Thread by @SethAbramson

I don't know anything about this guy. All I know is that I watched him just *one* time—he was doing some chicken-sandwich "taste test" on YouTube—and he was being so aggro and arrogant to his staffers it turned me off immediately. No clue what his deal is. businessinsider.com/barstool-sport…

😳

"In 2020, Madison sent Portnoy a direct message on Instagram complimenting his famous 'one bite' pizza reviews. 'Sick pizza reviews,' she wrote. 'Thanks fly bitch,' Portnoy responded. She was a 20-year-old college student at the time, Portnoy a 43-year-old multimillionaire."

😳

WTF?

"The conversation soon moved to Snapchat and text, where it quickly turned to the topic of sex. He sent her graphic videos of other women he'd slept with, according to Madison, and in messages reviewed by Insider, he pressed her to tell him about her sexual fantasies."

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"[In response to Portnoy asking her to reveal her sexual fantasies, Madison wrote him], 'I mean actually this ones kind of common. Like a rape fantasy, where I don't have any control of what's going on.' 'You and I are going to get along so well,' Portnoy responded."

Not going to quote more. Gets worse and really bad. Sort of glad I previously didn't know anything about this guy and less glad that I now do.

PS/ If I'm going to share the Business Insider article on David Portnoy—which I already did—I certainly have no problem also tweeting out Portnoy's response for people to judge for themselves (though I expect much more will be coming out from all parties):

PS2/ Reading the Business Insider article, I'd actually thought the most legally problematic accusations—for Portnoy—were filming women having sex without their consent, spreading the videos to strangers without anyone's consent, and directing followers to brutally harass people.

PS3/ As to the sex itself, it's not clear if the allegations are actually that the sex was nonconsensual as opposed to horrifying—which, while itself terrible, isn't criminal. So it seems Portnoy is responding to the less legally problematic but more *PR-problematic* accusations.

PS4/ If I had to guess, Portnoy has been told by his lawyers that at this point he has a PR problem rather than a legal problem and is addressing it as a PR problem rather than a legal problem—knowing his PR problem could worsen, even if it's *unlikely* to become a *legal* issue.

PS5/ So if you want to know why he recorded this video allegedly against legal advice, my guess is because his lawyers have had no sign this is going to become a legal issue and while they'd rather he not to record a video, they finally felt it was a PR decision for him to make.

PS6/ Honestly, though, if it never becomes a legal issue, it's also not likely to be much of a PR issue, as it seems like this person's audience is built on celebrating toxic masculinity and whining about cancel culture. So ultimately all of this would seem to help out his brand.

PS7/ To be clear, certain facts from the story *would*—absolutely—suggest non-consensual sex. But the facts surrounding those facts, and the way the whole story is framed, strongly suggests that none of the women offering testimonial evidence is alleging that they were assaulted.

PS8/ It's important to add that we must never lose the distinction between grotesque and criminal. If Portnoy wants to sleep primarily with 19-year-olds despite being 40-something, I find that gross. But it's not criminal—and he and the women are entitled to be consenting adults.