friends though.

Well, I know that now. They were never your friends. I know that now. But when I talk about judging. And that's a gift. It is now. When you're in it, at times, you don't realize it because you're just in shock and it's coming from all angles. So I understand the fear because I lived in it. for way too long and now i'm like shame on you and i don't want to hear it you cannot and moan about it if you are choosing to stay silent because not only are you hurting yourself

Your kids are watching. Your neighbors are watching. That's the part that bothers me the most. Your kids are watching. So how do I not be judgmental, though? Because I feel like most people I worked with, 90... 5% of them were men. I'm like, grow a pair. Do something. How am I the only one out here? I was the sole breadwinner in my family after the divorce, before the divorce. It's all on me. There was legit fear.

to stand up because of what I would lose. I think we talked about this actually privately before you ever came out and said anything. Before I came out of the closet. That's what it is, basically. That's what it is. So I try not to judge, but I'm judging. Yeah, I'm not a perfect person. I'm definitely imperfect. So maybe this is terrible advice, but I actually am totally okay with that. I think that sometimes there has to be clear lines drawn.

in society you know i believe that everything about a good society operates off of an incentive structure and if there's no incentive structure for people to be honest and no incentive structure for people to stand up for what's right well they're not going to they're going to lie they're going to cheat they're going to

steal, they're going to do the wrong thing. They're not going to choose the right path if there's no incentive structure to do so. And in fact, the incentives are all drawn in the negative direction. And we've lived in a system for a long time where the incentives are all negative.

that if you do some, I mean, think about our kids. They're growing up in a generation right now where it tells girls, if you get undressed, you get on camera, the incentives are all there for you to be a millionaire. You're going to get on OnlyFans. You're going to make all this money. You're going to have all the material wealth that you could imagine. You know, all these things. We're setting these.

incentive structures in place and to the sick dudes who pay for this stuff because they're so, I don't know, I guess, disgustingly warped in their brain that they can't figure out a way to actually get the attention of a real human being.

You're setting up the future for your daughters to fail in. You are responsible for what happens to her and her peer group, and you are not a leader. You are actually, in my mind, I think, beyond a horrible person. I'd say it's predatory what they're doing because they're creating an abusive environment that's going to... deteriorate and destroy a lot of young minds and

So we need to change the incentive structure. So I think judgment is totally appropriate of the people who are too cowardly, especially given the means that they have to stand up and do something and stand up for something. It's not like you need to even come out and say like,

I'm a Republican and I'm doing this because I'm like, nobody's requiring that. How about you stand up for girls? How about you start there? Stand up for 13 year old girls that are being processed through Kaiser Permanente to get a double mastectomy. And they've never even gotten like proper.

mental health care you know why don't we stand up for those kids why don't we stand up for the girls who are getting beaten up in sports by grown you know boys who are very clearly you know biological males how about we stand up for them like just stand up for something that matters, that is meaningful, that's going to set an incentive in the right direction.

When they choose to do nothing. That is one with the girls and, you know, boys and girls sports issue. That's where I have said and people have criticized me for it. But if you continue to remain silent. There is blood on your hands too. Oh yeah. And just because it's not affecting your daughter or your niece or your neighbor today, it might tomorrow. And this is the most basic thing. And then I'm like... So that's the disappointment word where I'm like, if you guys just came together, you women

Women, come in together for other women. When we preach about women and strength and standing up to men and being part of the conversation, but you're allowing this to happen to your fellow women and girls. If we came together, this stuff would not have gotten to this point. I bet this one drives you even crazier than anybody else because you know so many male athletes from your time at ESPN. And the number of male athletes who know this is wrong, who will privately...

say it's wrong, which is almost every one. Yes. And then, I mean, maybe with the exception of Dwayne Wade, you know, but every other one. Okay. Good point. Every other male athlete will say, yes, this is wrong. And yet publicly will say nothing to stand up for their own daughters, many of which are athletes, their daughters. The number of people who are still employed at ESPN, fathers who I respect, who are football analysts, whatever unit, who have incredible...

Daughters as human beings and as athletes in high school and in college They are silent and these are men who are the toughest men on the planet Right played the NFL have all the money in the world are making millions still and stay silent That is that's the definition of being a coward in my mind and

That's where I'm okay judging. Absolutely. Because shame on you. Okay. It's perfect. Your daughter doesn't have to address in front of boys, but like use that voice, use that platform that you have because it also then encourages others in similar roles to do.

the same and then there is something to know that being doing something alone is difficult is scary in many ways maybe you don't identify with that and i don't anymore um because i know that you're going to survive on the other side and you're better for it yourself and others But you don't realize that the impact you could have is so beautiful for others. And that's where people just put the blinders on and go.

