When the Call Her Daddy podcast launched nearly six years ago, it was a far cry from the female empowerment platform that today boasts , and even former Vice President as guests.
Rather, co-hosts Alex Cooper, 31, and Sofia Franklyn, 33, would deliver X-rated dating advice to their millions of college-aged female listeners, such as tips for oral sex, which the ex-BFFs famously referred to as the 'Gluck Gluck 9000'.
But as fans are well aware, Call Her Daddy's rise to becoming one of the most popular podcasts wasn't without a public scandal and an accusation of backstabbing made by its former co-host.
While Cooper transformed the podcast into a multi-million dollar empire, landing a three-year podcasting deal with SiriusXM worth $125 million, Franklyn has all but fallen by the wayside after she was allegedly blindsided during contract negotiations with their former boss Barstool Sports – though Cooper has said it was Franklyn who walked away from Call Her Daddy.
That is, until now.
With the highly anticipated release of her new memoir, aptly titled Daddy Issues, Franklyn will finally share her side of their public fallout when the book hits shelves in November this year.
Alex Cooper, 31, is the current host and sole creative director of Call Her Daddy after a public fallout with former co-host Sofia Franklyn in 2020
Franklyn, 33, is set to detail her experience with leaving Call Her Daddy in a memoir titled 'Daddy Issues'
The cover of the book (seen) features a photo of Franklyn and Cooper, whose face is noticeably cut out of the image
The book release may come as a welcomed update for listeners of the original Call Her Daddy podcast, who were forced to choose sides after Cooper and Franklyn fell out in 2020.
But for Cooper, who has not publicly acknowledged the book, it seems the podcasting maven is concerned Franklyn's memoir may serve to threaten the media empire she's worked so hard to build over the last six years.
Now, a source has exclusively told the Daily Mail how Cooper feels 'betrayed' by her former friend, and why she believes the memoir is simply an attempt at 'revenge' and 'clout' chasing by Franklyn.
'Alex is not thrilled about Sofia's memoir and her ex-best friend using her for clout and money,' said the source, who is an acquaintance of Cooper.
'It's not something she talks about a lot or gives her energy to, but she's aware of what it entails, and the shade thrown on the cover.'
On February 25, Franklyn announced on Instagram that she was releasing her debut memoir. Along with the announcement, she revealed the book's cheeky cover – a throwback photo of herself with Cooper, whose face has been entirely erased from the image.
The book, according to publisher Simon and Schuster, offers 'an explosive story of power, friendship, reclamation and surviving yourself.'
However, the source, an acquaintance of Cooper's, described Franklyn's memoir as a 'slap to the face' for Cooper, who only 'wanted the best' for her former roommate after they 'went their separate ways.'
In 2018, roommates Cooper and Franklyn launched Call Her Daddy, a sex and relationships podcast where they often delivered X-rated dating advice
Call Her Daddy was later picked up by media company Barstool Sports, who offered Cooper and Franklyn a three-year contract with reported salaries of $70,000
'Alex has worked extremely hard to get to where she's at today and certainly won't let a former friend get in the way. She'll do what it takes for damage control once it comes out,' they added.
The public fallout between Cooper and Franklyn has become something of an urban legend among Call Her Daddy listeners.
In 2018, the roommates recorded the very first episode of Call Her Daddy, titled 'Sext Me So I Know It's Real,' from their New York City apartment.
The podcast, branded as 'female locker-room talk,' soon caught the attention of Dave Portnoy, founder of media company Barstool Sports, who offered Cooper and Franklyn a three-year contract, with reported salaries of $70,000.
But their newfound success as a duo would be short lived.
Things took a turn in 2020, when both women wanted to renegotiate their contracts to better reflect the continued growth of their podcast; they wanted a reported $1 million each.
But, according to Portnoy – who publicly slammed Cooper and Franklyn as 'greedy' – Barstool could only offer them a new contract of $500,000-a-year in addition to bonuses.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy (seen in 2023) independently struck a deal with Cooper after Franklyn refused to accept his offer of a one-year contract worth $500,000 in addition to bonuses
He claimed that Cooper relented and agreed but Franklyn, who still wanted more money, did not. So, Cooper decided to independently strike a deal with Portnoy without the show's other half and released her first solo episode in May that year.
She further opened up about her side of their breakup in the two-part documentary series Call Her Alex, released in June 2025.
'Sofia and I were making the company millions of dollars. We absolutely deserved more money, but unfortunately we had signed a three year contract with Barstool Sports and they owned our IP,' Cooper said in the docuseries.
'So, Sofia and I went in together and we re-negotiated our contracts. Dave ended up offering us what I considered the deal of a lifetime. He said if you stay at Barstool one more year, you can own Call Her Daddy. Sofia didn't want to take the deal but I did, so I stayed,' she stated.
Franklyn, for her part, seemed blindsided. In a statement posted on Instagram, she said she felt 'betrayed' by Cooper who 'had gone behind [her] back.'
