Getty/Kaitlyn Mikayla Dave Portnoy, Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn.
Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy gave an update on the Call Her Daddy controversy between Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn. Call Her Daddy is a popular podcast owned by Barstool Sports that features Cooper and Franklyn, two 20-somethings who live in New York City and dive into explicit details about their lives during each podcast.
On Saturday, the New York Post reported that Franklyn and Cooper were at odds and “won’t even call each other anymore.”
According to the Post’s insider, “They’ve completely turned on each other and started arguing over who was the real talent and who did more of the heavy lifting [for the podcast].”
The insider said to the outlet, “I think their audience would be surprised to learn what has been going on behind the scenes with them. It’s not the loyal, fun-loving friendship they put out there.”
The two stopped recording the podcast in early April.
Dave Portnoy Spoke on a Podcast About the ‘Call Her Daddy’ Hosts
Portnoy recorded a Call Her Daddy podcast by himself addressing the New York Post’s article and his perception of the incident between Cooper and Franklyn. According to Portnoy, when he signed Cooper and Franklyn to a contract with Barstool Sports in 2018, there were disagreements about the intellectual property.
Portnoy said Cooper and Franklyn wanted to maintain the intellectual property for Call Her Daddy; however, Barstool Sports took it over when the hosts signed a contract. It was a three-year contract in which the two women would make around $70,000 a year plus bonuses, Portnoy said.
A few months after the podcast started on Barstool Sports, Cooper asked Portnoy for a raise, citing the success of the podcast, he said. Portnoy gave Cooper a raise, and although Franklyn was given a raise as well, Cooper was making more money than her co-host.
Portnoy said Cooper does more of the work for Call Her Daddy, including editing.
Portnoy Said Cooper & Franklyn Started to Shop ‘Call Her Daddy’ Around
A year into the deal, the Call Her Daddy hosts and Portnoy butted heads over the intellectual property of the show and how much Cooper and Franklyn were being paid. The Barstool Sports founder said that the two hosts made close to half a million dollars each their first year.
The parties started negotiations, with the hosts seeking to take back the intellectual property of the show and gain other benefits including a $1 million guarantee for each. According to Portnoy, Barstool Sports wasn’t offered anything in return, so he called off negotiations.
He said, “That is when they started the trail, and the trail is exactly what everybody thought it was. They were shopping Call Her Daddy around, looking to go somewhere else, break their contract with us.”
Portnoy then said, “Barstool’s stance was, if you guys take Call Her Daddy and go somewhere else, we’re going to sue the f**k out of you. Like you’re under a three-year contract.”
He tried to negotiate with the two hosts but they wouldn’t, Portnoy said, and the two women didn’t talk to him for months. He said the two stopped coming into the office, and they finally stopped doing the podcast.
Portnoy Offered the Podcast Hosts a New Contract 3 Weeks Ago
Three weeks ago, after they stopped recording the podcast, Portnoy said, “I cut them a deal that was so outrageously good in their favor, that I thought we’d get something done.”
Portnoy said the 50/50 deal included a $500,000 guarantee for each host, extra merchandise revenue and a contract shortened by six months. According to Portnoy, they had around 18 months left on their three-year contract with Barstool Sports. He said he would also give them the intellectual property for Call Her Daddy.
Cooper and Franklyn did not take the deal, and they “went dark.” Portnoy said that he couldn’t get a hold of the women or their lawyers for days.
Cooper Said to Portnoy That Franklyn Was Refusing to Sign the Deal With Barstool Sports
According to Portnoy, he finally spoke with Cooper alone. She told Portnoy that they were never going to get a deal done because Franklyn was refusing. Cooper said to Portnoy that she wanted to sign the new contract with Barstool Sports.
Portnoy said during the podcast, “I was starting to hear whispers, and [Cooper] confirmed it, and this is a big part of the story, [Franklyn’s] new boyfriend … Peter Nelson, HBO executive, probably greenlit a hit piece on me not too long ago, [came] into the mix not too long ago. He was the one who brought in all these lawyers.”
He continued, “[Nelson] was openly shopping Call Her Daddy. He was acting almost as a manager, and he got a deal with Wondery. They were going to call the podcast The Fathers.”
According to Portnoy, Cooper is currently renegotiating her contract with Barstool Sports, which will give her 75% of the intellectual property as well as other benefits.
He said, “Once we got ready to do a deal with [Cooper], and I believe the Wondery deal clearly fell through because there was no longer Call Her Daddy, I think [Franklyn] wanted to come back maybe. But it was too late. The fifty-fity deal, [Cooper] didn’t want to do it anymore.”
Barstool Sports has offered Franklyn her own podcast on the network, but she hasn’t accepted it.
Cooper May Start Recording ‘Call Her Daddy’ Podcasts Soon By Herself
During the podcast, Portnoy said that Cooper may soon start recording Call Her Daddy podcasts by herself. Portnoy is still unsure, however. He said, “A part of me is like, you know what, no amount of money is worth this. Let’s just get rid of them, keep the [intellectual property] and start this over again ourselves.”
He said, “I think they’re both talented, but [on] some level you’ve got to do business the right way. At least this is like a second chance in my book for [Cooper].”
Portnoy ended the podcast by saying that the two hosts will continue to point the finger at each other and that he doesn’t “have a dog in this fight.”
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