Michael Rapaport details "coordinated" assault on Barstool Sports after dismissal

"There are no rules," Barstool Sports David Portnoy once said. "I do what I want. When I want. All the time. These are the only fucking rules in this business."

These comments came nearly three years ago during an "emergency press conference" hosted by Portnoy, who took Barstool from a blog founded in 2003 and brought it to life. turned into a mini-empire of radio shows, podcasts and digital content. On January 29, Barstool received a surprising assessment. On that day, Portnoy announced that it had sold a 36% stake in its bro network for $ 163 million to Penn National Gaming, a regional game provider, implying that Barstool Sports was worth nearly Half a billion dollars. With new investors, new rules, or at least certain expectations. Portnoy may have made a name for himself by trying to intimidate anyone who got in his way, but according to Penn National's senior vice president, Eric Schippers, the harassment of others would end.

"We have done due diligence and are confident that (Barstool Sports) understands the importance of our new relationship and has the right safeguards in place to ensure that their comments will not reflect negatively on Penn or the gaming industry in general, " Schippers told BillyPenn.com.

It remains to be seen if Portnoy shows himself capable of behaving, but in the meantime, Barstool Sports faces a court examining his past conduct, in particular the disintegration of Barstool's relationship with actor Michael Rapaport. This quarrel could serve as evidence 1 showing how unpleasant cyber culture has become in the 21st century.

On Monday evening, Rapaport filed a summary judgment in its lawsuit for breach of contract and defamation against the company. He explains why he joined Barstool Sports in 2017, expectations about what he would provide, and the alleged harm that followed when those affiliated with Barstool claimed he was a racist, a domestic abuser and a List D actor suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. Rapaport's court documents also refer to depositions made by Barstool executives, including one from Portnoy, who considered his company "in a war" with Rapaport.

According to Rapaport, he was interested in hosting a daily radio show. In 2017, the actor, who has starred in over 100 movies and TV shows during his three-decade career, had built a reputation as a sports fanatic. He made regular appearances on sports radio, and in an email from Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports called him a "huge name" that "fit perfectly with (Barstool's) comedy style."

"I was hired on the basis of my podcast, my rants, my sports media and my social media personality," said Rapaport in a statement. "This is what drew me to their home. There was no provision regarding hiring or courtship. They wanted me to be an explosive" bad guy " PPV & # 39; Rough N & # 39; Rowdy & # 39; fights for promotion and to attract the public. "

Rapaport's agreement with Barstool Sports has allowed it to receive $ 200,000 for video "hangovers" and $ 400,000 for a podcast, according to the complaint filed in the case. Rapaport also says that it got a large share of revenue and goods, as well as extra money for other special offers, including $ 40,000 for the production of a video for DraftKings, a daily fantasy sports site. He would also have been promised "good faith efforts" that he could have hosted his own show on SiriusXM, but said the opportunity never came, nor did he guarantee $ 375,000. .

But that’s not what makes the dispute a spectacle, especially in the middle of Barstool Other Cyber ​​Harassment Controversies.

Rapaport says that just a few months after its agreement, Barstool made the decision not to renew the relationship. Worse, he claims that Barstool has devised a "coordinated assault" to break out of the existing talent pool.

"Following BSI's decision not to retain Mr. Rapaport, BSI employees, personalities and bloggers began a systematic campaign to discredit publicly and privately, disparage and undermine Mr. Rapaport's relationship with BSI and his credibility as an actor and performer, "said an amended complaint.

The actor found himself the object of a "diss track" who claimed to have abused his ex-girlfriend. He saw photos appearing on social media – "several photoshopped and falsified" – that gave the impression that he was suffering from herpes. Bar stool started selling T-shirts from him with a clown nose and a painful herpes under his lower lip. In other blog posts, such as "Michael Rapaport is a bag of fraudulent shit"and"Sad story: a list D actor with a slight STD problem traps the plane of innocent travelers inside", the invective broke away and quickly.

