Dave Portnoy founded Barstool Sports as a sports and gambling newspaper in 2003. It eventually transitioned to digital-only content. The company acquired a popular podcast. Dave Portnoy opened up about “fake” sexual harassment claims made by the podcast’s hosts. Keep reading for all the details on the shocking allegations.
Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy Denies Sexual Harassment Claims
Barstool Sports is extremely popular, especially among men. One of the company’s beloved pizza reviews. Dave Portnoy travels the country and taste tests pizza with one bite. His review can make or break the pizza place. The company once owned one of the most-listened-to podcast. But the hosts left the company under tense circumstances.
Dave Portnoy opened up about the exit and denied any sexual harassment claims. The Barstool Sports founder detailed Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn’s contentious exit from the company. The two co-hosted the Call Her Daddy podcast for several years before falling out over their contract.
Rather than continue working with Barstool Sports, Sofia Franklyn left the podcast in 2020. However, Alex Cooper accepted a deal with Dave Portnoy to stay with Barstool Sports for one more year. She was given the intellectual property of the podcast in return.
But in his book, Dave Portnoy drops a shocking bombshell. He claimed that Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn had a plan to escape their contracts. The Barstool Sports founder reportedly wrote in this book that Alex Cooper told him they were going to accuse him of sexual harassment to get out of their contracts.
“That was it. That was their game plan to get out of their contractual obligation to Barstool Sports in the event that I did not relinquish their IP to them and wish them well on their merry way as they jumped ship to a rival podcast network,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
Alex Cooper Slams ‘Smear Campaign’
Alex Cooper left Barstool Sports in 2021 after signing a deal with Spotify. She moved the Call Her Daddy podcast to SiriusXM in 2024. The podcast has welcomed several high-profile guests, including former First Lady Michelle Obama and Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo.
Alex Cooper launched the Unwell media company in 2023. Vanity Fair published a scathing article earlier this month detailing accusations of a hostile work environment at the company. Alex Cooper shot back. She called the allegations a “smear campaign” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Dave Portnoy was never publicly accused of sexual harassment by Alex Cooper, Sofia Franklyn, or any other Barstool Sports employee. However, he preemptively denied the allegations. His book, Cancel Me If You Can, is now available.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger
