''Call Her Daddy'' is an advice and comedy

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

created by

Alexandra Cooper Alexandra Cooper (born August 21, 1994) is an American podcaster, who co-created and hosts '' Call Her Daddy'', a weekly comedy and advice podcast on Spotify. In 2021, ''Time Magazine'' called her "arguably the most successful woman in podcastin ...

and Sofia Franklyn in 2018. The podcast was formerly owned and distributed by

Barstool Sports Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that publishes sports journalism and pop culture-related content. It is owned by Dave Portnoy, who founded the company in 2003 in Milton, Massa ...

until June 2021, when it was announced that Cooper had signed an exclusive deal with

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

worth $60 million. In the late spring of 2020, Cooper and Franklyn were engaged in a publicized dispute with Barstool founder

David Portnoy David Scott Portnoy (born March 22, 1977) is an American businessman and social media personality. He is the founder and owner of sports and popular culture company Barstool Sports. Early life Portnoy was born and raised in Swampscott, Massa ...

, which resulted in Franklyn leaving the show. Cooper reached an agreement with Barstool and continued hosting the podcast on her own. In August 2024, Cooper signed a deal with

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

to replace Spotify as her distribution and advertising partner.

History

The podcast was launched in 2018 by Sofia Franklyn and Alexandra Cooper who were roommates at the time. The podcast rapidly increased in popularity, with downloads rising from 12,000 to 2 million in two months. According to

founder David Portnoy, the company signed a three-year contract with the co-hosts in 2018. This contract provided a base salary of $75,000, supplemented with bonuses for podcast performance and a portion of merchandise sales. The contract ceded all intellectual property to Barstool Sports.

Break with Barstool

Following an episode titled "Kesha... The End" released on April 8, 2020, new episodes stopped being released. Explanations for the break were not communicated to fans, with the co-hosts releasing a statement on Instagram noting that they "legally can't speak out yet." Amidst the lack of communication, significant gossip developed among tabloids and fan forums. On May 17, an episode was released to the podcast feed featuring Portnoy discussing the hiatus from the perspective of Barstool. The 30-minute episode described financial and contractual details. Portnoy claimed that Barstool had offered a base salary of $500,000 to the co-hosts and noted that Barstool was losing $100,000 per missed episode of the podcast. He said Cooper had settled on new terms, but Franklyn remained unwilling to agree to a new contract, ultimately leading to her exit from the show. At the time, Franklyn was involved in a relationship with Peter Nelson (dubbed "Suit Man" in previous episodes of ''Call Her Daddy''), who was working as an executive for

HBO Sports Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based ...

. Portnoy accused Nelson of advising Franklyn to refuse Barstool's contract offer. Nelson also allegedly shopped the program around to other podcast distributors, further fraying the relationship between Franklyn and Barstool.

Solo hosting by Cooper

Alexandra Cooper began releasing the podcast alone following the break, stating in late May 2020 that she would be pushing forward without Franklyn. She told listeners that a new co-host would be chosen soon.

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

joined Cooper on the re-launched podcast in August 2020, discussing her breakup from

Liam Hemsworth Liam Hemsworth (born 13 January 1990) is an Australian actor. He played the roles of Josh Taylor (Neighbours), Josh Taylor in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' and Marcus in the children's television series ''The Elephant Princess''. In American fi ...

. Franklyn eventually began her own individual podcast titled ''Sofia with an F''.

Distribution by Spotify and Sirius XM

In June 2021, Cooper signed a deal worth $60 million to exclusively present the podcast on

. Barstool continued to handle the show's merchandising. In August 2024, Cooper signed a $125 million deal with Sirius XM to replace Spotify as her distribution and advertising partner. The podcast is set to remain available on Spotify.

Content

While owned by Barstool Sports, the podcast focused on discussing sexuality and dating, and was known for being explicit. After moving to Spotify, the show focused more on mental health, having clinical psychologists and psychotherapists as guests, though the show continues to have raunchy elements. Cooper has said that the show is edited to make every moment saturated with content to avoid losing the audience's attention. In October 2024, Cooper conducted an interview with

Vice President Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

to explore various pressing issues in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as the country approached the

2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

. According to the August 2024 SiriusXM Press Release, extensive exclusive content will debut on SiriusXM in 2025.

Audience

Cooper calls the show's audience the "Daddy Gang". In 2020, ''Call Her Daddy'' was the fifth most popular podcast on Spotify. In 2021 and 2022, ''Call Her Daddy'' was ranked as the second most popular podcast on Spotify, finishing behind ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

'' in both years.

References

External links

* {{Podcast platform links 2018 podcast debuts Comedy podcasts 2018 establishments in New York (state) Advice podcasts Audio podcasts American podcasts Barstool Sports Spotify podcasts