Barstool's Dave Portnoy touts 'One Bite' pizza sales surge amid sexual misconduct allegations
Portnoy asked fans to buy pizzas to 'beat cancel culture' and reassure the company’s sponsors
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said Monday the company’s "One Bite" frozen pizza brand posted its "biggest weekend ever" in sales after he urged his fans to show support following the publication of a damning article that accused Portnoy of sexual misconduct.
Portnoy shared a video last Friday asking Barstool’s fans, known as "Stoolies," to "beat cancel culture" and reassure the company’s sponsors by buying the pizzas. He made the request one day after Business Insider published a report in which three women alleged they had sexual encounters with Portnoy that "turned into frightening and humiliating experiences."
"Thanks to everybody who bought #onebite frozen pizza this weekend. We had 50% increase over prior weekend. It was our biggest weekend ever. We sold 50k pizzas in 2 days. We canceled cancel culture. It was about proving a point not making money," Portnoy said.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy visits Faction Talk at SiriusXM Studios on Nov. 14, 2017, in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images / Getty Images)
PROFIT MISS, PORTNOY ALLEGATIONS TAINT PENN NATIONAL SHARES
Portnoy added that he would donate $350,000 to the Barstool Fund, a nonprofit formed to aid small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Barstool began selling the frozen pizzas, named after Portnoy’s pizza review series, in late September through a partnership with Happi Foodi and Walmart.
David Portnoy is interviewed before the South Point 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race on Sept. 15, 2019, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Chris WIlliams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Happi Foodi and Walmart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Barstool and its parent company Penn National have been under intense pressure since the allegations surfaced. The Business Insider article included accounts from three women who accused him of misconduct. Two of the women, who were identified by pseudonyms, said Portnoy choked or filmed them without advance consent, while a third woman said she was suicidal after their encounter.
Penn National shares are down more than 14% since last Thursday, when the company missed profit expectations in its quarterly earnings report and the allegations against Portnoy went public.
The Barstool founder has repeatedly criticized Business Insider since its publication of the report, which he dubbed a "hit piece." Portnoy has denied wrongdoing, saying in a video message on his Twitter account that he had "never" done "anything remotely nonconsensual" during the sexual encounters.
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Dave Portnoy visits SiriusXM Studios on Nov. 14, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Portnoy retweeted several photos and videos of his supporters buying "One Bite" pizzas throughout the weekend. In his public plea, he said Barstool’s sponsors were fielding inquiries regarding the status of their partnerships with the company due to the allegations.
"What would happen … if just this weekend, everybody who supports me, the Stoolies who are sick of cancel culture and the woke mob and the [expletive] of Business Insider, went out and bought as many One Bite pizzas as you could at your local Walmart," Portnoy said, trying to drum up support. "What if this weekend – we track sales every weekend – we had the most sales we’ve ever had? And then I could take this piece of paper, factual, to our advertisers and be like, you’ve got nothing to be worried about."