HO HO HO. THIS WEEK, MR. Beast is opening his very own [music] theme park, but it's got one major problem. Yay! Is trying to make a comeback and even publicly apologized to a rabbi. GTA 6 has been delayed yet again, but the reason why could be absolutely devastating going forward, and not Prince Andrew has just been requested to testify about his buddy in front of the US government. Oh, we got a juicy one today. What we also have is 55 days left for 85,000 subscribers. How are we going to do this, boys? So, once you subscribe, I will stop the yapping and let's go. >> Okay, let's start today with this. Mr. Beast has just announced that he is opening his very own theme park called Beast Land, but it's it's got one big problem now. It's going to have all of the usual stuff that theme parks have, including roller coasters and rides. But what makes it Beast Land and not just any other park, is all of the custom games that they have built, which are modeled after Jimmy's videos. And he apparently says they don't exist anywhere else in the world. And they won't either. And you know what? I'm not going to lie. I looked at some of them. They look good. There's one where you have to load balls into real catapults and then land them in these giant 60 ft tubes for points. Another will see six people standing on trap doors and this is kind of like his Amazon show, but a button lights up and each player has to click it and whoever presses it last gets thrown down into this trap door. And then a bunch more like mazes and this and that. You get the point. Now, Mr. Beast said that he didn't want this to be like a typical theme park and thought of things from first principle and created games that he would love to play. Oh, and because it's Mr. beast, there has to be the world's biggest, the world's first. Um, and it's going to be the world's largest prize wall. Uh, which you know, the one we have to choose things from, and the world's largest, if that counts for something. All sounds pretty amazing, right? So, what's the problem? Well, firstly, credit where credit's due, it's pretty astonishing that a YouTuber now has a big enough brand that they he can create a theme park and attract enough visitors to fill it out. That's usually, you know, reserved for the likes of Universal, Disney World. But one major issue that a lot of people seem to be having with this today is where it's being built. Saudi Arabia. Yeah. Now, this is a much deeper topic than we can dig into today. But it goes back to a question which has been debated for years now. As a public figure or celebrity, is it okay to work with a country whose government has laws you disagree with? I mean, in Saudi Arabia, one, they have major free speech issues and even journalists have been executed for criticizing the government. Homosexuality is illegal. The right to a fair trial is often violated. Their censorship on the press, so probably me doing this and criticizing the government wouldn't even be really allowed there. And then often even the contracts given to foreign celebrities, kind of like how we saw with all the comedians that went over there recently, have clauses forbidding them to say certain things about the, you know, the government, the royals, etc. So some people argue that by working with them, you are directly funding and supporting these kind of laws. But then on the other side, some people argue that for one, I mean the UAE and Saudi Arabia, they offer huge, I'm talking staggering amounts of money for opportunities to do stuff there. So, a lot of these public figures argue that, you know, if they turn down these this life-changing amount of money, then another person, another celebrity is just going to take the opportunity and it doesn't change anything. Many argue that while yes, they disagree with their government, they're there or they're doing stuff for the people. And many like Mr. beast have huge audiences in Saudi Arabia. But then the biggest argument that many people say is that, you know, no country is morally perfect. Western civilizations have a pretty dark past, but also some would argue a pretty dark present, too. And also because of globalization, moral purity is almost impossible. Even if that celebrity boycotts Saudi Arabia and turns down all this money, well, they're still buying their phones from China. They're still getting their clothes from Bangladesh. They're getting their coffee beans, you know, handpicked by child labor. The point is, where do you draw the line? You know, some would argue maybe a theme park in Saudi Arabia, but that's not for us to decide. What do you think? Now, when Jimmy was asked this question himself, why Saudi Arabia? He said, middle of the world because a majority of my audience is outside of America, and we have a big Middle Eastern fan base. Wanted to give them a chance to participate. Now, obviously, as I said, this is too big of a topic to go into detail, but thinking about it, if you do find this topic interesting, maybe I go to beast land and we do like the Vegas style vlog, vlogumentary, and we cover this topic in depth. Is it okay? Investigate both sides. Either way, let me know what you guys think about this topic in general, but also if you want that as a second vlogumentary, let me know in the comments. Moving on. Also, this week, guys, we've got some pretty bad news. I don't think we may ever get GTA 6 at this point. I I'm going to say it because things are going terribly wrong. And it's not just the fact that they delayed it this week by a number of months. They say it's now going to be in November the 19th, 2026. Before it was so perfect, it was like it was like on the sixth month of the year. It was 2026. So many sixes. Oh god. Oh my