Dave Portnoy has shared a remarkable story from a listener of his podcast, who revealed the show saved his life.
Portnoy, the brains behind Barstool Sports, hosted the ‘BFFs’ podcast alongside Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia and Josh Richards but made his final appearance earlier this month.
However, Portnoy’s final episode on December 18 turned out to be lifesaving for one listener.
He posted a screenshot of a message from a fan on social media, which detailed a harrowing story of how listening to the episode prevented him from possibly dying.
It read: ‘Hi you saved my life this past weekend. I got caught up listening to BFFs and watching TikTok’s of you which delayed me going to the store.
‘I went into cardiac arrest literally 1 minute after watching your video and I have a defibrillator implanted which saved my life, but if I wasn’t watching you I would’ve left the house and this would’ve all happened while I was driving.
Dave Portnoy pictured during his final appearance on the ‘BFFs’ podcast earlier this month
On Thursday, Portnoy shared a message from a fan who revealed the podcast saved his life
‘So in all, you’re a life saver and BFFs pod saved my life too.’
Portnoy’s final appearance on the ‘BFFs’ podcast went out on December 18 after he announced earlier this year that he was going to step back from the show at the end of 2024.
But the final show received more scrutiny when Portnoy addressed a feud between LaPaglia and another Barstool presenter, Grace O’Malley, that saw her leave the company.
As part of his post on social media, Portnoy hit out at favoritism toward LaPaglia and now, she herself mocked the claims as she addressed his final show via Instagram.
‘I know everyone thinks me and Dave are secret lovers but on a serious note, the past four years of bffs with has been a highlight of my time at Barstool,’ she wrote.
‘Sad to see him leave but very excited for what Josh and I have in store for bffs.’
Last week, the 47-year-old Portnoy slammed claims he had a crush on LaPaglia, 25, as he addressed O’Malley leaving Barstool.
‘Emergency walk and talk — everybody knows Grace quit,’ the 47-year-old said in a video posted on the BFFs X account. ‘I’m still getting DMs from people being like “Dave, you f***ing fired her. You’re a scumbag for picking sides.”
Co-host Brianna LaPaglia recently mocked claims she is in a secret relationship with Portnoy
LaPaglia paid tribute to Portnoy as he stepped away from their Barstool podcast ‘BFFs’
‘People are f***ing nuts. People posting pictures of my ex f***ing wife [Renee Portnoy] online, being like, ‘Oh she looks like Bri, so Dave’s in love with her.’ It’s f***ing crazy.’
Portnoy, who has been supporting LaPaglia through her breakup with country singer Bryan, said in November that he would stepping away from the show, saying: ‘The subjects don’t interest me at all.
‘They show me the topics when I go in there, I haven’t done any research, and I’m just ripping apart 18-year-olds, who I don’t even know. I don’t love necessarily doing that.
‘It certainly accomplished what I wanted to accomplish when we started it. Josh and Bri will continue it. It’s super successful, but yeah, it’s time for me to try the next thing. I had run my course with it.’
He added in a November BFFs show: ‘Just because I’m getting older, like nearing 50 – talking about teenage drama, a little out of my wheelhouse.’
