Dave Portnoy has expressed regret that his media empire played a part in spreading a viral false sex rumor about a teen student who has since gone into hiding after receiving death threats.
The Barstool Sports founder and CEO told the Daily Mail he would be ‘p***ed’ if he was the family of Ole Miss freshman Mary Kate Cornett after the lurid allegations circulated online.
Cornett, 19, received multiple threats over posts falsely claiming she had a sexual relationship with the father of her University of Mississippi boyfriend, Evan Solis, also 19.
The vicious rumors have since sparked a FBI investigation and the Cornett family are considering legal action against anyone who initially shared it online.
Portnoy told Daily Mail that Barstool Sports is ‘better than publishing fake rumors of people not in the public eye regardless of how viral the story was.’
In a statement, he said: ‘I wish we didn’t publish it even if it was only for 7 minutes.
‘I’d be p***ed if I was the family too. I’d like to think we’re better than publishing fake rumors of people not in the public eye regardless of how viral the story was.’
Barstool Sports personality ‘Nicky Smokes’ is among those who posted the claims about Cornett, Daily Mail can reveal.
Smokes – real name Charles Nicholas Longley – uploaded commentary about the terrified student to an official Barstool Sports social media account, the Daily Mail has learned.
The 25-year-old Florida native, who labeled Cornett ‘disgusting,’ is one of the rising stars of the hugely successful brand.
An attorney representing Cornett told Daily Mail the offensive post will be included as part of future legal action against Barstool Sports.
Portnoy had previously stated of the abusive cyber campaign against Cornett, now in hiding following a barrage of savage abuse, ‘we did not allow any of that on Barstool.’
And he had referred to the viral claims about Cornett, who was 18 at the time, as ‘a lie that is kinda ruining her life for no reason.’
Daily Mail can reveal that the allegations were posted to the official ‘Barstool U’ Instagram account by Longley, contributing to the viral firestorm which exploded in February.
‘It was so insane,’ Mary Kate Cornett said the rumor that went viral in February. ‘It all happened so fast’
Nicky Smokes – real name Charles Nicholas Longley – posing with Barstool Sports founder and CEO Dave Portnoy
In the since deleted clip, Longley repeats the false rumor that Cornett cheated on her boyfriend with his father while adding vulgar commentary, against images of the abused teen wearing a red dress and another of her in a bikini top and shorts next to Solis.
Two more Barstool employees – Kevin Clancy, also known as KFC, and Jack ‘Jack Mac’ McGuire have also amplified the claims via other outlets.
And ESPN’s Pat McAfee, a former NFL player, also promoted the appalling rumor on air.
Contacted for comment, her father Justin Cornett, 49, told Daily Mail exclusively: ‘It’s shocking that the official Barstool college account furthered this lie, despite Mr. Portnoy claiming otherwise.
‘I hope something like this never happens to someone he loves. Watching the internet trash an innocent teenager is quite frankly, tragic.
‘This could have so easily been prevented if ESPN and Barstool had just reached out to Mary Kate. She could have confirmed it was completely false.
‘With platforms as large as they have, they should know better, and do better. I’m disgusted.’
As the slurs spread online his daughter became increasingly targeted for abuse – forced to flee her dorm accommodation and continue lectures online.
Barstool Sports personality ‘Nicky Smokes’ has been revealed to spread false claims about Ole Miss freshman Mary Kate Cornett
Smokes’ Barstool Sports profile states: ‘I’m from Broward County Florida. I eat sh*t and breathe Miami Sports. My favorite things to do are scream at my phone and bet on sports’
Portnoy called his controversial Barstool Sports employee Nicky Smokes ‘dumb’ and said the company’s content is ‘unfiltered’
Cornett has received multiple death threats over posts falsely claiming she had a sexual relationship with the father of her University of Mississippi boyfriend, Evan Solis
ESPN host and former NFL player Pat McAfee (pictured) also hyped up the false rumors on his show in February
Justin Cornett told Daily Mail exclusively: ‘It’s shocking that the official Barstool college account furthered this lie, despite Mr. Portnoy claiming otherwise’
In a video posted on March 19 to an official Barstool Instagram account, Portnoy called Nicky Smokes ‘dumb.’
Smokes’ profile on Barstool profile states: ‘I’m from Broward County Florida. I eat s*** and breathe Miami Sports. My favorite things to do are scream at my phone and bet on sports.’
A photograph posted to Longley’s personal Facebook account in October 2023 shows him posing next to Portnoy.
According to the account, Longley studied at the University of Florida after attending Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It lists him as an agent for USHEALTH Advisors, a UnitedHealthCare company.
Self-made Portnoy, 48, has boasted that his company’s content is ‘unfiltered.’
In a video reel aimed at attracting new advertisers, he describes Barstool Sports as, ‘The leading digital media company on the planet.
‘We are the go-to Gen Z and millennial content destination. The advertisers that do business with us become part of the team.’
Portnoy told Daily Mail of the false rumor posted to Barstool U: ‘I wish we didn’t publish it even if it was only for 7 minutes’
Portnoy addressed the Cornett controversy in a recent episode of ‘The Unnamed Show’ – prior to commenting to Daily Mail – and claimed his company did not run the story on its main company channels.
‘The girl did not do it. If you read this thing for a second… we did not allow any of that on Barstool. It never was on our main [page].