god. They have delayed it 6 months after the previous release date which was May. June, July, August, September, October, November. Why is there so many sixes, guys? Now this is getting disturbing. Maybe it's good that it's been delayed. [laughter] What the hell? [clears throat and cough] We're just not going to address that, I think. And because they've delayed this yet again, even the Guinness World Records has got involved. They tweeted saying, "The current record for the longest developed period for a video game, 14 years and 43 days." Oh, they're coming up to it. And actually, I mean, I'm not the biggest gamer, but the that there was Duke Duke Nukem forever. Alex, you ever heard of that? It took 14 years to develop. Now, the official explanation for for this delay from Rockstar is that all of these extra months will allow us to polish off the game and, you know, make sure it's it's what you expect and deserve. But there's another potential reason for this that Rockstar themselves are not saying, and for good reason, they're not saying it either. There's actually been some big trouble with their staff behind the scenes. So earlier this week, about 30 Rockstar employees were actually fired from their UK studio. That's not a meaningless number. That's pretty significant. They also fired three Canadian uh employees, and this was allegedly for leaking um confidential information about the game. And I say allegedly because a workers's union is actually saying that it's for another reason. They claim that the real reason those employees were fired is because they were in talks of forming a union. And you know, no company likes a union. And they claim that no confidential was leaked. So they say that they were fired without any reason. They also say they were fired without any notice and that they should get their jobs back. Now, as a result of this drama, many Rockstar employees are reportedly unhappy and fearful for their jobs. And the thing is, if this issue gets worse and maybe there's an investigation into whether this is true or not, and maybe they find out it's true, oh my god, the delays could be devastating if they find to be in violation of this sort of stuff. >> [laughter] >> [ __ ] [music] Which is why I say we may never get it. And if anything, it'll probably be delayed 6 years. Oh god. Moving on. Also this week, Yay has yet again shocked and confused everyone. No day goes past. A video has gone viral of Yay sincerely apologizing to a rabbi for all of the offensive comments towards Jewish people that he said on social media. And not just social media. I mean, bro literally made a hyle, you know, song. Hile. Can I say that on here? I don't even know. Unfortunately, it he's a great musician. So, it actually banged. But now you want to apologize. Now, in this video, while holding a rabbi's hand, a translator relays his I mean what seems to be a very sincere monologue where he says that he wants to take accountability for what he said and done. He explained that he was dealing with some very serious issues and also bipolar, which he claimed took his ideas and thoughts to the extreme. Now, the rabbi responded by accepting his apology and he even called Kanye or yay, sorry, a good man for repenting the way that he did. They even ended this whole thing off with a big old hug. So, does that mean what does that mean? Well, the response online has been pretty mixed. Many people have been applauding Yay and saying, you know, well done for for apologizing, trying to make amends, and that he deserves a second chance. While others suggest no, he does not deserve a second chance. And they even say that this is insincere because uh he's only trying to get back in the public's good graces. And the reason for this being the commercial side of things. It is convenient timing for this apology, I must admit, because he's got an album releasing next month, Bully, to drop next month. He's also got his clothing line which incorporates his longstated vision. He's been talking about this for years for selling designer designs for a fraction of the cost. And again, coincidentally, dozens of these items have started appearing on his website. From winter coats to shoes and bags, nothing on there is over $100. In fact, most of it is about $20. Not only does that hugely undercut all of the designer brands, but that also undercuts massively his former partner Adidas. In fact, if you watch Elliot's video on it, he points out that Yay is selling the exact same slide just without the logo on his website for $20. If you try to buy the Adidas version on StockX, for example, that's going to run you back 250, which is crazy. So, he does clearly have big dreams of coming back. But the question is, should and will the public receive him back? And it also even goes back to our Mr. Beast topic. Is it wrong for an individual to buy from Yay? You know, morally? I don't know. Let me know in the comments. Moving on. Also this week, Singapore just passed a new law that will see mandatory caning as punishment for scammers. You heard that right. Listen to this. Convicted scammers, syndicate members, and recruiters can receive from 6 to 24 strokes of a cane. Yes, they specified the number depending on the severity of their offenses. That is wild. Now, look, yes, I know here at the Empire, we whip sacrificial lambs to remind people to subscribe, but the difference is they voluntarily sacrifice themselves. And caning, it's so different. It's it's barbaric. A whip is sophisticated. So I am formally launching the campaign save a [music] scammer. You can be part of that. Here's how we'll do it. If they can't scam you, they can't become scammers. That's preventing them from receiving a can. And let