And it breaks my heart. What do you think? Because to me, and you even said, I mean, having to write these laws here in Tennessee to make sure that certain kinds of dancing isn't happening in front of kids. Like, sometimes I go, how did we get here? What was the turning point in your mind where this is okay to have, you know,

I'm trying to think of the right terminology. I forget. But basically all the rainbows and the flags and the dressing up men as women and in front of children and mocking anyone that's Christian. What was the turning point? Because I feel like it's just taken over. It's actually a long march. You know, like there's not this specific point in time. The truth is, is that, you know...

When we've seen activists for most of our life over the course of decades that seem crazy, we go, well, they're there because... they're crazy, but then our excuse for why we're not there showing up for issues is like, well, we have to work, right? How many times have you thought or heard that in your life? Like over and over and over again, right? But the truth is they showed up and they didn't just show up. They had a very...

long multi-pronged plan to infiltrate every institution in our country. So they took over education. They took over our bureaucracy within the government. They grew it. They hired their friends, people who were ideological compatriots to like what they believed in.

then you have them taking over entertainment. Because entertainment was not always left-wing. In fact, it was very much more conservative many, many decades ago. But they did the same thing there. And so over time, they shift the ideological view of that institution. did that successfully in every single major cultural institution in our country. And so part of the reason Hollywood used to be more successful too

And why they're failing now is because they understood the art of subtlety. And they knew that the mere exposure effect and subtlety were the path to changing the fabric of a country. So within entertainment, the more you expose people to something, for instance, like, you know, there was a... during our lifetime where gay marriage was, most people disagreed with it and they said, you know, no.

So how did it shift? Didn't President Obama? He was even on record in 2018. The first president actually to support it publicly before being elected was President Trump. Actually, most people don't know that. He was the first one to. And they don't want to acknowledge that. They don't want to, no. But the interesting thing about it...

is that they were against the country for a very long time. And what changed was not some big event that happened. It wasn't this one thing. It was the fact that within entertainment, subtly, over a period of about a decade, they were constantly exposed. to the concept and so that's

the art of the mere exposure effect. The more that you expose people to something, the more likely they are to accept it, even if they disagree with it. And so that's what it took from them. They were very, very effective at that on a number of fronts with a number of issues. because they wanted this you know like they believe why would you want this it's a cultural revolution i mean this is this is what marxists do they believe in this because fundamentally

To believe in what they believe in, you have to live in this world that is all based on identity. It's about who you want to have sex with. You know, how can you separate people? The easiest way to separate people is immutable characteristics, skin color, sex, you know, and then sexual proclivities.

And so they have to be obsessed with it because if you have a society that is... really foundationally about God, about family, about giving people a set of very clear rights that are their human rights, like their free speech and so on and so forth.

When you do that, you fundamentally cannot have a left wing country. It will not happen. So how do you get there? You have to create chaos. What are the areas that create chaos the most? Number one, you have to destroy the family. So how do you do that? You have to rip apart children from their parents. So you've got to fundamentally alter.

what is considered popular culture and divide it between generations so that what the kids are doing is diametrically opposed to what their parents were doing. And they have to be at odds over that because they're not going to be able to get along. Then you're going to start friction and chaos in their homes. Beyond that, there has to be...

very serious fundamental morality differences between the two because again chaos that's how you create it and so many of these things from a top line level i think are very well thought out by very evil people but on a very basic level the people who actually

do the work the activists they believe in it because they're in it and and hedonism feels good and so if you operate from that place of like what feels good that's why their activists are motivated to do the things they do because it feels good for them to be able to have sex with 20 different people in a month

You know, like it feels good for them to be able to have no, you know, consequences for their behavior. So that's what they want for everybody, right? That's this idea of restorative justice is that we're supposed to like allow people to commit crimes and then say, well, it's not really your fault because you were born.

you know with less money or you were born black or you were born latino so we need to just release you from prison because really everything was just stacked against you and then they go out and they kill somebody you know and it's like What kind of justice was that there was no justice? So again, you go back to consequences clear incentives and how you structure a successful society So we're Hollywood drawing back to that where they've gone wrong is it's no longer subtle

So you don't have films out there anymore that are 2% woke. They don't exist anymore. Now they're like 40 or 50% woke. Where it's so over the top that it's like... this isn't even entertaining. Like this is just weird. It's just odd. You know, like in a Scooby-Doo movie, they're talking about Tinder, toxic masculinity, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, liberal Supreme court justice. And you're like, How do you even fit this in Scooby-Doo? This is so weird. And that's a real example, by the way.

like they've gone so far that it's past the point of absurdity where people can't even be entertained anymore and so that leaves this wide opening now and it's why during this last election we became culturally assented on the right because

we understand the art of subtlety suddenly. Suddenly... people who are somewhat art driven on our side have all the tools and ability to create things that are actually entertaining yeah that meet the production value that hollywood and entertainment at large has been able to spit out we can create our own podcasts our own radio shows and we're no longer at the mercy

of these big bosses at major institutions that are able to say, no, you can't do this, right? So we're unchained in many ways. We're just unleashed to do whatever we want, which is- a beautiful thing and what's the best thing for creativity to be unchained and so we're suddenly this very creative side that

to normal people like we make sense we make sense and we are talking about the things they talk about in their homes and we're talking about it in the same ways they're talking about it right like people on the left like

I've seen these people before. You know, sadly, I fly too much. And like, you see these people who are considered important by the left. Nobody comes up to them. I go to an airport. All these people come up here and take pictures with me because I'm a normal human being. And I have a normal conversation with them. And I sound like them. kitchen table.

You turn on MSNBC or CNN, they don't sound like that. They sound like these holier-than-thou college professors who are overly educated and don't experience the real world. There's no real world, yeah. Yeah, none. And so I think that's the fundamental difference. Like, we are at this turning point.

think that what happens over the next four to six years is going to define whether or not this country is a country worth a damn for the next hundred years. I do think that this is like a pivotal turning point for us and I'm not sure anything will change my mind about that. I set it leading up to November 5th and certainly once the results came in. But I was scared to death, Robbie.

um and nothing to do with me per se but for us and as an army brat growing up on military bases across the world i'm like this is that election that was this is the most important election of our lifetime that one was we escaped Yeah. We'd be at war with Russia right now if he had not wanted. I know a lot of people who believe that. Absolutely. And the long list of other things. I mean, just look at the border. We're right at the 100-day mark right now.

I get emotional sometimes thinking about that because I don't know. Who knows? Let's not think about what could have happened. But I do know that when push came to shove, the American people slowed down a little bit.

and stopped believing what was coming from the mainstream media and the networks and all the talking points and went, wait a minute, this is what they're saying, but this is what I'm seeing in my community. I feel like the turnaround, though, is my concern. Like, this is not an overnight process.

I don't love the way that everything has been handled in the first 100 days. Just communication. Just communication-wise where you see the stock market and everything and kind of tanking at times and back up. I trust implicitly everyone there. I do. But you have to communicate to voters. You have to communicate that it's gonna be painful.

at the beginning when you have to fix that much there's going to be a drop and it's going to hurt but trust me it's going to come back and here's what it will eventually get to show me use those graphics and pie charts and all the things that we did during the campaign and just to show me to let lessen

My fear as we go into this turbulent time. Yeah, you've got to reassure people. I do think that's right. I mean, if I was going to offer any criticism, it would be that sometimes folks, you know, in politics are so in it. that things that feel like common sense, you think just communicate naturally to everybody and they don't.

a lot of people don't have time to engage in politics every day like they're very busy their kids have games and they have all these school functions and they work an insane amount of hours every week just to be able to pay their bills And they just want a very clear, quick communication. They want to know, do I need to worry about my 401k? Do I need to worry about this? Do I need to worry about that? And so just a little more communication.

that has sort of a heart for what your average person is thinking about when their life is really busy. And to say like, hey, We get why you feel the way you do. Understand this is going to be a process because they did such destruction over the last four years that it's going to take some unraveling and it's going to take some pain. I just don't think people understood the depth of the pain.

and how ugly it was in order to pull it back out. And so to your point, I think there's so many people inside that bubble. They are working their ass off. They're working so hard. And so it's hard too to find time even to communicate everything. Yes, however. You have to.

You have to have someone who's kind of just on the outside looking in, who's totally supportive, but also a consumer who doesn't care. I don't care about all the minutiae. Just tell me what to expect, and then I will have a better... uh feeling if nothing else yeah as we hit this and so when i check my bank account yeah and my retirement oh my gosh like that that's scary and i'm okay

Compared to so many others. So I do wonder, and when you have Stephen Miller out there, who is so good at breaking stuff down, like let's have him run some of these press conferences and say, here's the before.

