It was the spring of 2020 when “Call Her Daddy” stopped being just a podcast and became a full tabloid event — two hosts, one Barstool contract, and a very public war of words that split the show in half. Six years on, Dave Portnoy has put his version of events in print, and the allegations are considerably more serious than anyone had on their bingo card.
In his memoir, Portnoy claims that Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn — co-hosts of what was then one of the most-downloaded shows in the country — plotted to escape their Barstool contracts by fabricating sexual harassment claims against the company. The plan, Portnoy alleges, was conceived after the pair met with Logan Paul, who the Barstool founder accuses of coaching them toward a contract-breaking exit strategy. Paul has not commented publicly on the claim.
The original “Daddy Gang” drama was already a case study in influencer-economy contract disputes: money disagreements, dueling social posts, and a fan base that took sides in real time. What Portnoy is now alleging moves the story into substantially different territory — a deliberate attempt to weaponize misconduct claims as a legal offramp from a media deal.
Cooper ultimately signed with SiriusXM in 2021 in a deal reported at $60 million over three years, one of the largest podcast contracts on record at the time. Franklyn exited Barstool during the fallout and has largely operated outside the orbit of both companies since.
Representatives for Cooper and Franklyn had not issued responses to Portnoy's claims as of publication. The memoir is out now.