Dave Portnoy claims 'Call Her Daddy' hosts planned false sexual harassment allegations to exit contracts
Dave Portnoy claims in his new memoir that Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn planned to falsely allege sexual harassment to exit Barstool contracts.
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy said former "Call Her Daddy" co-hosts Alex Cooper and Sofia Franlyn planned to falsely claim they were sexually harassed at the company in order to get out of their contracts.
"Call Her Daddy" quickly emerged as a wildly popular podcast when it was launched by Barstool in 2018. Cooper and Franklyn, who were also roommates, lured young female audiences with first-hand tales of their sexual experiences and dating lives until contract negotiations and a feud between the co-hosts caused a public breakup in 2020.
In Portnoy’s new book, "Cancel Me If You Can," he wrote that Cooper was happy with an offer that would allow the co-hosts to keep their intellectual property, but Franklyn wanted to leave Barstool altogether.
"’Okay,’ I said. ‘You guys realize I’ll sue you if you take the podcast to another network before your contract is out, right?’ Alex claimed to me that they had a plan to say they were both sexually harassed at Barstool," Portnoy wrote.
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"That was it," he continued. "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."
Portnoy, who has been accused of misogyny throughout his career, added that he has "never been accused of inappropriate workplace conduct."
"But had they decided to go that route, even though it was patently untrue, it would have been a tough fight for us to win in the court of public opinion. Nobody would have believed my side of the story," Portnoy wrote. "I realize that this is a heavy accusation I just made: how Call Her Daddy was allegedly planning to break their contract with us by lying about sexual harassment at Barstool."
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Cooper and Franklyn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Portnoy also sat down with the WSJ Magazine to promote his book and explained that retaining talent like Cooper and Franklyn is difficult if other companies are offering more money.
"In practice, it’s not always so smooth. Cooper, he claims, told him she and Franklyn had a plan to say they were sexually harassed at Barstool to get out of their contract," WSJ senior writer Joshua Chaffin wrote.
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"The dirty little secret nobody else knew about… the girls hated each other," Portnoy told Chaffin.
Chaffin then moved on, noting that "Cooper and Franklyn didn’t respond to requests for comment."
Cooper ended up staying at Barstool for long enough to keep her IP and then took "Call Her Daddy" to Spotify for a massive contract that reportedly paid her $20 million per year. Franklyn now hosts her own podcast, "Sofia with an F."
Fox News Digital's David Rutz contributed to this report.