Here's where we are. Here's the goal. And here's the timeframe. Yeah. Who can you talk to to make that happen? Yeah. You know, I will get on it because I do think it's actually very important. I think that we've got to have that clear communication. There are some insanely intelligent people like Steve.

and who can communicate that really well. And I think he would do a great job actually. He would love it too. Because the way he does it and to silence the idiots, I'm sorry, I love that. And he understands the numbers, you know. And there is, you know, sort of the practical side of it. which is if you relate it to everyday life.

I was just talking about this with somebody who builds things. And I hired this one guy to build things. And I was told it would take a certain amount of time and quoted a certain price. And in the end, it took way longer and costs way more than they said. And I said to this other person, I said, you know what the truth is? I don't even have a problem with the price.

because it's a great it's a great quality thing and i don't even have a problem with the timeline what i have a problem with is not being told it from the beginning just tell me i would have still approved everything but then i have context and and the ability to plan around it so just

real with me about it and then i'm not going to be mad at you i will always respect that and i won't be mad and i'm going to recommend you to the next person even if it even if a month seems like a long time to you if you say it's going to take a month and you're worried about saying that because you think it's going to take a long like i'd rather know now

because i can plan around it and that's i guess what i'm surprised about because since 2020 they've been planning yeah this entire time he knew from day one he was going to run again and he had this team on board planning that's why it's just been such a

chaotic flurry of activity and if you're a white house reporter you are not sleeping every single day there's something and i love all of it it's it's like been the coolest thing it's been execution like non-stop hell yeah it's like boom boom boom next next next so since they knew what the plan was going to be communicate it yeah just just just and i think honestly it's really only about economic issues everything else i think people get

you know, and they understand there's a process too. If anything, maybe you could be more forceful in what's happening with these corrupt judges. I would like to see the president be, and I understand why he's not being more vocal. I think it's actually very presidential.

trying to be unifying in some ways. But I do think at some point you have to have an Oval Office address and you have to lay out on camera what these judges are doing to the American people and for them to understand how corrupt this is and third world it is and that it cannot be allowed anymore. And I think you do have to put pressure.

pressure on the House to take action and impeach the judges that are actually violating the law. I get it. Some judges are going to disagree on the law. I'm not saying everybody needs to be in originalness the way that I think judges should be.

I get that. But what's happening now is not just simple disagreement among judges. We have judges literally hiding illegals. Hiding illegals. Escorting them out the back door to hide them from cameras. In their homes. Yeah, and we've got them acting like they were elected president. You know, canceling executive actions in ways... that we've never seen and numbers we've never seen. So that and then the economic issues I think are the two areas where I would say

communicate better and more forcefully on the judges' side, but just better on the economic side to tell people and give them realistic expectations. Because if you give people that, they respect it and they don't get as angry at you. And then they know what the plan is. Because if they can think... to themselves you know what in two years we believe the economy is going to recover to a place where you're going to feel really good yeah

Most people are willing to sit through that and say, okay, I'm going to be patient. And to me, it's obvious. Like, guys, this isn't going to happen overnight. Calm down, give it time. But...

I guess it's not obvious to everybody and some things do have to be spelled out. It's like a startup. That's kind of the way I've seen this because you're reforming a lot of the interior of what the government machinery looks like. And so if you're doing that and you're... essentially creating a whole new way of doing things and you're trying to modernize everything I mean it's basically a startup and there's no startup that out the gate

is like we're an economic powerhouse so successful like there's you have to spend money to make money is the idea right with the startup so you invest this money and then you see it come back and pay dividends. And so that's the process we're in right now. But we have to communicate that to people. So I agree with you on that 100%. It's not that hard, I wouldn't think, because he's got some brilliant people there in that White House in the circle. Epstein files.

and the long-awaited release of everything that's going to incriminate everybody. It's not happened. Where are they? I would like to know. I will say if somebody said to me, Robbie, and I may get in some trouble for this because I have some dear friends in DOJ. And so I don't mean this to be negative against them. If I did have to say there is one.

person that I do feel like is not done as well it would be my least favorite pick at this point it would be Pam Bondi because even if she is doing the right things right now I don't know but let's pretend she is let's pretend she's doing the right things again messaging and communication matter

