# Call Her Daddy

Call Her Daddy is an advice and comedy podcast created by Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn in 2018. The podcast was formerly owned and distributed by Barstool Sports until June 2021, when it was announced that Cooper had signed an exclusive deal with Spotify worth $60 million. In the late spring of 2020, Cooper and Franklyn were engaged in a publicized dispute with Barstool founder David Portnoy, 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 to replace Spotify as her distribution and advertising partner.

## Content

In November 2018, the Case Western Reserve student newspaper described the show as "both a new and established concept in the world of podcasts", stating:
   The content of the podcast is a blend of advice, whether you are in a relationship or not, hilarious stories and content from their listeners. Much of their content is not simply advice but sometimes just outright hysterical stories. Most of the advice the women lay out for their audience is about sex. The majority of the embarrassing moments detailed in their episodes talk about what some might consider taboo, but all the stories are framed in a hilarious context that makes them more approachable.
While owned by Barstool Sports, the podcast focused on discussing sexuality and dating, and was known for being explicit. After securing a $60 million exclusivity deal with Spotify, Cooper shifted the show to focus 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.
Cooper spearheads The Unwell Network, a venture that collaborates with content creators such as Alix Earle and Madeline Argy, the company's initial affiliates.
According to the August 2024 SiriusXM Press Release, extensive exclusive content will debut on SiriusXM in 2025.

## Name

The podcast name "Call Her Daddy" reflects female empowerment, originating from a conversation where cohost Sofia Franklyn suggested women should be seen as powerful by calling them — rather than men — "Daddy."
"Daddy Gang" is the term Cooper uses to describe the show's fanbase. Bill Kristol has jokingly self-identified as a founding member of the Daddy Gang.

## History

Alexandra Cooper started the podcast in 2018 with co-host and roommate Sofia Franklyn. The podcast rapidly increased in popularity, with downloads rising from 12,000 to 2 million in two months. According to Barstool Sports 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.

### 2020 break and dispute with Barstool Sports

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. 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.

### Return

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 joined Cooper on the re-launched podcast in August 2020, discussing her breakup from Liam Hemsworth. Franklyn eventually began her own individual podcast titled Sofia with an F.

### Acquisition by Spotify

In June 2021, Cooper signed a deal worth $60 million to exclusively present the podcast on Spotify. However, Barstool still handles the show's merchandising.

### Sirius XM deal

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.

### 2024 Kamala Harris interview

In October 2024, Cooper conducted an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to explore various pressing issues in the United States as the country approached the 2024 presidential election. At the beginning of the episode, Cooper acknowledged that her audience holds diverse political views but expressed her desire to engage with these important topics. Additionally, she mentioned that she had contacted the Donald Trump campaign to potentially feature him in a future episode.

## Popularity and reception

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 in both years.
According to Edison Research data obtained by NPR, The "Daddy gang" demographics is 70% women and 76% under the age of 35.