Portnoy: Business Insider hit piece is 'character assassination'
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy responds to the 'sensationalistic' report on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'
EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of the allegations below are graphic and may be disturbing.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Thursday meticulously picked apart an Insider "hit piece" published last week that accused the media mogul of having rough sex with women who regretted it afterwards.
In what was billed as an "emergency press conference," Portnoy spent roughly an hour speaking on a live stream while standing in front of an empty watercooler with a Barstool-branded mug holding his microphone. He had promised to present a "comprehensive review of this entire hit piece with nothing but facts and proof" during the heavily promoted online event.
"They’re just sloppy," he said of Insider as he began to walk viewers through multiple "exhibits," including months-old emails and messages from reporter Julia Black and people she reached out to for the piece and other sources that the Barstool founder said proves a "bias" against him.
Dave Portnoy denied all wrongdoing but admitted he’s "scared" of cancel culture after Insider published a lengthy feature accusing the media mogul of having rough sex with women who regretted it afterwards. (The Dave Portnoy Show With Eddie & Co/Youtube)
"I want to sue them, I want their a---s," he said, adding that lawyers have told him major media companies need to prove malice and rarely win such cases. "They just hate me, the same group of people have hated me for 20 years … They found nothing and they still f---ing wrote it."
EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS VIDEO CONTAIN PROFANE LANGUAGE
"We continue to stand by the story," an Insider spokesperson told Fox News Digital following Portnoy’s video.
The Insider story published last week, "'I was literally screaming in pain': Young women say they met Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy for sex and it turned violent and humiliating," included details of a woman’s claim that her "rape fantasy" turned into a "traumatic experience" once she met Portnoy.
The girl referred to as Madison throughout the story admits to performing oral sex on Portnoy but becoming "uncomfortable" when the Barstool founder attempted to film it. She then said sex with Portnoy was too rough but never said it was nonconsensual.
The Insider story rattled off various controversies that have surrounded the polarizing Barstool founder over the years before detailing its investigation.
"Insider spoke with more than two dozen people with direct experience with Portnoy and Barstool, including eight current or former employees. Some women, as young as 19 who had no professional connection to Portnoy, recounted having sexually explicit online exchanges with him. Three of these women said they had sex with Portnoy, now 44, and that the encounters turned into frightening and humiliating experiences that have taken a toll on their mental health," Insider’s Black wrote.
The lengthy feature also detailed claims from "Allison," who told Insider she was a recent high school graduate with a goal of partying in the Barstool founder’s Nantucket vacation home.
Portnoy provided what he considers evidence to debunk claims made by both women.
"Cancel culture 101," Portnoy said.
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Dave Portnoy called a story accusing him of having rough sex with women a "hit piece." (Fox News)
"If people are going to indict me for being a guy, indict me," Portnoy said after displaying a series of text messaging from "Allison." The messages shared by Portnoy show the woman first asking him to "bang" and additional messages allegedly sent after they had sex in which she said she missed him. As Portnoy pointed out, the very same woman was described as traumatized after the sexual encounter by Insider.
"Did Business Insider look at this?" he asked.
"I’m the f---ing victim," he said. "You think I want my mom and girlfriend reading this s--t? No, but it’s the only way to vindicate myself."
Portnoy then moved to a portion of the Insider story that claimed Allison’s mother called the Nantucket Police Department, urging them to look for young girls entering Portnoy’s home.
Portnoy displayed the police report during his "emergency press conference," mocking Insider for even including it in the report and saying it reads like the satirical website The Onion. The police report shared by Portnoy didn’t accuse him of any wrongdoing and contradicted many of the claims from the article, specifically how police indicated the woman couldn’t remember anything from the encounter despite the fact that she provided multiple details to Insider.
Dave Portnoy on Thursday meticulously picked apart an Insider "hit piece" published last week that accused the media mogul of having rough sex with women who regretted it afterwards. (Photo by Johnny Louis/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
"They haven’t put one ounce of this evidence in the article," he said. "There can’t be more concrete evidence about the he said/she said."
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Roughly 30 minutes into the "emergency press conference," Portnoy disclosed that another woman featured in the story described as "Madison" has been speaking out online. Portnoy declined to reveal her true identity but showed messages allegedly written by her saying "the article never said the sex wasn’t consensual" and "nobody said he’s a rapist."
Portnoy, who famously interviewed former President Donald Trump at the White House, maintained that he is not a political person but said he is often targeted by the left because of his ties to the former president.
"This girl was extreme, extreme, extreme left," he said before displaying a variety of anti-Trump messages allegedly written by the accuser.
Portnoy then said a Barstool fan noticed the woman referred to as "Madison" was active on social media while she was at Portnoy’s home. The fan saved social media posts and sent them to Portnoy, who said he was previously unaware they existed.
"I think we have a pretty clear agenda," Portnoy said before sharing the unidentified woman’s social media posts.
"If he ever truly pisses me off I have lots of content to expose him with. I am going to stick to athletes," she allegedly wrote alongside multiple emojis of money signs.
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Another alleged social media post by the woman shows a picture of Trump and Portnoy with the caption, "Ok. Not my proudest f--k."
Portnoy has repeatedly denied having nonconsensual sexual encounters with anyone.
"I have nothing to hide," he said on Thursday. "I have never done anything inappropriate with any girl … There is nothing nonconsensual."
Since the story came out, Portnoy has mocked Insider CEO Henry Blodget, reporter Julia Black and Insider editor-in-chief Nicholas Carlson with a variety of tweets, videos and memes. He has also suggested he would pop a bottle of champagne engraved with Blodget and Insider’s names once he discredited the report.