And if you don't do them and you're not communicating effectively, there becomes a moment in time where, you know, sort of your effectiveness comes into question. And that's where we're at now where people are questioning. you know, sort of what she's doing, why she's doing it. Because I do believe that you could have absolutely gotten Epstein files out by now. I do believe that if you're going to arrest somebody for trafficking and you're going to throw them in prison and then they...

die in prison you know and then you've got jillaine maxwell too you've got to charge the people who were engaged as buyers in the trafficking operation right like you've got you've got to get these people out there and expose them and hold them accountable not doing that

would be I think the biggest mistake that could possibly be made. Why in your opinion has it not happened? Honestly, I can't give you an answer because it's inexcusable to me. Because there's all the buildup. Because there's all the buildup and... It just functionally makes no sense to me. Why? Why they wouldn't? Because these files exist. They're there. They know people were involved in this.

They can name names and they're not doing it. I do question why that is. You know, I don't so much blame FBI side like Cash and Dan Bongino. Like I trust Dan Bongino implicitly. I think that he really understands the problems in this country. to work very hard to correct them.

With Pam Bondi, though, you know, you also have to question, go back to Florida. There was some involvement in the original Epstein cases in Florida and wonder, like, how involved was that process? Right. What sort of, you know. complications could there be because of that and the fact that she was previously you know ag there so I don't know. I mean, I'm hopeful. I try to give people the room to run and give them runway to be successful. I just have not seen the signs from her.

that she's focused in on this. So it worries me. I feel like she has so much as well. She has a lot on her plate. Which is no excuse. That's what comes with the job, certainly. But that was the biggest thing.

and um it's like okay it was right here all the build up they wouldn't have built it up if they didn't know that they had all the information so what happened what communication was there that stopped it maybe she doesn't understand what a big deal this is to people because it's not just about the fact that this was high profile it's

A desire that's deeper than that for justice and for there to be clear moral lines in society. The Epstein case in total is sort of a placeholder for that deep-rooted feeling where people are like, things have just gotten too far out of control. We've allowed this hedonism. We've allowed this illegal behavior for way too long. We know it extends way beyond Jeffrey Epstein, but this is the central case that's sort of an example.

you know, for all of these things. And so people want justice, you know, and especially the way things went down with him, where, you know, he dies and the cameras all, you know, get wiped. And, you know, it's... It's filthy. It's filthy. And so it only makes it more gross. It makes the whole thing more evil, more vile. And it makes that desire for justice even deeper. And so when you build it up and then everything goes silent.

And then you try to pass off files that have already been out there forever as new files. Like that was weird. That was very strange. You know, I don't know how to excuse that or... You know, there's only one way to fix it. There's only one way to fix it. That's the exact correct statement There is only one way to fix it and I deeply deeply hope that she does and I hope that I can sit there and say

Hell of a job, Pam Bondi. I get why you were being quiet. So I'll be the first one to say that if she does this and does it right. But I will say it's been 100 days.

and you know she was one of the earliest confirmations i do think she's had the room and time to be able to get this out that's that's my read on it um i could be wrong i'm always open to being wrong i'm like those rare people that's willing to admit when i'm wrong um it just doesn't happen very often you know so i don't know maybe i'm wrong too quickly too fast and again there's so many other things that she had

to work on and i would not that's that's a brutal job yeah um but when you come out of the gate with that and then it's like okay we're gonna turn left now yeah so let's go please for the american people for the good of society and for victims for our victims for victims children um it was tragic to see by the way that uh you know epstein accuser um that also accused uh prince andrew that she

died uh this week you know they say it's suicide yeah um it's just here's the thing when when you don't tell people the truth for a very long time Nobody accepts the narrative anymore. No. Maybe she did commit suicide. Almost nobody's going to believe she did, though. Because...

We've been lied to over and over and over again repeatedly by our government and every major institution and the media for way too long. And I'm one of those people, like, I'm very happy that... so many people have adopted the mentality of questioning everything and researching but there is this dark side too that we don't talk about that when you create an environment like this where nobody can trust anything you also make people prone to believing some pretty crazy stuff.

That is not true. Yeah. I get these emails that I actually find to be really tragic. Some people laugh at this stuff. I never laugh at it. It's really sad. Some of these people will write me these emails about brain chips that are in their head and like how, you know, they believe governments are doing this, that, and the other thing. to them and it's it's absurd stuff where it's like totally off their rocker right and you can tell they got there because they couldn't trust anything yeah and so

I do think that's another thing where as we create these new cultural institutions on the right, we have to give people a home and give them the ability to trust things again. Because... that's been ripped away from people. And it's why, you know, the first thing I thought when I saw she committed suicide is I said, there's no way she did, right? We'll never know probably, but that's the thing that pops in your head because we've been lied to for so long.

