Twitter was in a fury last night after a reveal episode of the popular podcast Call Her Daddy was aired. It revealed why the podcast will no longer continue with co-hosts Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn.
Barstool Sports owner, Dave Portnoy recorded an episode by himself to clear the air about news articles surrounding the show’s co-hosts and the rumors about their podcast.
To sum it up, Portnoy said Cooper and Franklyn wanted to maintain the intellectual property of Call Her Daddy. However, Barstool Sports took it over when the hosts signed their contract. It was a three-year contract, in which the two women would make around $70,000 a year plus bonuses and money off of their successful merchandise. They negotiated to seek it back and gain other benefits, including a $1 million guarantee for each of them – you know, to get what they deserved for being the faces of the Barstool franchise. But sadly, it appeared they wanted to take their show elsewhere to receive more compensation.
Then, Portnoy said in the podcast, “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.”
They were then offered a 50/50 deal that included a $500,000 guarantee for each host, extra merchandise revenue, and a contract shortened by six months with the potential to gain the intellectual property back for Call Her Daddy after eighteen months of their contract.
This is where it gets messy.
Alex and Portnoy spoke privately, and she expressed her interest in signing the contract but was having a hard time getting Sofia on board. According to the podcast, it was revealed that Sofia was the one pushing to look elsewhere. Portnoy said Sofia’s boyfriend (formerly known as the ‘suit man’ on the podcast) brought in a team of lawyers to fight harder for Sofia to get even more. In the podcast, he was revealed as Peter Nelson, an executive at HBO.
“[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,” said Portnoy.
The more Sofia resisted the contract, the more Alex wanted out and to cut ties with her roommate and best friend due to her actions. Sofia allowed her boyfriend to do all the dirty work rather than deal with it herself. This ultimately led to the end of her career with Barstool and ended her close friendship with Alex.
She went against everything Call Her Daddy stood for and destroyed the enjoyment of everyone who was involved, whether they worked for the podcast or were an avid listener.
Fans of the podcast, aka the Daddy Gang (as they’ve been dubbed), flooded to Twitter to share their opinions and dismay as to why the podcast would be ending immediately following the latest update. And it’s a hot mess.
In addition to tearing a strip off of Sofia for her poor choices, people are really tearing into Peter for ruining the friendship and strong/successful female-run podcast. And yes, his looks are really throwing people for a loop because he looks like Quagmire, Lord Farquaad, Fancy Squidward, and Timmy Turner’s dad from Fairly Odd Parents.
But that wasn’t the only thing that left the listeners shook. The other more shocking revelation was that the girls both made about $500,000 a year, each. To say people were pissed they lied about being poor was an understatement.
But primarily, people were just pissed about their friendship being ruined because friendship breakups are worse than any other kind. And literally no one saw their friendship ever ending.
I told you this was a hot mess.
And in true Barstool Sports fashion, they already created merchandise as part of the “cancel suitman collection” featuring hoodies, shirts and hats. You can check out the collection here.
The show launched in partnership with Barstool Sports in 2018 and was the top-rated podcast, especially for women, over their two-year span on iTunes. They singlehandedly took over the internet and became marketing machines for the network and other companies seeking endorsements. Their merchandise line was also wildly successful and earned millions.
What’s more, Call Her Daddy was one of those rare podcasts that made Millennial women feel normal. While they were raunchy, blunt, and entertaining to say the least, they offered great advice and really empowered women to boss up as a man does. They covered issues no other show would. And they did it in a way that you felt like you were talking to your girlfriends.
Luckily for fans, Cooper is currently renegotiating her contract with Barstool Sports according to Portnoy. The new contract will potentially give her 75% of the intellectual property as well as other benefits.
Sadly, as of yet neither girls have shared their sides of the story, but I’m sure we’ll get an update on that shortly. Until then, re-evaluate your friendships because there’s clearly a lot of lions in sheep’s clothing out there.
For the latest update involving Sofia’s side of the Call Her Daddy scandal, click here.
For the latest update involving Alex’s side of the Call Her Daddy scandal, click here.
Featured image via Instagram
This article seems very biased and in favor of Cooper. Personally, if anyone but especially guys, we’re trying to pay me less than I knew I was worth while profiting way more than me, off of me, I would definitely want to go somewhere else. If my boyfriend at the time had the power to help me get there, I would bring him in too.