Dave Portnoy Accuses Former 'Call Her Daddy' Hosts of Plotting Contract Escape

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has revived his long-running dispute with former "Call Her Daddy" hosts Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn in his new memoir, Cancel Me If You Can.

In the book, Portnoy claims Cooper and Franklyn once considered falsely accusing Barstool of sexual harassment to get out of their contracts. He provides no public evidence for the allegation, and neither Cooper nor Franklyn has responded to the claim.

Portnoy also describes the 2020 split between the podcast hosts, writing that Cooper accepted a Barstool deal that eventually gave her ownership of the "Call Her Daddy" brand, while Franklyn left the company. He says he encouraged the rivalry between the two because it generated publicity.

Cooper has previously said she stayed with Barstool after being offered ownership of the podcast's intellectual property if she remained for another year. U.S. trademark records show the "Call Her Daddy" trademark was transferred from Barstool to Cooper's production company in 2021 and is now owned by her company, TRNDG IP, LLC. Franklyn has no legal ownership of the brand.

Since leaving Barstool, Cooper has expanded "Call Her Daddy" into a media business, signing major podcast deals with Spotify and SiriusXM and launching the Unwell media network. Franklyn launched her own podcast, Sofia With An F, and is scheduled to release a memoir, Daddy Issues, later this year.

The renewed attention comes as Cooper has also faced scrutiny over reports about workplace culture at her husband Matt Kaplan's production company and a public dispute with influencer Alix Earle. Meanwhile, Portnoy says he expects Franklyn's upcoming memoir to revisit the events surrounding the breakup of "Call Her Daddy."