And that's something we've got to fix. Yeah. And well, listen, this administration has talked about transparency from day one. And obviously, I think they've done a pretty good job, I think, when you could go on doge.gov and do your research and figure out what's there, which is what we all need.

Just put it out. Put it out there more. And the JFK files, too. Yeah. They did do a good job on that. That's the thing. There have been a lot of wins, a lot of victories that we would never, ever have heard anything about again.

When Matt Walsh was on, we talked about, obviously, with his films and what is a woman and am I a racist and the difference that those made for people who... didn't maybe even fully believe the depths to which people were going uh medical community you name it um and yours you said it was the war on children it was it was the most what watched documentary last year 60 million people 60 million people what

brought you to wanting to create that well you kind of uh nailed it in terms of there's all these people out there who don't believe that certain things are happening right like they didn't believe there were these horrific drag shows for kids they didn't believe that kids were getting double mastectomies at 12.

13 years old they didn't believe you know any number of these crazy things that the left has adopted and so we dug deep into like where is this all rooted but also evidence it's happening in ways that are totally indisputable you know and I think that was very key to us in the creation process as we produced it was we need somebody who watches CNN every night to watch this.

and trust the information they're getting we cannot use only sources that our side trust this has to be something that crosses the divide and gives people peer-reviewed research gives them sources and outlets they trust things that they've been exposed to

a long period of time and i think that's why it was so effective because the left could call me a racist they call me a fascist they call me a bigot or a transphobe or whatever but they couldn't call me wrong you know and that was the thing i think that really took the movie over the top and why so many people watched it.

And I think really the thing I'm most proud of is that it helped result in so many child protection laws because we made a big push in the legislative community to lawmakers, watch this movie and then ask yourself if you've done everything you can to protect kids in your state.

And it's like a personal challenge. Like I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself that. And my offer in return is like, I will do anything to support your bills to protect kids. I will get on Zoom calls and talk to other legislators. I will take photos at their fundraiser. Like I don't care. I don't care what it is. I will do whatever is necessary to get these bills passed everywhere.

You know, that is, I think, will be the lasting legacy of that movie in probably a way maybe no other project we do ever will have, which is that, like, there's these laws that came out of it. And also death penalty for pedophiles. You know, that was another big thing here in Tennessee.

That was our big push after the movie with legislators here was please make the death penalty possible for child rapists. And we got that done this last year. And now judges can dole that out. And, you know, that's big. to just put that on the table, to have that be something that can happen for these people. That's huge. How many other states have that? Do you know? Just Florida.

Yeah. Florida and Tennessee. We've got it introduced in a couple other states where I expect it to pass in Idaho. We'll see about some of the other red states, but we're trying in other red states as well to get it passed. But it's insane to me that so few states.

have that on the table for that because here's the thing uh jails about rehabilitation i'm sorry there's not a child rapist on earth that can be rehabilitated period and in fact the death penalty for them my only regret about the bills is that they don't specify how quickly it happens and they don't specify how cheaply it happens because it's much cheaper to have them vanish from the earth than it is to stick them in a prison for life. And maybe I'm not a perfect Christian, but I'm...

I'm entirely committed to the idea that God would want us to protect children in every way possible. Whatever it takes.

I don't think you know I'm willing to have that on my soul when I when I die I'm willing to have on there like if they need an executor like I'll go I'll do the job okay somebody's got to do it and I'm okay with having that on my soul because I think at the end of this when it's all over and I'm judged I think whoever that person is that is the person who executes those people who have done these horrific things to kids.

they're not going to have to worry about God thinking it was a mortal sin that they died. First of all, read the Bible. There's a lot of killing that goes on that God is okay with because it's for a righteous reason. It's the same thing with these horrific predators. You know, I think that if anything, you're going to be smiled upon by God at the end of this, if you protect kids in any way possible. And so...

