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Stock for Parent Company of Barstool Sports Takes a Big Hit Amid Dave Portnoy Sex Allegations

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1 year ago

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After three women detailed Portnoy’s alleged pattern of engaging in violent acts without consent, the Barstool Sports founder denied their claims and said each sexual encounter with his accusers was fully consensual.

Barstool Takes Monetary Hit Following Allegations

The stock for Penn National Gaming, the parent company of Barstool Sports, fell as much as 21% Thursday after Insider published allegations from several women about violent sexual encounters with Barstool’s founder, Dave Portnoy.

In total, that meant a loss of as much as $2.69 billion in valuation at one point.

Insider‘s exposé featured three young women who detailed how they felt frightened and humiliated after having sex with Portnoy. In all three cases, the women — who were as young as 19 and 20 at the time of the alleged encounters — said Portnoy aggressively choked them during sex without permission. Two of the women also claimed Portnoy recorded them during sex without asking.

The hit to Penn National likely wasn’t just due to the controversy surrounding Portnoy. It also came after the company missed third-quarter earnings expectations. Friday morning, Penn National’s stock was performing slightly better, trading at around $63 — still 14% lower than where it had been prior to plummeting.

In a 12-minute video published Thursday, Portnoy denied that the encounters were anything less than consensual.

“At no point did she ask me to stop,” Portnoy said of one of the women, who went by the pseudonym Madison in the Insider piece. “At no point did either of us think something unseemly happened. There was no weirdness after. It was a totally fine normal interaction. Sexual — 100% consensual… I’m telling you now, her version of events is not true on our hookup.”

What Madison Told Insider

Portnoy’s account differs drastically from the description Madison gave to Insider.

According to Madison, she first sent Portnoy a direct message on Instagram, but after he responded, the two soon moved communications to Snapchat, where she said Portnoy began showing her graphic videos of women he’d slept with. At the time, Madison was 20 and Portnoy was 43. 

Insider reporter Julia Black, who said on Twitter that she spent eight months writing and researching this story, also noted that other messages between the two showed Portnoy asking Madison about her sexual fantasies, to which she revealed a rape fantasy.

“You and I are going to get along so well,” Portnoy said in the messages reviewed by Black. 

Eventually, Portnoy allegedly flew Madison to his Nantucket home first-class for two nights; however, when she got there, Madison said she found him to be “very rude” and not funny, saying, “He just reminded me of a boring, grumpy old man.”

Nonetheless, Madison told the outlet that the two later began making out. As the situation escalated, Madison said she began performing oral sex on Portnoy. That’s when she said things began to take a turn for the worse, recalling how Portnoy suddenly began filming her without her permission. 

“I never said anything,” she told Insider. “I was scared. He was just so mean.”

From there, Madison claimed Portnoy was so rough during sex that it felt like she was being raped, later telling a friend he choked her so hard she couldn’t breathe. 

“I was literally screaming in pain,” she told the friend in text messages published by Insider.

During the encounter, Madison reportedly yelled out, “Too much! Too much!” and “It hurts!”

According to Madison, the two did not have sex again, and she slept on Portnoy’s couch for both nights of her stay.

In addition to denying her version of events in his response, Portnoy further attempted to diffuse the situation by claiming the two were “like oil and vinegar.” He added that Madison slept on the couch not as a result of their sexual encounter but because the two didn’t see the world in the same way.

“My recollection is she was still interested in hooking up and I was like this just isn’t working,” he said. “We don’t get along.”

“If what she’s telling that she didn’t enjoy the experience is true, I had no idea and that’s horrible and I never want to feel that way, but if there was a hidden camera in that room, and it wasn’t a he-said/she-said, and someone saw the interaction, there would be absolutely nothing there. I promise you. I’ve never lied.” 

Earlier this year, Portnoy faced a similar controversy for being violent in bed after a leaked video showed him aggressively choking a woman with a collar and leash. While both Portnoy and the woman claimed the encounter was consensual, the situation generated enough backlash that investors began pulling out Penn National, causing significant losses.

Allegations From Allison 

While the accusations from the second woman are only briefly touched upon and never given much detail outside of her claiming she was also choked and filmed without her permission, the third woman featured in the explosive report claimed she became suicidal after her encounter with Portnoy.

That woman, a Nantucket local who goes by Allison in the Insider piece and who was 19 at the time, said she first went over to Portnoy’s house after being pressured by her friends.

While sitting by the pool, she claimed she and Portnoy started talking, but he very quickly stopped the conversation and began kissing her before leading her up to his bedroom.

Allison refrained from telling Insider many of the specifics of the sexual encounter; however, like the other two women, she did note that Portnoy began choking her at one point without her consent.

