Sofia Franklyn Memoir: ‘Daddy Issues’ Details Podcast Split
Sofia Franklyn’s memoir “Daddy Issues” recounts the breakdown of her friendship and working relationship with Alex Cooper, her former “Call Her Daddy” co-host. The book, released Tuesday, also describes Franklyn’s early career, the podcast’s rise at Barstool Sports and disputes over pay and creative control.
Sofia Franklyn’s memoir “Daddy Issues,” released Tuesday, recounts her falling out with Alex Cooper, her former co-host on the podcast “Call Her Daddy.”
Franklyn, who co-created the show with Cooper, uses the book to describe their friendship, the podcast’s rapid rise and disputes that preceded their professional split in 2020. Cooper continued the show alone after the split.
The podcast began under Barstool Sports and became known for candid conversations about subjects many women rarely discuss publicly, including explicit sexual stories. Cooper later moved the show to Spotify and then SiriusXM, while Franklyn launched her own podcast, “Sofia with an F.”
Early warnings about the friendship
In the memoir, Franklyn traces her path from growing up in Utah with a single mother to starting over in New York City. She writes that she left in large part to escape an abusive relationship.
Her first years in the city were difficult. She lived with an aunt, worked at Morgan Stanley under a boss she describes as toxic, and later moved into an apartment she could barely afford.
Franklyn writes that she and Cooper became close after a woman she met in a rideshare connected her with Cooper and Cooper’s childhood friend Lauren, who needed a third roommate.
Lauren later told Franklyn she felt pushed aside after Franklyn arrived. Franklyn recalls Lauren telling her, “You showed up and it was like I never existed.”
Lauren also suggested Cooper was using Franklyn to get into parties. Franklyn writes that she defended the friendship at the time and did not see it that way.
Muji, a friend of Cooper’s from childhood who worked on the podcast and was known to early listeners as “Milfhunter,” also warned Franklyn about Cooper’s relationships. Franklyn says Muji told her, “She’s gonna f--- you,” after Cooper fired him.
Dispute over pay and control
Franklyn writes that tension grew after a Barstool holiday party, where she says she drank too much and argued with Cooper. Cooper told her she had been rude and aggressive, and that people at the company, including founder Dave Portnoy, wanted to fire her.
Franklyn says Cooper advised her not to apologize to Portnoy. When Franklyn eventually spoke to him, she recalls that he brushed off the conflict as “the girls got in a fight.”
Franklyn writes that she later learned Cooper had used the incident in negotiations for a raise. Muji purportedly told her Cooper had said, “If I have to put up with her, I need more money.”
According to Franklyn’s account, Cooper received $20,000 more than Franklyn each year. The memoir presents the pay dispute alongside disagreements over the podcast’s intellectual property and creative control.
