Is "Call Her Daddy" Dead?

Perhaps the most tragic thing about quarantine is relationships coming to an end.

Maybe it’s that couples realize they can’t stand each other for long periods of time. Maybe it becomes too hard to be apart. Maybe they realize they don’t need each other. But the worst kind of breakup isn’t between lovers - it’s between friends.

In the two years since “Call Her Daddy” launched, the racy, uncensored sex podcast has gained seemingly endless traction. Listeners laughed along with Sofia Franklyn (27) and Alexandra Cooper (26) as they discussed everything (and I mean everything) having to do with sex. Weekly, subscribers got a taste of what it might be like to sit in on a conversation between the two best friends - it was refreshing and sometimes brutally honest. But that’s what made it so endearing: there was nothing to hide.

As the biggest virgin on the planet, I’ve gotten some questioning looks when I say I tune into the podcast every week. I began listening in the summer of 2019 after a friend had told me about it. Though I couldn’t exactly relate to what the girls were saying, I have to admit that sometimes their input felt like valuable information. Feeling like a part of a discussion about sex was liberating and exciting: “sex” always felt like a very masculine term growing up - it was something boys wanted. Alex and Sofia, in their exhaustive conversations about sex, taught me that it was something girls wanted too.

It was for girls, by girls. It was funny. It wasn’t overtly feminist, because Barstool Sports likely wouldn’t have loved that (as a company that seems to be dominated by frat-boy culture and is headed by an appropriately creepy CEO) but modern feminism isn’t about becoming heartless wenches who never marry out of spite for men, but rather seeking justice when women have been wronged and respect where respect is due. Hell, there’s countless taboos about women liking sex - discussing it is, frankly, what many feminists want to do. I know I do.

That’s why people love Call Her Daddy. And that’s why it was so devastating when it fell apart.

Sometime after quarantine began, as Sofia and Alex (who were not only best friends and coworkers, but roommates) continued to record podcasts, they offhandedly mentioned something they “weren’t allowed” to talk about. It allegedly had something to do with Sofia’s boyfriend, who they called “Suitman” to protect his identity. And then, all of a sudden, new episodes stopped being released and all the “fathers” (Sofia and Alex) could do was post the hashtag #freethefathers on the Call Her Daddy instagram.

Just recently, information has been steadily releasing about the hiatus - and at first, it was just your plain-old contract dispute drama. But there was something else going on that made the conflict really juicy - betrayal.

I won’t condemn all you readers to go watch Alex’s YouTube video and the hour-long podcast episode titled “The Funeral” that she made about the issue, but essentially, Sofia and Alex were in some hot water for searching for another company to pick up their podcast in order to make more money for it. Barstool Sports was understandably upset, and threatened to sue the co-hosts for breach of contract. However, Alex was willing to accept their terms - but Sofia wasn’t.

“Suitman” is actually Peter Nelson, an HBO executive who advised his girlfriend to not take the deal that Barstool offered and Alex, in an intense choice to continue her career and cultivate her podcast, took the deal.

This led to a fallen friendship and a lot of turmoil on Twitter. Most listeners side with Alex, who made a tough choice to continue her career. People are angry at Sofia for choosing her man’s advice over her best friend and co-host’s word. Both have said they feel betrayed.

This is a classic case of talent that outgrew the company that they started in. I have a theory that eventually, Alex is going to leave Barstool (as she should) but my personal opinion is that Sofia made the mistake of not stepping back in and playing the waiting game.

It saddens me that the pair seem to no longer be friends. They had an endlessly entertaining dynamic and nothing will ever be the same on the podcast with just Alex hosting. I went back and watched some of the videos on the Call Her Daddy YouTube channel, which they used to post to every so often. The girls spent two years watching their baby grow - only to go through a tragic divorce.

I can only imagine how both Alex and Sofia feel right now. Thankfully, there haven’t been any dramatic Instagram unfollows (yet) and I hope the pair can work it out and forgive each other. But that’s just wishful thinking. I don’t like conflict, but I’ve never tried to run a business with my best friends.

(Well, except for this blog: here’s to hoping we all don’t have a friend breakup over it)

On the bright side of this very sad story, Call Her Daddy is back up and running, albeit with only one host. Soon we should be back to hearing more about the Cooper Special and the Gluck Gluck 9000.

Stay strong, daddygang. These are tough times.

photo courtesy of @chicks/YouTube