That's my long-term goal with that film is that it will live on in a way that inspires continued protection of kids. How proud are you of... That in particular. I'd say out of everything professionally I've ever done, it's the thing I'm definitely most proud of. A thousand percent. No question. Think back.

went to that moment when you were deciding, do I blow up my career and blow up my savings and leave Hollywood and go try something else? It beats directing Gucci Mane and Snoop Dogg and Natalie Portman. I can tell you that.

long i'll take that i'll take this all day long um a thousand percent i i will say though the thing that did shock me is when we made it i remember we had locked our cut and i said to myself what we locked our edit and i see like english yeah i had this moment where uh i was i had i barely ever have any doubt creep in but i had this doubt creep in and it wasn't really i didn't recognize it as doubt immediately it was more so just like i'm very realistic

person I said it's a shame not more people will see this because people really need to see this and then it just exploded you know and Elon Musk definitely played a big role in that you know like he he he was a big champion of it but um So I thought that was even I had that self-doubt creep in and I'm not one of those people that does that. So the truth is people, they want the information. They want the truth.

I think that was what pleasantly surprised me the most is that that desire and hunger is really there in large numbers. And if we make it, you know, the people will come and they will watch it and they will act. and they will call and they will care. And that was not the case 10 years ago. There was still so much fear that had been built into the psyche of the American people about what we were capable of. Things had been reversed.

We had forgotten that the government works for us. And that's where we lived 10 years ago. In a country where the vast majority of people started to believe that the government was actually our boss. And we were supposed to just do what they say. There's this great quote that says, when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. And that was Thomas Jefferson. And the other one was...

rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God, which was almost the motto of our country. It was the second place basically. And both of those things I think are things that I live by, but I think perfectly described the period of the last two years.

years, right, where we're starting to see this increasing obedience to God to do the right thing. And what that looks like is rebelling against tyrants. And I think that's what we've done, you know, and I think that's why we're veered in a direction that I'm hopeful about. time in my adult life actually. I'm hopeful that this country can be saved.

I am so hopeful as well. And it's going to take more people like you to take some chances and believe in themselves. And maybe it is for their family. Maybe it's their faith, whatever. I think people who watch this, a lot of people are teetering. And there is that legitimate fear that we talked about. What advice would you give from someone who had the fear, to an extent, about making a massive change that would affect others?

and to live it now like when you look back at that time now like i don't even know you on a personal level that well but i'm so proud of you because i think sometimes what if what if you hadn't said i'm gonna go for it and certainly your wife landon who supported you What would you tell those people who want to help? Yeah, I would tell them I've had no regrets and maybe that gives them some peace to feel like that fear.

is a lie you know because there's this fear that like you're going to regret this can be all these problems the truth is like the more i listened to the voice you know of god the more i trusted it

the more successful life was in every metric. I think sometimes we overstate our concerns because they're really actually an expression of our... own fears about our inadequacies what we think that we're not good enough for and so if we if we set those aside for a second and just ask ourselves do we think god made a mistake on us

You know, that's the real question. Did God make a mistake on us? I don't think he did. I think he put everything in me and in you and the people watching for us to succeed. And the question is, are we using everything God gave us? Or are we suppressing some of it out of fear, you know, bad relationships or whatever it might be. And I would tell people you have everything inside you. God did not make a mistake. No mistakes. You're perfect inside. Everything's there.

Use it. Don't be afraid. Be fearless. Tap into that. Because the more you're close to God, the more you realize that he made you perfect inside. The more you're going to confidently... stake your place in the world and make a difference. Totally. And I think that's...

Probably the best thing I could say. I'm not a motivational speaker, but that would probably be my advice, my two cents, take it or leave it. But what I have learned through my journey in recent years is the more that you... share about your experience your why your fears your vulnerability

Not only does it help you to do it, but you don't realize how many others you are helping by sharing it and talking about it. Not to pat yourself on the back, but it is your truth. It is. And now you have four babies.

who are watching every single thing that we do, even when it's stuff that we don't want them to see. So I... I hope you and Landon are so proud of what you've done and more importantly, how you've done it because they are watching and they're going to know that, man, dad took a big chance and mom took a big chance and you are changing the world.

I appreciate that. That's everything to us. It really is like that question is still one that I remind myself all the time. Are my kids going to be proud of me when I die? And I. I know now like they will be you know like I know my kids hearts I know how they feel they probably already kind of felt that way because we've just always we're like one of those families is extremely tight like we're always together and

But to know that, like deep down, like that inner thought level of like, are there any creeping doubts that they have? You know, I'm on my deathbed, pretend it was right now, and I know that they have none. Like they know that...