She added that after the sex ended, Portnoy immediately kicked her out and she left feeling very overwhelmed. That feeling would only intensify for her in the following days as photos of her at Portnoy’s house began spreading across Nantucket. Soon, people began to piece together that the two had engaged in sex. 

“I guess it was kind of my breaking point,” Allison said, noting that she became hospitalized while suicidal.

Eventually, Allison’s mom also learned of the incident and approached the police about taking action by sending officers to stake out his house. Despite her mother’s anger, Allison refused to press charges, telling Insider that she doesn’t feel like the encounter was sexual assault and that she didn’t want him to drag her name through the mud. In fact, all three women have said they’ve been afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation from both Portnoy and his fan base.

Still, Allison added that she “felt very preyed on” and deeply disturbed by the sexual encounter. 

In his response, Portnoy said he was never contacted by authorities after Allison’s mom reached out to the police.

“I’ve never done anything that’s remotely, you know, not consensual,” he said. “So this story is total news to me. This mother is saying there’s parties in Nantucket. If you put [out] a police car, you’ll see girls getting dropped off all the time. Totally false. I never have people at my house. Rarely. I hate people at my house. I want to go to bed early.”

While Portnoy added that he feels bad if their interactions made Allison depressed, he also shared alleged messages they exchanged where she seemed to speak positively about having sex or wanting to have sex with him.

“They’re saying she was so depressed by me, suicidal almost, but she was continually hitting me up to hang out,” he said. “And it was the mother who found the DMs, and maybe she’s ashamed. I don’t know. I’m telling you the truth.”

See what others are saying: (Variety) (Fox News) (Deadline)

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Andrew Tate to Remain in Romanian Detention After Losing Appeal

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3 days ago

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February 1, 2023

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The controversial influencer, accused of sex trafficking and organized crime, has maintained his innocence. 

Appeal Rejected

A Romanian court on Wednesday upheld a judge’s decision to extend influencer Andrew Tate’s arrest another 30 days.

The judge initially tacked the extra time onto his detention on Jan. 20. According to BBC News, the judge cited “the capacity…of the defendants to exercise permanent psychological control over the victims, including by resorting to constant acts of violence”.

Tate appealed that decision alongside his brother and two others, all of whom were arrested as part of an ongoing sex trafficking and organized crime investigation. The court’s Wednesday decision rejected that appeal, meaning Tate and the other accused individuals will remain in custody until at least Feb. 27. 

Investigators claim that Tate lured victims under the guise of a romantic relationship, only to place them under surveillance and force them to make pornographic content. Tate has denied the accusations. 

“You know I’m innocent,” Tate said to reporters Wednesday morning while walking into the courtroom.

“Ask them for evidence and they will give you none,” he added while leaving court. “Because it doesn’t exist. You’ll find out the truth of this case soon.” 

Tate’s Controversial Online Presence

Ever since December his arrest, Tate’s Twitter account has continued to post sometimes cryptic messages about the investigation into him. 

“Would your life be fine without you?” he tweeted on Tuesday, one day before his appeal was rejected. “In Romania. They can steal your life without a trial. They do not need evidence, In this system, innocent men return to ruined lives. My life outside is fine. But for most men, 6 months detained and their whole life will crumble.”

Tate is a controversial online figure famous for spreading violent misogyny to his often young male followers. He has been banned by a number of social media platforms for his drastic remarks, including one where he said rape victims should “bear responsibility” for the assault they endured. 

Tate and his brother recently added high-profile lawyer Tina Glandian to their defense team. Glandian has previously represented celebrities like Chris Brown, Jussie Smollett, and Kesha. 

On Wednesday, she said there is a “lack of evidence against the Tate brothers.”

“So far the system has failed,” she said, via the Associated Press.

See what others are saying: (BBC News) (The Associated Press) (Rolling Stone)

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QTCinderalla Vows to Sue Deepfake Website: “Constant Objectification” is “Exhausting”

Published

4 days ago

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January 31, 2023

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The streamer said that anyone who chooses to view nonconsensual deepfake porn is “the problem.”

QTCinderella Plans Legal Action

Twitch streamer QTCinderalla said during a Monday stream that she is going to sue the maker of a website that hosts explicit deepfake images of herself and other content creators. 

“I promise you, with every part of my fucking soul, I am going to sue you,” QTCinderella, whose real name is Blaire, said through tears. 

Blaire went live after fellow streamer Atrioc accidentally revealed on Twitch that he had an open tab to a website that hosts deepfake porn. Graphic images of high-profile female streamers were visible his browser, and the website also includes deepfakes of more creators, including Blaire. 

