Dave Portnoy shared the advice he offered former employee Alex Cooper before the exposé about her Unwell Network went live.
“We talked, she knew the article was coming,” Portnoy, 49, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his debut memoir, Cancel Me If You Can. “I’m like, there’s nothing you can say to Vanity Fair. The article is written. You trying to prove your innocence and have facts, or whatever. They don’t care. Once someone’s like, ‘We’re doing a hit piece,’ it’s a hit piece. Facts don’t matter in the end.”
He added, “Your crowd will believe you, and the people who don’t like you won’t. You just go on with it. That’s what I told her.”
Earlier this month, Vanity Fair published an article alleging that Cooper’s husband, Matt Kaplan, was “wreaking havoc and making people cry” at the company. The story cited more than 40 sources, including former and current Unwell employees, who brought forth claims about the alleged toxic work environment being fostered by Kaplan. Cooper, 31, was accused of standing by her husband and male executives while portraying a female-empowering girls’ girl image to the public.
Dave Portnoy and Alex Cooper Getty Images (2)
Cooper broke her silence on the “smear campaign” while speaking at The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Wednesday, June 24.
“I think when you read lies about yourself to fuel something else that is an obvious situation going on, it’s hard,” Cooper said, in part. “But I think the reason that I’ve had success in this industry is I have really thick skin, and I’m going to keep pushing forward.”
Portnoy told Us that Cooper announcing her pregnancy ahead of the drama “changed the dynamic of everything” she’s going through publicly — including the drama with Alix Earle. (Cooper announced on May 17 that she and Kaplan, 42, were expecting their first child.)
“I did not like Alix Earle being like, ‘I’ll tell you why I don’t like her,’ but she just never has,” Portnoy said. “If you’re gonna stir this hornet’s nest, that would bother me. If you have an issue with me, say it. I don’t think we do, and I think I’ve been fair.”
Cooper called out Earle, 25, for liking and reposing shady social media posts about her in an April TikTok video. Earle responded by saying she would share the drama between them, but has yet to go public with any further claims. Fans have speculated that the details will be revealed on Earle’s upcoming Netflix show Earle Meets World.
Portnoy is in the mindset of “let’s do this head on” instead of taking the “innuendo” route. In terms of what went down, the Barstool Sports founder has no insight.
“I’ve [heard] rumors,” he said. “But until Alix Earle says what it is, who knows?”
While he doesn’t touch on Cooper’s more recent drama in the book, Portnoy will discuss her falling out with former “Call Her Daddy” cohost Sofia Franklyn. (Cooper and Franklyn, 33, worked at Barstool before their public feud and eventual departure from the company.)
“If everything Alex Cooper said to me about the way that went down is true, well, that’s on Sofia Franklyn,” he said. “They didn’t get along forever. Everyone thought they were best friends. They were never best friends.”
He added, “From my side, it was always Alex Cooper doing the lion’s share of the work, so none of it really surprised me. Now, Sofia has a book coming out. I don’t know what they talked about that I’m not privy to. I know what I’m privy to. It’s hard not to be on Alex Cooper’s side.”
Portnoy’s Cancel Me If You Can hits shelves on Tuesday, June 30.