I live the way I tell them to live, you know, and teach them. And so that's probably the thing I'm most proud of. You know, that's why I said with the movie, it's what I'm most professionally proud of. What I'm most proud of is our relationship as parents with our kids and like, look. I hate when people pretend like everything's perfect. Not everything's perfect. Your kids fight. Life's not perfect. But like, we've got great kids. They're awesome.

I couldn't ask for anything better. Like God has blessed me in incredible ways. And that's the other thing I would tell people is like, the more you do what you're supposed to be doing and you listen to that voice and you stop like fearing it, you stop fearing doing the right thing.

the more this beautiful light shines down on you in other ways and it rubs off on your kids it rubs off on your family and the people you love and uh especially men i would say like We have this very unique position and very unique duties and things were called on and to do and especially leadership.

And we've abdicated our duty and responsibilities for too long in society. And that's how we ended up here, you know, because I talked about how the left took over institutions and everything, but what made that possible?

a society where men stopped caring and trying and stopped standing up and bleeding and i know there's going to be those men out there who say well but women did this you know well If that's all it takes is some angry leftist lady calling you a misogynist or whatever it is, and that's all it takes to get you to not be a leader, you're weak.

And maybe it's time to look in the mirror and face the fact that you've accepted weakness and decide you don't want to be that anymore. Because I do think, again, I go back to the incentives thing. This is very important. Men need to set incentives for other men that are going to promote the type of society we want to see. So I'll give you an example. When it comes to porn...

I don't think you need to ban porn. I think actually what you need to do is have a society where men look down on men who are so weak and I guess ashamed of who they are. or unwilling to go try that that's what they need to do is go watch an 18 year old girl on only fans like if that's what you need to do because you can't go get a date We need to actually shame that as men. That's sad. That's really sad. I pity anybody who's in that position, right?

I think like the more we change those incentive structures, the more society is going to gear in the right directions. And men need to do that on every front with other men. Like we set the standards about how other men are and we do that with how we behave and treat each other. And so like...

man to man, other men watching, like that's what we need to do. We need to set those lines about what's cool and what's not cool, you know? And remember the lines we set are the lines that are appropriate for our daughters, our sisters. Yes. That's how they're going to be treated in the world, how we allow other men to treat women. The A word that a lot of people don't like, accountability. As parents, we do it to our kids. Hopefully, we do.

How often do men do it to each other? And I say it all the time. Almost never. How often do women do it to each other? Yeah. Right? And then complain about that but let's point at the men and blame the men. No, no, no, no, no. We all need to look in the mirror and be accountable and not... Allow it. Well, they did this. We said it to our kids. Okay, fine. That might be...

The reason this happened, but it's no excuse for you accepting it. And if men want a society where their leadership is appreciated and accepted again, well, your excuse can't be that some woman who's insane decides that men need to behave exactly the same way women do. know like yeah if that's really your excuse you're the problem absolutely one more time on my deathbed i want my kids to be proud of me i have to ask myself that are they going to be proud of me

And I think that simple question can change people's lives. Ask yourself, are my kids going to be proud of me on my deathbed? And you have to be very honest with yourself with that estimation because there's people who are going to want to reactively say yes. But the truth is, think about...

I want you to pretend they know everything you've ever done, every choice you've made, every thought you've had, and ask yourself if your kids would be proud of everything about you, if they could tap into that. And it's not too late. It's not. Even if the answer is no. Yeah. You can fix it. We have the ability to fix that and God's right there along with us. 100% because the answer for me was no.

So I can say from experience, the answer that I gave myself when I was really honest with myself was no, they would not. And so I changed my life. And I tried to create a path where... I listened to God and I could answer that question and say, yes, they would be. It's beautiful. I cannot thank you enough.

You're welcome. You can keep your socks. Thank you. I think they might be sweaty enough where you don't want them back anyways. So I think we're probably in good shape on me keeping them and I'll add them to my sock collection. But you're going to have to come to our farm.

at some point in franklin and when you do my wife will verify the sockpocalypse thing and the fact that they've been making fun of me for at least the last decade over it okay i love it it's a it's a total for the kids and everything this is our bonding moment forever

You don't even want to know how many socks I have, but like at all, you don't want to. That was, that was the worst. That was like a, I saw a clip online, uh, Luka Doncic. He was trying to do that and they all ignored him. You know, it was like that. Exactly. Uh, go crush this lawsuit i'm going to i for everybody yeah for everybody thank you we're going to be relentless with it so thanks for having me on i appreciate it thank you thank you thank you