Atrioc apologized for accessing deepfake images on a website that promotes explicit content of his female streaming colleagues. He claimed that he got “morbidly curious” and “clicked something” after falling down an artificial intelligence rabbit hole online. 

“It’s gross,” he said. “It’s gross and I’m sorry.” 

In the past, Blaire has talked about having to pay services thousands of dollars to remove graphic deepfake content that has been posted without her consent. Despite those efforts, it is an issue she still has to deal with on a regular basis. 

“Fuck the fucking Internet,” she said during her Monday stream. “Fuck the constant objectification and exploitation of women, it’s exhausting.”

“Fuck Atrioc for showing it to thousands of people,” she continued. “Fuck the people DMing me pictures of myself from that website.” 

The Objectification of Female Streamers

Blaire said that it “should not be a part of [her] job” to constantly fight for this content to be removed from the Internet, nor should it be her job to deal with the onslaught of harassment that comes with the dissemination of these fabricated images. 

“If you are able to look at women who are not selling themselves or benefiting off of being seen sexually — they’re not benefiting, they’re not selling it, they’re not platforming it themselves — if you are able to look at that, you are the problem,” she said. “You see women as an object.” 

On Twitter, she explained that the repercussions of these deepfakes go far beyond exploitation and violation. 

“The amount of body dysmorphia I’ve experienced since seeing those photos has ruined me,” she said. 

She was far from the only person to call out how invasive it is to post or consume deepfake content of people who did not consent to being depicted in a sexual manner. 

“Stop sexualizing people without their consent,” Pokimane, who is also among the female streamers featured on the site, said. “That’s it, that’s the tweet.”

“No one should have themselves be put on a deepfake porn website w/o their consent and it’s fucking disgusting at the men who are making light of this shit. fucking despicable,” another person wrote.

See what others are saying: (Dexerto) (Metro) (The Gamer)

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Britney Spears Asks For Privacy After Fans Called Cops to Conduct a Wellness Check on Her

Published

1 week ago

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January 26, 2023

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Fans said they were concerned after the singer deleted her Instagram account.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated to include a statement from Britney Spears

Fans Call 911

Britney Spears said her fans “went a little too far” after some called the police to conduct a wellness check on her. 

The fans, many fueled by online conspiracy theories, were concerned about Spears because she deleted her Instagram account. While this is something the singer has done multiple times in the past, her fans thought she had left secret signals in her last post suggesting she needed help.

Some even posted videos of them calling emergency services on TikTok, a platform that is full of conspiracy videos about Spears. 

“I love and adore my fans but this time things went a little too far and my privacy was invaded,” Spears wrote in a statement on Thursday, citing “prank phone calls” that were made to police.

According to Spears, officers did not enter her home because once they got to her gate, they “quickly realized there was no issue and left immediately.”

“This felt like I was being gaslit and bullied once the incident made it to the news and being portrayed once again in a poor and unfair light by the media,” Spears continued. “During this time in my life, I truly hope the public and my fans who I care so much about can respect my privacy moving forward.”

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Ventura County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Page Six that the department “did get calls into our dispatch” but added there was no reason to believe that Spears was “in any kind of harm or any kind of danger.”

That spokesperson declined to say if officials contacted Spears or conducted a wellness check, citing privacy and public trust issues.

The Prominence of Britney Spears Conspiracies 

Just over a year has passed since Spears was freed from a highly restrictive conservatorship that controlled her life and finances for 13 years. Throughout the conservatorship, fans tried to use the pop icon’s social media to pick up clues that she was secretly struggling. She did not publicly speak about the conservatorship until the summer of 2021. 

Now that she has her freedom, fans are still reading heavily into her posts. Some believe there are hidden messages in her captions and in the gestures she does while dancing. Others think she is dead, missing, or hiding and that a body double is being used in her posts. Some are so concerned that they are coordinating a mass effort to pressure the Los Angeles Times into investigating Spears’ whereabouts and safety. 

In the last several years, many have reflected on Spears’ early days in the spotlight and the cruel ways she was harassed and targeted by paparazzi, news outlets, and culture at large. Often the punchline to a joke throughout the 2000s, many now sympathize with Spears, who was forced to endure heavy public scrutiny at a young age. Documentaries like “Framing Britney Spears” prompted many to see Spears as a victim of abusive media tactics, not the “crazy” woman tabloids painted her to be. 

Many are now concerned that fans are only going to subject Spears to a new onslaught of harassment by calling the police to her house. Even if the conspiracy theories are technically well-intentioned and often come from a place of concern, some believe they will jumpstart a media frenzy that could harm Spears’ mental well-being.

See what others are saying: (Page Six) (Jezebel) (TMZ)

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