Dave Portnoy has confirmed his exit from the “BFFs” podcast in the midst of drama between himself and Zach Bryan, the ex-boyfriend of cohost Brianna “Chickenfry” Lapaglia.
“The subjects don’t interest me at all,” Portnoy, 47, said on “The Unnamed Show” podcast on Thursday, November 14. “They show me the topics when I go in there. I haven’t done any research, and I’m just ripping apart 18-year-olds, who I don’t even know.”
The Barstool Sports founder told hosts Ryan Whitney and Kirk Minhane, “I don’t love necessarily doing that. It’s a little different.”
“BFFs” launched with Portnoy and Josh Richards in 2020, before LaPaglia, 25, joined them the following year.
Dave Portnoy and Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia’s friendship has come a long way over the years. Portnoy, 47, founded Barstool Sports in 2003, but LaPaglia, 25, didn’t join the team until much later. She got her start with the podcast network in 2020 as an intern. The organization contacted her via social media after her videos […]
“It certainly accomplished what I wanted to accomplish when we started it,” Portnoy continued. “Josh and Bri will continue it. It’s super successful. But, yeah, it’s time for me to try the next thing. I had run my course with it.”
On the Thursday, November 14 episode of “BFFs,” LaPaglia said it’s “definitely gonna be a new pod” after Portnoy’s departure.
Josh Richards, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia and Dave Portnoy BFFs/YouTube
An exact date for Portnoy’s final episode has not been announced, but he said he would remain on the show until the end of the year.
Portnoy first teased his exit from “BFFs” on the explosive Thursday, November 14 episode of the podcast, in which LaPaglia gave an emotional breakdown of the dramatic end of her relationship with boyfriend and country superstar Bryan.
“My plan at the end of the year was to be done with BFFs,” Portnoy said. “Just because I’m getting older, like nearing 50. Talking about teenage drama, a little out of my wheelhouse. So, we’ve known this for months, and we’re like, ‘What’s the best way to announce it?’”
But when news of LaPaglia and Bryan’s split went public — thanks to Bryan deciding to share the news via an October 22 Instagram Story statement — Portnoy said the whole thing got “complicated.”
Zach Bryan Scott Legato/Getty Images
Things became even more messy when LaPaglia insisted she wanted to discuss the alleged $12 million non-disclosure agreement that she claimed Bryan wanted her to sign.
More details are coming to light regarding Zach Bryan and Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia’s unexpected breakup. “[Brianna] was blindsided by Zach being on dating apps and dating around while they had been in a committed relationship,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Someone sent her Zach’s Raya profile and girls were reaching out about him dating […]
“I thought that’s how this was ending,” Portnoy said on the November 7 episode. “I thought I was gonna get on and be like, ‘Hey, I respect their decision. We’re not gonna talk about the Zach thing, but I can’t be on it anymore because I have to talk about it if we’re gonna do it.’ And I woke up the next morning, and it’s like, ‘F— the money, we’re going.’”
Portnoy has not been shy about publicly voicing his true feelings about Bryan — he even recorded two diss tracks about the singer, “Smallest Man” and “Country Diddy.”
On Saturday, November 9, Portnoy continued his public vendetta against Bryan, calling him a “scumbag.”
“If you have his music on his phone, please f—ing delete it,” Portnoy said. “The guy is a piece of s— and you should have never have anything to do with it. He’s the worst.”
