After Insider.com published an article accusing Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy of sexual misconduct, Portnoy adamantly denied the allegations and fired back on Twitter: "Here is what people have to know about me," he wrote. "If you wrong me I will burn you to the ground." He later added that he has foregone sleep and is "running on adderall, coffee and revenge nowadays." The Washington Post reports that Portnoy is making good on his threat to seek revenge, "waging an all-out war on Insider, writer Julia Black, global editor in chief Nicholas Carlson, company CEO and co-founder Henry Blodget," and the site's owner, German media giant Axel Springer. Black in particular has been attacked online by "Stoolies" (supporters of Portnoy) in what the Post describes as "vulgar and misogynistic terms."
Meanwhile, Mediaite reports that Portnoy was suspended 12 hours from Twitter for posting an email exchange with editor Carlson, in which Carlson declined a request to appear on Portnoy's video podcast. Portnoy also appeared on the Fox News show of Tucker Carlson Monday and repeated his assertion that the Insider article—in which women accused Portnoy of choking them and filming sexual encounters without their consent—amounted to "character assassination." Both he and the Fox host also suggested the article was part of a plan to hurt the stock of Penn National Gaming, which own a large stake in Barstool. The Post notes that Portnoy hasn't offered proof of this.
Stoolies have found another way to support Portnoy, points out Fox Business. After Portnoy asked allies to buy the company's One Bite frozen pizza as a protest against "cancel culture," he reported record weekend sales. "We sold 50k pizzas in 2 days," he wrote. "We canceled cancel culture. It was about proving a point not making money." He said he would donate $350,000 to a company fund that supports small businesses hit by the pandemic. In regard to the online attacks against Black, the reporter may have expected it. In her Insider article, she wrote that supporters of Barstool Sports regularly defend the company with aggressive tactics. "These have included death threats, doxing, online harassment, and targeting of people's families, friends, and workplaces," Black wrote. (More sexual misconduct stories.)
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