Dave Portnoy has stepped into the ongoing drama involving Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia and Alex Cooper.
In a TikTok video posted on Wednesday, April 15, the 49-year-old Barstool Sports founder remarked, “I just saw Brianna’s response to Alex Cooper. Brianna just spilled my f***ing tea, what the f***.”
Portnoy’s video featured a text conversation with LaPaglia, 26, where he expressed his appreciation for the “messy” nature of her video.
He also addressed claims by LaPaglia concerning Cooper’s views on signing Grace O’Malley to Cooper’s Unwell network. O’Malley and LaPaglia previously co-hosted the “PlanBri Uncut” podcast on Barstool before O’Malley departed in 2024.
“Alright, here’s the tea on that, this is something I did not spurt but yes … this is how it went down. When O’Malley went to Unwell and everyone was burying Chickenfry, me and Cooper had a conversation,” he claimed. “And she’s like, ‘I’m gonna do an interview with O’Malley and let her tell her side of the story.’”
Portnoy explained that he was against the idea, fearing it would harm LaPaglia. He claimed he repeatedly offered O’Malley a platform on his network to share her story, but she declined. Instead, LaPaglia suggested that she and O’Malley appear together on “Call Her Daddy,” which Portnoy found reasonable.
“Me and Cooper came to an agreement. If O’Malley wouldn’t go on with Bri, then she wouldn’t put O’Malley on without Bri,” he said. “Maybe I was like, ‘I’ll go ballistic if you do that.’ Maybe. Cause I was protecting Bri a little bit … O’Malley wouldn’t agree to go on with Bri so neither of them went on. That’s how it ended.”
Despite LaPaglia revealing Portnoy’s “tea,” he admitted to enjoying the drama.
On Thursday, LaPaglia further fueled the ongoing conflict between Cooper and influencer Alix Earle.
“OK, Alex Cooper just made a TikTok about me saying she’s not a mean girl because we had nice DMs before I found out everything about this girl,” LaPaglia, 26, said in a TikTok video on Wednesday. “The people that are saying this Alex on Alix crime is like a f***ing PR stunt, these are the same people that were saying bad [things] about [Summer House’s] Amanda [Batula] and West [Wilson] that it was an April Fool’s prank. Please guys get a brain cell.”
LaPaglia asserted that she knew Cooper before the conflict with Earle since she worked at Barstool Sports. (Cooper’s podcast “Call Her Daddy” was part of Barstool before she secured a substantial deal with Spotify in 2021.)
“I work at Barstool, so Dave [Portnoy] introduced me to Alex Cooper,” she continued. “I was a fan of Alex Cooper before I knew the wrath of f***ing Alex Cooper and what she does to people and how she treats people.”
Since meeting Cooper, LaPaglia has become friends with Earle. (Earle hosted her “Hot Mess” podcast, which was distributed through Cooper’s Unwell media network. Earle left Unwell in 2025.)
“I am friends with Alix Earle. Alix Earle told me everything that transpired between those two, two years ago at the Super Bowl,” she claimed. “She told me everything. It didn’t happen between them at the Super Bowl but that’s when she told me everything. You can go time check me.”
LaPaglia mentioned that she refrained from publicly discussing Earle and Cooper’s conflict earlier because it wasn’t her place.
Alix Earle and Alex Cooper’s feud continues to escalate. A day after Earle, 25, announced she was “on it” following Cooper’s request for a public discussion of their mysterious conflict, Earle released a video capturing the moment she first saw Cooper’s request. “Shoutout to my friends for […]
“It’s not my story to tell so I didn’t tell it. From what Alix Earle told me, Alex Cooper is a very, very mean person,” she alleged. “Or maybe when Dave called me when Alex signed Grace to Unwell and she called Dave and said, ‘I don’t give a f*** about Grace. I don’t give a f*** about Brianna. All I care about is making money.’ Yeah maybe my f***ing narrative switched on you after I found things out about you. I used to be a fan of you but now I’m clearly not anymore. I’m patiently sitting and waiting for Alix Earle to say her side of the story.”
LaPaglia also addressed Cooper releasing messages that they previously exchanged online.
“And that video you made, that was mean girl 101. That was a mean girl final boss video,” she quipped. “You seem like my ex posting my f***ing text to him when we were still dating and sending nice messages to him. You think I’m a mean girl? That was before I knew anything about you.”
Us Weekly reached out to Cooper for comment.
Speculation about a feud between Earle and Cooper has been widespread since Earle left the Unwell Network in 2025. Earlier this month, Earle seemingly took a jab at her former boss by sharing a video dubbing Cooper the “grim reaper.” Following Earle’s post, Cooper decided to respond to the rumored conflict.
“But I am obviously seeing the videos, and I’m getting tagged. I see the DMs. I see the comments. So, at this point, it just feels long overdue,” Cooper said in a TikTok video before directly addressing Earle. “Hey, girl. The passive aggressive reposts and the ‘likes’ and the commenting on things, I gotta call you out here.”
Cooper emphasized that there was “no NDA” and nothing preventing Earle from expressing her thoughts.
Alex Cooper and Alix Earle initially seemed like a perfect team, but their relationship has since soured. Cooper started her Unwell Network in August 2023, with Earle as her first hire. The subsequent month, Earle’s “Hot Mess” podcast debuted. Over a year later, […]
“I’m really tired of waking up and seeing you using this fake drama to distract from other s*** going online for you. Not interested. I know what happened and so do you,” Cooper continued. “So talk. Unless the fake narrative that you’re creating happens to be way more interesting than the truth. I have nothing to hide when it comes to you and me.”
LaPaglia became involved in the controversy earlier this month when she expressed her support for Earle. Cooper then addressed LaPaglia on Wednesday and shared several of their alleged private messages.
“This girl on girl s*** needs to stop. While Alix tries to get her story together, let me address Brianna Chickenfry who is adding onto the fake narrative and dog pile,” she wrote via her Instagram Story on Wednesday. “Brianna, you coming online saying I’m a mean girl, that I’m going to get destroyed, in peoples comments saying I hate Alex Cooper … Here are the facts. I have never met you in my life. The only communication we have ever had together is through DM.”