me tell you, the best way to do it is by switching to Proton mail. Just think about it. If they try and read your emails, you just saved a scammer because Proton uses zero access end [music] to end encryption. Nobody reading your emails. If they try and buy your data from a broker to hit you up, you just saved a scammer. Because Proton's business model is not built off of selling your data, unlike your current email provider. They can't target you anymore with scammy emails because Proton automatically filters those out. They [music] can't hit you with scammy ads because all ads are turned off by default. Bro, Proton even keeps their servers in Switzerland [music] because of their worldrenowned privacy laws. These people will go from scammers to saints if we all sign up. Oh, and Proton makes it so easy to save [music] a scammer because transferring your inbox, your contacts, your calendar can all be [music] done from your current one to the glorious Proton Promised Land with a few clicks. And the best part, you can save them from a caning for free. All you got to do is click the link that's in the description and pinned in the comments. So, save a scammer today and sign up to Proton [music] Mail. You're welcome, scammers. Moving on. [screaming] Also this week guys, we have just made history yet again. We have just achieved the longest US government shutdown in history. Sorry that it's it's not a good thing. In fact, it's pretty bad. So the previous longest government shutdown in US history in 2018, also under Donald Trump, was 34 days. By the time you're watching this, it'll be about 37. So [applause] making history and the reason this is so significant is because when the government is shut down, non-essential government agencies simply cannot operate. Now the essential services they do continue. We're talking the military, law enforcement, national security. Imagine like we can't go to war today. We're not we're not getting paid. [laughter] But also many workers have been sent home or are being asked to work without pay. Now they do technically get back pay, but even Trump was threatening this. Currently, millions of Americans are not getting food stamp benefits uh that they need to feed their families. Roughly 1.4 million federal employees are not being paid even though they are still working and investors and policy makers, they're actually in the dark about what's happening in the US economy because the release of government data has been put on pause. In fact, just yesterday, the US Transportation Secretary Shan Duffy, he warned that even flights in the country could be impacted, saying that air travel capacity will be cut by 10% at 40 major airports over the coming days if the government shutdown continues. So, we're kind of at this stalemate. The the Democrats, the Republicans, they still have not agreed on a budget that reopens everything and allows funding to go back to where it needs to be. And until they do, the shutdown continues. Who thinks we can make it to the end of the year? I don't know. Now, the good news about all of this, if you could even call it good news, is that the shutdown induced damage to the economy, which is estimated to be roughly 7 to 14 billion so far, is expected to quickly unwind after the government reopens. But my big question is, as someone who is not in the US, uh for everyone in America watching, the government shutdown is nearing 40 days. Has it actually impacted your daily life or not? Because I don't really hear anyone talking about it online. The news, they're yapping. We're yapping a lot about it, but the average person haven't really heard anything about it. And if it hasn't impacted your life yet, then wild. So, let me know in the comments. I'd be very interested to hear. But for now, moving on. Also this week, uh less than 10 days actually after Hurricane Melissa just tore up Jamaica, an even more deadly typhoon has just hit the Philippines. And just look at the size of this thing when you compare it to the country. Wild. And it has already done enormous damage. At least 114 people have been killed. Hundreds more are still missing in the Philippines. And it has left around 400,000 people homeless. That just that's wild. Oh, what if the houses being torn apart and the flooding in the streets wasn't bad enough? You've also got to wade through these waters knowing that these kinds of animals, snakes, pythons, and other deadly ones too, are in there with you as well. Fantastic. Now, the country's president announced a state of calamity above a state of emergency, which is a condition involving mass casualty, major damage to property, uh a disruption of to means of livelihoods and also the normal way of life for people in those affected areas. And the thing is, the destruction won't end in the Philippines because by the time you're watching this, it would have hit and moved on to Vietnam where hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate. And the craziest part that I think about when covering crazy storms like this is that for us watching it, you know, the news cycle, we talk about it and then it's gone and forgotten within a few days. But for the people actually living through this you and you're seeing the visuals of the damage this loss for them for months if not maybe years rebuilding their lives and I mean here in the UK the weather for us it just you grinds us down slowly year after year you know the gray skies the drizzly rain and then you know 5 years on you realize you've got crippling depression because of it. Moving on. Also this week, just when not Prince Andrews problems, you couldn't get any worse, US politicians have now personally written to him requesting him to stand before the