Dave Portnoy's phone call with Washington Post reporter goes viral as he calls out coming ‘hit piece’

Barstool's Dave Portnoy went viral on Thursday after posting a video of a phone call with a Washington Post reporter about what he says is a coming "hit piece" on him. The article in question will apparently be about advertisers being associated with his One Bite Pizza Festival.

The post has generated over 29 million views as of Thursday afternoon. Portnoy posted the video on Wednesday afternoon. 

Portnoy asked about emails that the reporter allegedly sent to advertisers about the Pizzafest event. According to a screenshot Portnoy published on the Barstool website, the email says, "We are planning to write about the festival and how some of the sponsors and participants have drawn criticism by seeming to associate themselves with Dave Portnoy, who has a history of misogynistic comments and other problematic behavior." 

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Portnoy accused the Post of being a "wildly left-leaning publication" and repeatedly told the reporter, Emily Heil, that he would answer any questions she had. Heil told Portnoy that she had intended to reach out to him on Thursday morning. 

David Portnoy of Barstool Sports hosts The Pool After Dark at Harrah's Resort on Saturday May 11, 2019 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Photo by Tom Briglia/ Getty Images) ((Photo by Tom Briglia/ Getty Images))

"You know, sometimes you have to say something like this is like, you know, it's sort of a reporting tactic," she said during the call. "When you want someone to respond, you kind of have to indicate that there might be something negative and then you get them to engage. That's all I was trying to do."

The email published on Bartsool's website also shows Heil's name. Heil and Tim Carman did not return FOX Digital's requests for comment.

"PS - I will say that maybe she isn’t awful as I first thought? Although I also sort of backed her into a corner where she had no alternative but to play ball with me.  I’ll record tomorrow’s convo as well and see how it goes," the blog post said.

However, Portnoy posted on Thursday and said the Washington Post canceled their phone call with him and asked to reschedule for 5PM. 

Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports is seen in attendance during the UFC 281 event at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2022 in New York City. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

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"I said 10am or nothing, they refused. What could suddenly be more important than this? The article has to come out Friday. So they'd leave themselves a few hours before going to print?" he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Portnoy told the reporter that he didn't think the Post was going to give him a fair shake and said it seemed like the reporter was trying to "shame sponsors" of the Pizzafest event for being associated with him. 

The entrance to The Washington Post corporate building in Washington D.C. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

The reporter also said that the email Portnoy is referencing was the "most pointed" in an effort to get them to respond. 

The Washington Post and Portnoy did not respond to FOX News Digital's request for comment. Neither did Portnoy. 

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Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.