Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper defended his former boss, Dave Portnoy, on Wednesday, describing him as “very, very smart.”
Speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, the 30-year-old podcaster, whose first platform before finding success on Spotify was Portnoy’s Barstool Sports, didn’t shy away when asked about his past offensive comments.
In the past, Portnoy has allegedly made comments that normalize rape culture, and in 2020, several videos of him surfaced that showed him using the N-word or joking about blackface.
In October, she unleashed a furious six-minute rant against Kamala Harris and, more recently, called President Joe Biden a “liar” after he forgave her son, Hunter.
Portnoy was also reported to have made multiple “unprovoked personal attacks online,” including frequent “sexually harassing comments” toward Deadspin’s Laura Wagner.
Portnoy defended herself against accusations of sexism, saying: ‘I gave two girls their own radio show. We’ve hired girl after girl. They say it’s a great place to work.’
When asked about his offensive comments, Cooper said Wednesday: “I think I could ask every woman in this room, ‘What’s been said about your boss?'” Probably similar things.
In May, Cooper invited Portnoy on his hit podcast, where he interviewed the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris, Miley Cyrus and Jane Fonda.
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper opened up about his former boss Dave Portnoy at the New York Times’ annual DealBook Summit on Wednesday.
Portnoy, pictured here in November, has been accused of using the N-word and making misogynistic comments in the past.
Cooper described his former boss Portnoy as “very, very smart” when asked about him at the New York event.
Portnoy made a surprise appearance during a live recording of the podcast and shared a video on her Instagram account at the time.
In the clip, Cooper introduces him to the audience.
‘This guest and I have a pretty public relationship and we’ve been through some things together. “He was my first boss in the industry,” he said.
Call Her Daddy was released in 2018 by Cooper and his former co-host, Sofia Franklyn.
In late spring 2020, Cooper and Franklyn became involved in a publicized feud with Portnoy, which resulted in Franklyn leaving the show.
Cooper struck a deal with Barstool and continued hosting the podcast on his own.
Call Her Daddy was previously owned and distributed by Barstool Sports until June 2021, when it was announced that Cooper had signed an exclusive deal with Spotify worth $60 million.
In August 2024, the blonde star signed a $125 million deal with Sirius XM to replace Spotify as its distribution and advertising partner.
Cooper in conversation with New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Wednesday afternoon.
In August 2024, Cooper signed a deal with Sirius XM to replace Spotify as its Call Her Daddy distribution and advertising partner.
While on stage at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Cooper was asked if she considered herself a journalist or an entertainer, to which she responded, “No, I consider myself Alex Cooper.”
She then said, “I don’t care if people think of me as a journalist or a podcaster, or just a girl who talks online every week.”
“I know that what I am doing is changing many lives.”
He later told New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin: “I’m not trying to be the next Howard Stern.” “What he has built is incredible and I think what I have built is incredible too.”
He also praised Joe Rogan, Spotify’s top podcaster.