In his new book, Cancel Me If You Can, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy claimed that prominent podcaster Alex Cooper threatened to claim that she was sexually harassed during her time at Barstool to get out of her contract. Cooper, however, does not agree with that retelling of events.

In a recent interview, Cooper broke her silence on Portnoy’s claims, saying that Portnoy’s version of the events was “not how I remember that at all.”

Portnoy’s Claim

Cooper began her media career at Barstool, where she launched the Call Her Daddy podcast alongside Sofia Franklyn.

The podcast was a huge hit for Barstool, but by 2020, Cooper and Franklyn were at odds with Portnoy, and their partnership was starting to show signs of fraying. Franklyn ended up leaving the show, while Cooper continued to host the podcast at Barstool until 2021, when she left Barstool and signed an exclusive deal with Spotify and eventually launched the Unwell Network.

In his book, Portnoy claims that Cooper and Franklyn had a plan to say they were sexually harassed at Barstool to get out of their contract, as detailed in a Wall Street Journal article.

Portnoy is specifically quoted as saying Cooper and Franklyn were “willing to step on my neck and burn any bridge to get ahead” and that “the dirty little secret nobody else knew about [“Call Her Daddy”]: The girls hated each other.”

Not How Cooper Remembers

During an interview with CNBC this week, Cooper was asked about Portnoy’s claim for the first time. She began by making it clear that she has a good, albeit complicated relationship with Portnoy after they parted ways.

“I think whenever I see Dave online, we all enjoy his banter. He’s a very entertaining person. I have a very great and complicated relationship with Dave. He gave me my start in this industry, and I will never not be grateful to him,” Cooper said in response to the question.

As for Portnoy’s claim, Cooper denied it, but did not offer many details.

“I haven’t read the book, but I remember seeing – obviously getting tagged in those things – and that’s not how I remember that at all. But also I’m like, Dave’s got his version, and I’ve got my version. And we’re all good.”

When asked if she wanted to share her version of the story, she replied simply, “No.”

“I am in my mother era. I am no drama right now,” she said playfully. “We’re here to talk business.”