The “Daddy Gang” finally gets the chance to hear the co-“founding father” of “Call Her Daddy”.
Sofia Franklyn, who co-created the famous podcast with Alex Cooper, published her memoir “Daddy Issues” on Tuesday, in which she details her estrangement with her now ex-friend.
The duo went viral in 2018, when the podcast was still under Barstool Sports. He became known for his frank conversations about commonly taboo topics for women to discuss publicly, including steamy sex stories.
But the two split professionally in 2020, news that initially shocked their listeners. Cooper went on to host the podcast solo, then eventually moved it to Spotify and now SiriusXM in lucrative deals that propelled her to mainstream success.
Meanwhile, Franklyn, an influencer with over 619,000 followers on Instagram, launched her own podcast called “Sofia with an F.”
Over the years, rumors had swirled about what exactly happened between Franklyn and Cooper. Here are some of the biggest claims from Franklyn’s 240-page book.
Warnings from other people in Cooper’s orbit
Growing up in Utah with a single mother, Franklyn writes about her struggles to find a clear path. She was arrested three times: once for using a fake ID and twice for underage drinking. Eventually, she left to start over in New York, largely to escape an abusive relationship.
But his start in town was far from ideal. She lived with her aunt and worked at Morgan Stanley under a toxic boss who she said harassed her regularly. She eventually moved into her own place that she could barely afford and found herself extremely alone.
Until she met Cooper.
A random girl Franklyn befriended in a carpool put her in contact with Cooper and his childhood friend, Lauren, who were looking for a third roommate.
Cooper and Franklyn eventually became inseparable, with Lauren largely out of sight as she spent much of her time with her boyfriend. But one night, Franklyn writes, she and Lauren shared a rare evening alone in the apartment.
That’s when Lauren asked Franklyn if she thought it was weird that Cooper was “throwing” her aside.
“You showed up and it was like I never existed,” Franklyn told Lauren, prompting Franklyn to apologize.
Lauren also told Franklyn that Cooper “uses you because you’re hot, for love, going to parties and stuff.”
At the time, Franklyn wrote that she felt defensive about her friendship with Cooper and didn’t see it as “using” her.
But later, another close childhood friend of Cooper’s apparently also warned her that Cooper wasn’t going to stay with her.
Muji, known to early “Call Her Daddy” listeners as “Milfhunter,” worked on the podcast with the duo. He told Franklyn that Cooper “has no friends. I’ve seen this happen since high school.”
When Cooper abruptly fired Muji, Franklyn said he told her, “She’s going to fuck you.”
An Alleged Firing Attempt, a Secret Raise, and an IP Disagreement
Cooper and Frankyn’s stars quickly rose at Barstool, as the two took creative control of their show with the blessing of company founder Dave Portnoy.
But Franklyn started to feel things changing after Barstool’s Christmas party. That night, she felt “insane anxiety,” drank excessively and got into a fight with Cooper.
An angry Cooper told Franklyn that she was “rude” and “aggressive” towards her at the party and that everyone, including Portnoy, noticed and wanted to fire her.
Franklyn says she wanted to apologize to Portnoy for her behavior, but Cooper told her not to. When she finally said something, Portnoy seemed to ignore her, saying “the girls fought.”
Only later, Franklyn writes, did she learn that Cooper was using the party to negotiate a raise for herself.
Muji allegedly told her that Cooper said, “If I’m going to put up with her, I need more money.” » She got the raise: $20,000 more than Franklyn each year.
“She didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to know that she tried to get you fired,” Franklyn told Muji.
In 2020, as the duo negotiated their new contract together, Franklyn wrote that they sent Barstool an email with a new proposal in which they requested “a 50/50 split of all revenues derived from Barstool’s exploitation of the property (i.e. advertisers, sponsors, merchandise, etc.)” and a “minimum guarantee – $1 million each, per year.”
Negotiations focused on the intellectual property of “Call Her Daddy,” which Barstool Sports owned and could technically proceed without Franklyn or Cooper attached.
During their discussions with Barstool, Franklyn said she and Cooper agreed their goal was to stay together. They even created a spinoff podcast if negotiations failed, called “The Fathers.”
“We’re ridiculous as fuck, but that’s because we’re both excited about the project and our future – we don’t know how Barstool will react, but we know that staying together is more important than losing intellectual property, or whatever they might threaten. What’s the name without us?”
But ultimately, Franklyn was ousted from his co-host position. Portnoy called Franklyn to tell him that Cooper had met with him separately and suggested they continue without Franklyn.
“She came to me with a plan and I needed an episode. There’s no clear favorite,” he told her, according to Franklyn’s memoir. “You can still have your own show, and we’re promoting it like we did with Call Her Daddy.. I think it would be huge.
Portnoy also said Cooper hired his own lawyer and claimed Franklyn was “the one dragging this out, and she was willing to sign this thing.”
Franklyn claims Cooper then banned her from their shared social accounts and posted a 52-minute breakup video on YouTube titled “The Truth About Calling Your Daddy” in which she described Franklyn as a “liability.” Six years later, the video is still online and has been viewed 4.6 million times.
Representatives for Portnoy and Cooper did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Cooper’s Alleged Legal Threat
The book opens with a scene in which Franklyn’s accounting agent calls to tell her that she received an angry call from Matt Kaplan.
Kaplan, a Hollywood producer, married Cooper in 2024. The couple co-founded Unwell Network, a subsidiary of media company Trending.
Franklyn writes that his agent told him that Kaplan said Cooper would sue.
Unwell’s representatives told the New York Times that Kaplan “never discussed the book’s claims or any intention to sue the author with Verve.”
A representative for Kaplan did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
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