'Everything that we had been working toward and planning for the last half a year to year was all of a sudden not the plan anymore and [Cooper thought] we needed to just stay with this company and do what [Portnoy] was saying,' Franklyn told Rolling Stone in 2023.
'I found out later [Cooper and Portnoy] 1,000 percent had this relationship that I wasn't aware of and not a part of. I thought [Cooper was my] best friend, sister, and we are not hiding anything. There's no way in hell I would speak to our boss without you, that would be f*****g crazy, and I don't think that went both ways.'
For her part, Cooper claimed she had long carried out most of the work involved in the podcast, and that Franklyn's then-boyfriend, HBO Sports executive Peter Nelson, had been 'controlling' and exploited Call Her Daddy for his own gain.
Pictured in 2019: A source told the Daily Mail that Cooper feels 'betrayed' by Franklyn over the release of her upcoming memoir
According to Rolling Stone, Cooper and Portnoy said at the time that Nelson was attempting to secure a more lucrative deal with the podcasting firm Wondery.
Franklyn later said that her now ex-boyfriend 'wasn't that involved' in the podcast deal, and maintained that claims about his involvement in her deal with Wondery are 'false'.
While it was Franklyn who initially felt blindsided by Cooper six years ago, the insider said it is now Cooper who feels 'betrayed' by her former co-host and ex-roommate following news of her upcoming memoir.
'She feels betrayed,' the source told the Daily Mail.
'Alex and her team were a bit shocked to hear Sofia was coming out with this, especially six years later. Alex has grown her empire so much since Sofia left.'
Indeed, Cooper signed a three-year contract with Spotify worth a reported $60 million after her contract with Barstool expired in 2021. That was followed by another three-year deal in August 2024 with SiriusXM, which was worth an estimated $125 million.
She also launched Trending, a media company targeted at Gen Z which would serve as the new parent company of Call Her Daddy, in 2023, and the Unwell Network – a production shingle that signed internet personalities as podcast hosts.
The source maintained that Cooper isn't 'worried' Franklyn's memoir may topple the multi-million dollar media empire she's built with Call Her Daddy.
Cooper signed a three-year deal with Spotify worth a reported $60 million after her contract with Barstool expired in 2021, followed by another three-year deal with SiriusXM in August 2024 worth an estimated $125 million
The source told the Daily Mail that Cooper is 'concerned about whether this memoir will alter the public's perception of her'
Rather, she is concerned that her loyal listeners – affectionately nicknamed the 'Daddy Gang' – may turn against her after reading Franklyn's book.
'Sofia doesn't have insight into what these past few years have been like, so Alex isn't worried about what secrets she's going to spill. She's more concerned about whether this memoir will alter the public's perception of her,' the source said.
'As her fans know, [Cooper is] an open book, so she has nothing to hide. But what could be twisted in this book is what could potentially be a big threat to her success,' they continued.
'The Daddy Gang means everything to Alex, so if she were to lose hundreds or thousands of fans, that would break her. She's keeping her head high, though, and just hopes that Sofia's memoir doesn't destroy what she has spent years creating.'
It seems that Cooper isn't the only podcaster concerned about the release of Franklyn's upcoming memoir.
Portnoy, 48, has continued to throw shots at both Cooper and Franklyn on social media, despite the Barstool Sports founder formally parting ways with the Call Her Daddy podcast in 2021.
He took to Instagram on March 7 to post a mocking video of Franklyn, where he claimed the memoir was actually a piece of 'fiction' and allegedly full of 'lies'.
Portnoy then took the opportunity to promote his own autobiographical book, titled Cancel Me If You Can, which will also be published by Simon and Schuster in June.
Franklyn moved out of her shared apartment with Cooper after the Call Her Daddy fallout and spent time with family in Utah, taking a break from the public eye
In October 2020, Franklyn launched her own sex and relationship podcast through her company Sloot Media, titled 'Sofia with an F'
Following the public fallout of Call Her Daddy, Cooper relocated to Los Angeles in 2021 and married Hollywood film producer Matt Kaplan in April 2024.
As for Franklyn, she moved out of her shared New York City apartment with Cooper, stayed with family in Utah and took a break from the public eye.
In October 2020, she launched her own sex and relationship podcast, titled Sofia with an F, through her own media company, Sloot Media.
She then returned to Manhattan and announced her engagement to her boyfriend last September, though she has kept his identity hidden.
While the Sofia with an F podcast has booked some impressive guests of its own, including infamous Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland and the wrongfully convicted Amanda Knox, it has nowhere near reached the global success that Call Her Daddy has found with Cooper at its helm.
That's why, according to the source, the Call Her Daddy host is suspicious that Franklyn's memoir may simply be an attempt at riding the 'coattails' of Cooper's worldwide fame.
'She thinks Sofia just wants to ride her coattails, but she knows Sofia will never reach the level of fame that she's achieved,' the insider said.
'Sofia left Call Her Daddy on her own terms. Everyone can see that that was a big mistake,' they added.
'Now it is like she wants revenge, and doesn't care about who she hurts to get the attention back that she had years ago when she first helped launch the podcast.'
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Cooper and Franklyn for comment.