House Oversight Committee and testify about his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Now, they say they are seeking to uncover the identities of Epstein's co-conspirators and to understand the full extent of his criminal operation. They then say that well doumented allegations against you along with your long-standing friendship with Epstein indicate you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation. Oh, this has to be this has to be them trolling. There's no way this is serious. as if Andrew, would we just call him Andy at this point, who has strongly denied and consistently denied all of these allegations, as if he would just stand in front of the US government and start yapping about all the things he's done and seen. And there's no way that these politicians would expect him to do this as well, just start yapping and incriminate himself simply because they asked. They cannot force him to appear. This would entirely be voluntarily. And so in that case, this has to be the biggest and the greatest troll of the year. I applaud it, Alex. We have a trophy troll of the year. Well done. You You guys get it. Moving on. All right, I think it IS TIME FOR SOME NEWS. ALSO, China really be living in the damn future sometimes. They're out here breaking records yet again because nearly 16,000 drones took to the sky in what is now the largest synchronized drone display ever recorded. And oh my lord, the visuals are wild. Each and every drone followed a programmed flight path to create these visuals of towers and blossoms and a glowing sky tree, which my favorite part had freaking fireworks dropped out of its branches. Hey yo. Now, not only did it receive a Guinness World Record for the most amount of drones controlled from a single computer, but it also got a second world record for the most amount of drones launching fireworks during a performance. But one of the craziest parts for me is when you realize what the previous world record was. It was also set by China, but it was 5,164 set in 2021. They've just upped that to nearly 16,000. What are we going to be in 5 years from now? 100,000. Moving on. Also, this nurse was so lazy that he ended up killing his patients to reduce his workload. What the hell? An unnamed 44year-old German man has been sentenced to life in prison after killing 10 of his patients and attempting to murder at least 27 others. You know why? Prosecutors say that he targeted mainly his elderly patients by injecting them with lethal amounts of painkillers or sedatives so that he could ease his workload during his overnight shifts. Bro, killing because you cannot be asked is the highest form of what the hell. Now, it must be noted that there is some debate over whether he intended to kill them or if he accidentally gave them an overdose when trying to make the patients unconscious. But I mean, either way, it resulted in the death of 10 people. So at some point it doesn't really matter. Now what's even worse is that these offenses took place over a period of just 6 months. Imagine he if he was allowed 12, 2 years, 3 years. In fact, Germany's most prolific serial killer in their history almost did this exact same thing. His death toll was about 85 and it was through administering, you know, drugs to patients. But also, this nurse that we're talking about in 2025, it might not even end there because authorities now believe that he could be linked to even more victims prior to this 2024 time frame. So, I hope to not keep you guys updated on this story, but I will if that death toll rises. Moving on. Also, Sydney Sweeney really doesn't give a damn. During an interview this week with GQ, she was prompted in a very nonchalant way to apologize for the whole jeans commercial and she's giving her a chance to to speak about it and she just straight up blew it off. She said, "When I have something that I want to talk about, people will hear it flat out and let's move on. >> I just wanted to give you an opportunity to talk about that specifically. I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear." She also said that it was surreal that Donald Trump defended her advert. Now, as you'd imagine, this caused a huge divide. You know, some people immediately came out saying that Sydney Sweeney is a racist and that she supports a white supremacy, while others were applauding her for standing up and not falling into white guilt. Next, and then lastly, to round out Before the Weekend, this put a smile on my face. 2026, guys, it's going to be all year. We got the first trailer for the Michael Jackson biopic. And I was thinking when I saw this and it just in awe about how amazing this looks. How have we not got a movie about Michael Jackson before? It seems like it should have be done ages ago. Maybe it was rights and this and that. It probably was. In fact, we spoke about it a couple weeks ago that he was still making a h 100red million in a year. So, this has probably got stuff to do with that. And let me tell you, people loved this. it it got over 70,000 reposts on X and over 13 million views in just 20 hours. And on YouTube, it's already over 2 million. So, the hype is real. But what makes this even cooler, it's like you're probably wondering who the hell is going to play Michael Jackson? Because you know how many Michael Jackson impersonators would have been lining up to get this role. Well, it was actually given to his real life nephew, Jafar Jackson, who will actually be making his uh his debut acting debut. And to be fair, you're giving it to the right person. So, well done. Anyway, I think that is where we wrap this weekend. I will see you again on Monday. Um, but until then, hope you have a great weekend. See you then. [screaming]