"Barstool founder, defendant Portnoy, admits his real wickedness, admitting not only that the defendants had no basis for making these false statements, but that they had ruined Mr. Rapaport's career , embarrass and humiliate him ", says a new motion for summary judgment. "He also admits that, even if he knew that the statements were false, he would not apologize to Mr. Rapaport or withdraw the statements. Publicly questioned about the veracity of these statements, the defendants are went further and said the statements they made about Mr. Rapaport were true: "That's all we spit. Truth and justice baby. Truth and justice. ""

In a statement, Rapaport denies having herpes. He says he has never been charged with harassment or domestic violence. He says he has never hit a woman and does not consider himself a racist. His other court documents suggest that the label of racist and fraud was designed to keep him away from African American fans and ruin his career in Hollywood. He says his podcast rating has gone from 4.5 stars to 1.5 stars and that he has been unable to attract sponsors for a new TV show.

He also says that Barstool's campaign against him has made him suffer in other ways. "Physically, it damaged my weakened immune system because I have ulcerative colitis," he said in a statement.

Bar stool tells a different story in its own court documents.

The defendant argues that Rapaport is "safe from defamation" because, among other things, he is said to have herpes before the wrongdoing was made. Barstool also says he is "well known for having a criminal history", referring to an incident where after an actress broke up with him, he called her 21 times, reporting to her apartment at 1 am and finally stopped. "Rapaport finally pleaded guilty of serious harassment", writes Barstool's lawyer.

Barstool also claims that his talent deal prohibited him from making statements that would discredit the company – and that he allegedly violated such a provision by starting his own quarrels with colleagues and attacking "stoolies" , otherwise known as fans of the company's content. For example in a tweet, Rapaport wrote, "(I) if you call yourself a fucking stool for real, you've already lost your life."

Did Rapaport violate the moral clause of a company that boasted of a lack of rules? For his part, Rapaport says that he was never asked to mitigate his behavior.

"As a brand, Barstool is actively promoting itself through controversy," added the motion for summary judgment. "Barstool encourages this controversy among its employees and against third parties. The Talent Agreement recognizes this controversy, noting that" Barstool encourages you to be yourself and recognizes that certain subjects can generate controversy. "While Barstool has received much public criticism for its self-inflicted controversies, no employee has been punished for it."

In addition to Rapaport's own declaration (read here), a dermatology report and a chain of text messages between him and Portnoy, this controversy has produced all kinds of expert opinions filed before the federal court in New York. Rapaport submitted Bar stool brand, its sphere of influence, and $ 16.4 million damage assessment, among others.

Barstool will respond to the motion for summary judgment before the case is referred to the US district court judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, who will decide whether a trial is necessary.

"Barstool is not without controversy, but Michael Rapaport's problem is that he bit the hand that fed him," said Aaron Moss, senior Barstool attorney in the Rapaport case. "No sensible company would continue to employ talents who would ridicule their entire fan base by calling them losers, which is exactly what Rapaport has done here. Regarding defamation, it is incredibly ironic that Michael Rapaport, the self-proclaimed king of "talking trash", "would file a lawsuit for a feud on Twitter. Although you never know about his motion, he's a guy who, among many other things, publicly posted a photo of him anally raping Dave Portnoy and who said at that time- 19 year old bar stool personality that she "got (her) pipe". "

Moss doesn't stop there, adding: "He's a guy who was suspended from Twitter for his roguish remarks, who pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment of an ex-girlfriend and who has been accused by African American cultural publications of having a “hobby of punishing black women” and of being the “worst type of racist.” Rapaport has publicly acknowledged that he had the Looks like herpes in a widely circulated photo he was ridiculed for years before joining Barstool. As we have said from the start, this lawsuit doesn’t is nothing more than a schoolyard feud that has nothing to do being in federal court, and we look forward to filing our own motion for summary judgment soon. "

Richard Busch, Rapaport's lawyer, replies: "We have seen Mr. Moss' statement, and we are just not going to take the bait and plead this case in the press. This is just not appropriate. We will argue this Court and the jury. "