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Dave Portnoy, Zach Bryan.
Getty Images (2)Dave Portnoy And Zach Bryan‘s beef runs deep – and that’s not just because Brianna “Kip” LaPaglia.
“He hates my guts,” Portnoy, 47, said of the singer during a ‘BFFs’ podcast in November 2024. “I ended up more in the middle of this than I actually expected.”
Bryan announced in October 2024 that he and LaPaglia had split after a year. The Barstool Sports personality claimed she was “blindsided” by Bryan’s decision to publicly announce their breakup. She has since claimed that she was “emotionally abused” by Bryan during their relationship.
Portnoy has stood by LaPaglia amid the drama that has unfolded following her and Bryan’s split. In fact, the Barstool Sports founder hasn’t been quiet about his disdain for the “Something in the Orange” singer.
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 started as an intern at the podcast network in 2020. The organization contacted her via social media after her videos […]
Keep scrolling for an overview of Portnoy and Bryan’s history:
His comments after their split
Portnoy crossed paths with Bryan a few times when the singer was dating LaPaglia.
“He just seemed like a very immature, unconfident baby,” Portnoy claimed of Bryan during an October 2024 episode of “The Named Show” podcast. When they met backstage at one of Bryan’s shows, Portnoy said the singer was “nice,” but it was clear the atmosphere was “off.”
Portnoy also addressed the “crazy” move Bryan made to apparently reactivate his Raya account (Raya is a dating app, for the uninitiated) after breaking up with LaPaglia. “He was on a dating app before the body was cold!” Portnoy called it “dirty business.”
Getting banned from Bryan’s concerts
Dave Portnoy, Zach Bryan.
Getty Images (2)Last February, Portnoy and Richards were apparently “banned” from Bryan’s concert in Las Vegas. During the same episode of “The Named Show,” Portnoy recalled having this conversation with LaPaglia.
“She says, ‘Zach banned you from going to the concert,’” he claimed. “Apparently Zach went back – how many months was it – it had to be maybe six months. We once had a discussion on ‘BFFs’ where Bri just had a new boyfriend.”
Bryan was apparently upset because Portnoy jokingly called LaPaglia a “revolving door” of relationships during an August 2023 podcast episode.
Singing ‘Revival’ – and justice for Miss Peaches
Portnoy ended up attending Bryan’s Boston date The Quittin’ Time tour in July 2024. The Barstool Sports founder joined Bryan on stage to sing “Revival,” but there was apparently some backstage discourse involving Miss Peaches.
Miss Peaches is the very famous Portnoy dog, who brought the podcast host to the concert. (LaPaglia noted that she apparently had to get a “green light” from Bryan before the dog could attend the show.)
“Did you know, Bri, that he kicked Miss Peaches out of the locker room?” Portnoy claimed this during the November 2024 episode ‘BFFs’. “That drove me bananas.”
Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards dragged Zach Bryan through the mud with their “Smallest Man” diss track – using the country singer’s own songs to do so. On Wednesday, November 6, the podcast hosts of “BFFs” dropped a five-minute music video in defense of Bryan’s ex-girlfriend and their cohost, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. (The […]
Portnoy apparently kept Miss Peaches in Bryan’s dressing room during the concert, but checked on her regularly.
“Peaches is the least high-maintenance dog, other than the fact that she tries to get into all kinds of things. She’s as chill as can be. But they are peaches, so I walk back and forth to make sure everything is okay. I walked in to check on her and he’s just walking her into this little band’s dressing room,” Portnoy claimed. “I’m okay with it, but to this day I have no idea why he wanted to take Peaches out of that locker room.”
Portnoy said the second locker room was full of equipment, making it “dangerous” for the dog.
“I don’t know why he did that, but it really pissed me off at that moment,” Portnoy added. ‘Maybe because he didn’t want me there. He hates me, but Miss Peaches, you kick her out of the locker room.”
The Diss track
Dave Portnoy, Zach Bryan.
Getty Images (2)Portnoy and Richards released a diss track about Bryan titled “Smallest Man” in November 2024.
In his verse, the Barstool Sports founder called Bryan “ugly,” referring to the singer’s “s–ty tats.”
“Country singing boss baby, give that boy a snack / Throw another tantrum, it’s time for a nap,” Portnoy sang on the song, noting that Bryan’s “head looks like a Lego” and that he has hair “ like Homer Simpson.”
Bryan’s clear comments about Portnoy
Bryan had some nice words about Portnoy following his split from LaPaglia, at least according to an alleged text shown in the November 2024 episode “BFFs.”
“You work for [R-word] people,” Bryan LaPaglia allegedly messaged Portnoy. “Directly to your boss and company. I should have just realized this and left in February.