Dave Portnoy claimed in his new memoir that Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn once considered using false sexual harassment allegations to escape their contracts with Barstool Sports, as reported [1] by Page Six.
The Barstool founder made the explosive accusation in his book “Cancel Me If You Can,” alleging that the “Call Her Daddy” hosts had shifted their attitudes toward the company after a meeting with YouTube personality Logan Paul.
According to Portnoy, “There was no indication that Alex and Sofia were unhappy with their situation, until they met Logan Paul.”
Dave Portnoy claims that Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn were planning to accuse Barstool of sexual harassment to get “Call Her Daddy” out of its contract. https://t.co/PILdIn5TuY [2]
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 29, 2026 [3]
He wrote that the pair traveled to Los Angeles in April 2019 to appear on Paul’s podcast, where a discussion about salaries and contracts allegedly led them to question their deal with Barstool.
He claimed Paul was “unimpressed” with what the women were earning and that his view planted “poisonous seeds” that caused dissatisfaction. Portnoy wrote that after the trip, the women began to distance themselves from Barstool headquarters.
By late 2019, Portnoy said the situation had deteriorated.
“Call Her Daddy had hired a lawyer and wanted to have a meeting with us,” he wrote, adding that the list of demands was “so preposterous” he struggled to complete the negotiations.
Among the requests, Portnoy claimed, were $1 million annual salaries, control over advertising sales, ownership of the “Call Her Daddy” intellectual property, and 90 percent of merchandise profits.
He said the pair also wanted to end their employment classification with the company.
When their demands were not immediately met, Portnoy alleged Cooper and Franklyn stopped releasing new podcast episodes.
As discussions dragged on, he said he proposed what he described as “the most generous offer in Barstool history,” which he believed would have made both women millionaires.
Portnoy claimed Cooper later contacted him privately to revisit the offer without Franklyn present. According to his account, Cooper told him, “‘I love the deal you proposed, and I want to take it. But Sofia is never going to take it.’”
Portnoy wrote that he reminded her that the podcast was still under contract and warned that Barstool would take legal action if they attempted to take the show elsewhere.
He alleged Cooper then responded by outlining a plan to falsely claim sexual harassment at Barstool to void the agreement.
“That was it. That was their game plan to get out of their contractual obligation,” Portnoy wrote, describing the supposed strategy as a means to “jump ship to a rival podcast network.”
He maintained that while Barstool had faced criticism for “making sexist jokes,” the company had “never been accused of inappropriate workplace conduct.”
According to him, if such accusations had been made publicly, they could have caused serious reputational harm regardless of the truth.
“I realize that this is a heavy accusation I just made,” he added, writing that the alleged plan involved lying about sexual harassment at Barstool.
Portnoy reiterated his claims in comments to the Wall Street Journal, where he also asserted that Cooper and Franklyn “hated each other.”
Page Six reported that representatives for Logan Paul, Alex Cooper, and Sofia Franklyn had been contacted for comment but did not immediately respond.
Franklyn left “Call Her Daddy” in 2020 after what she described as failed contract negotiations. She launched a solo show titled “Sofia with an F” and will reportedly discuss her dispute with Cooper in her upcoming memoir “Daddy Issues.”
Cooper continued the podcast on her own, signing a $60 million exclusive contract with Spotify in 2021.
In 2024, she entered a new deal valued at $125 million with Sirius XM, shifting distribution and advertising to the network while Barstool retained merchandising duties.
“Cancel Me If You Can” is currently available for purchase.