Dave Portnoy has addressed Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn’s acrimonious exit from Barstool Sports activities, with the media mogul revealing that the previous Name her daddy the co-hosts meant to come back ahead that that they had been sexually harassed with a purpose to get out of their contract.
In a brand new interview with the WSJ Journal launched Friday, Portnoy mentioned his new memoir Cancel me when you can which tackles podcasters Cooper and Franklyn, first about how they got here to affix Barstool’s male performative empire, then how they finally exited in an explosion of gossip and fury.
Name her daddy was launched by roommates Cooper and Franklyn in October 2018. After unimaginable quick progress, a month later Barstool added the podcast to its lineup of sports-focused reveals. Regardless of Name her daddy Being the alternative of Barstool’s ordinary fare, Portnoy stated within the interview that Cooper and Franklyn’s speech struck him as one thing “totally different.” “It isn’t my cup of tea however I do know I’ve by no means seen it earlier than. Let’s attempt,” he added.
The guess paid off and the female-first recommendation and comedy podcast turned a phenomenon, a lot in order that Name her daddy had apparently outgrown Barstool, resulting in troublesome contract negotiations with Cooper and Franklyn in 2020 and an eventual breakup. Portnoy says Cooper and Franklyn have been “prepared to step on my neck and burn any bridge to maneuver ahead.”
Portnoy makes this assertion within the WSJ interview wherein Cooper advised her that she and Franklyn had a plan to say they have been sexually harassed at Barstool to get out of their contracts. As a reminder, Barstool as an organization, and Portnoy personally, have persistently been accused of peddling misogyny over time.
Additionally within the interview, Portnoy confirms that Cooper and Franklyn “hated one another.” After the duo left Barstool, they engaged in a public battle that noticed them go their separate methods. Franklyn would launch his personal podcast Sofia with an Fand Cooper would proceed to make use of the Name her daddy and established herself as a media mogul together with her firm The Unwell Community.
In a 2024 interview with The Hollywood ReporterCooper talked about her working relationship with Portnoy, the breakup with Franklyn and why she fought so exhausting to get the title. Name her daddy IP earlier than leaving Barstool.
“I am so glad I trusted myself and fought for this mental property [the Call Her Daddy brand and show archive]” Cooper stated. “As a result of I’ll always remember the day [Barstool founder] Dave Portnoy provided us this IP on a rooftop and I used to be so thrilled and I used to be like, “I will keep for one more 12 months. I will do no matter it takes. I would like this IP.” As a result of I had put a lot sweat into it – advertising and marketing, enhancing, writing, all of it. On [Sofia’s] aspect, she was like, “I feel we might begin a present referred to as Women within the rest room» or no matter, “and will probably be simply nearly as good. And I assumed, “Possibly that is true.” However for my part, I’m not giving up on this IP. I do not need to begin once more. Thank goodness I noticed the worth of mental property, manufacturers and catalog. That is what involves thoughts. As quickly as I signal a brand new deal, each time, I ship slightly thanks message to Dave Portnoy.
Cooper additionally stated THR that Portnoy did not know what to do Name her daddy. “He was in a troublesome place. We have been making him a lot cash and the present had blown up a lot,” Cooper stated. “We wished to renegotiate as a result of we have been making pennies on what the present was making for Barstool. I went there with my associate to ask for extra money. If we broke the contract, what might the corporate do? He acknowledged that there was no different method than to appease us and luxuriate in yet another 12 months of the present.”
Why Portnoy could not simply recast Name her daddy with new folks, Cooper stated he could not do it. “After I signed with Barstool, each present had emoji characters on their album cowl — they have been creating mental property the place they might all the time put new folks within the chairs. However I fought actually exhausting to place our faces on that work,” Cooper stated.
She added: “I used to be attempting to drive their hand in order that when you consider Name her daddyyou considered us. So when he provided the IP with not a lot cash for yet another 12 months, I did not care concerning the cash. I stated to myself, “This mental property is a gold mine. I’ll develop into a multi-millionaire and I will be set for all times if I simply keep a 12 months.” I’ll by no means decide my ex-co-host and former associate for making the choice she did. She actually understood why she did not need to work one other 12 months for Barstool, and I did not, and that is enterprise.