He called the situation ‘tough’ and debated punishing Clancy and McGuire.
‘The girl did not do it,’ Portnoy commented on the show.
‘McAfee talked about it, but McAfee brought it up on ESPN and it’s on ESPN on his show. He didn’t say the name but the story was very viral and he alluded to it.’
Portnoy stated Mary Kate is not a public figure. ‘I would absolutely say she is not a public figure,’ he said.
He said the rumor first erupted on YikYak, an anonymous messaging-based app used by college students.
‘This was on an Ole Miss YikYak where anybody can put anything,’ he said.
‘They doctored photos they just… somebody who knew her ran with it. She wanted no part of this.
‘And pretty obvious to me that it was… one of those viral things. To me, clear private citizen.
‘For [Barstool Sports employee] Paul Gulczynski to be like “no we’re not posting this”… smart, I was like “congratulations.”‘
Smokes – aka Charles Longley – studied at the University of Florida after attending Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Smokes uploaded X-rated commentary about terrified student Mary Kate Cornett to an official Barstool Sports social media account, it has emerged
Portnoy also referred to his employees posting about the Cornett matter on their personal accounts.
‘Now, we can’t control what I believe Jack Mac and KFC did on their private [social media accounts]… like we didn’t know you’re gonna talk about it in private on like a TikTok or Kevin tweeted it,’ he said.
‘That’s being [treated] like it’s us. I guess we could punish someone for what you do on your private [accounts], I wouldn’t in this case. They both were like… they’re talking about the internet.
‘It’s a tough one… At what level do you have like, I don’t know if it’s moral or whatever, to a girl who’s just having a lie that is kinda ruining her life for no reason.
‘So if you’re McAfee, why even bring it [up]? Like we decided it’s not going on our channels. I would’ve told Kevin and Jack Mac don’t even talk about it at all if they asked me.’
Barstool personalities Kevin ‘KFC’ Clancy (L) and Jack ‘Jack Mac’ McGuire (R) have also amplified the fake rumor caused terrified Cornett to go into hiding after receiving death threats
In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Cornett said the traumatizing rumor has ‘ruined’ her life
In a since deleted clip, Longley joked about the false rumor regarding a 19-year-old student
Portnoy admitted, ‘I could see us getting sued, even though we didn’t put it on our network. Like we’re getting mentioned in all of it.
‘I have replied a couple of times being like “It wasn’t on anything we control”.
‘I can’t control what our employees do on their personal social, I don’t even know they’re doing it… we could punish them after the fact I guess, like this doesn’t stand. It’s a grey area, I wouldn’t with this one… I can’t stop something I don’t know is happening.’
In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Cornett said the baseless rumor has ‘ruined’ her life.
‘Having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world,’ she told the outlet, while fighting back tears.
‘It makes you feel so alone. It’s a horrible experience.
‘It was so insane. It all happened so fast. I was just in shambles. I just felt so helpless and so alone because so many people were hating on me for something that I had no idea anything about.
‘This has affected me in such an awful way and has practically ruined my life,” Cornett said, adding that McAfee ‘never once reached out to ask me if this was true or for me to give any sort of statement to him.’ McAfee signed a five-year, $85million deal with ESPN in 2023.
‘Having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world,’ said Cornett, pictured with boyfriend Solis
‘This could have so easily been prevented if ESPN and Barstool had just reached out to Mary Kate,’ Justin Cornett said of the vicious rumors spread about his daughter. ‘She could have confirmed it was completely false. ‘With platforms as large as they have, they should know better, and do better. I’m disgusted’
‘I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that an ESPN sports broadcaster would be talking about a 19-year-old girl’s ‘sex scandal’ that was completely false,’ Cornett added.
A spokesperson for ESPN declined to provide comment to Daily Mail.
The student, who is hiding in fear, claimed she’s been harassed by strangers calling her a ‘whore’ or ‘slut’ over an internet rumor that has ‘zero truth to it.’
‘I don’t think these boys realize what they’re doing to people,’ said.
‘It’s awful and having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world. It makes you feel so alone.’
And in an interview with The Athletic, Cornett said: ‘I would like people to be held accountable for what they’ve done.
‘You’re ruining my life by talking about it on your show for nothing but attention, but here I am staying up until 5 in the morning, every night, throwing up, not eating because I’m so anxious about what’s going to happen for the rest of my life.
‘They don’t think it matters, because they don’t know who I am and they think that I deserve it, but I don’t.’
Cornett’s father previously revealed to Daily Mail that the FBI and police are working on hunting down the source of the grotesque rumor that has devastated her and her supportive family.
Cornett said the baseless rumor had ‘ruined’ her life. ‘Having your life ruined by people who have no idea who you are is the worst feeling in the world’
Longley studied at the University of Florida after attending Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. His Facebook account lists him as an agent for USHEALTH Advisors
‘This has been a tough time for the family,’ he said. Justin Cornett is divorced from Mary Kate’s mother, Leslie, 53.
‘The authorities, both local and federal, are fully engaged in the process and are making progress.’
The Houston-based father-of-five energy industry entrepreneur revealed his terrified daughter was coping ‘pretty horribly given the gravity of the situation.
‘She wasn’t looking for this attention and this is pretty unfair. It’s been very difficult for us to have any semblance of a normal life.
Family attorney Monica Uddin told Daily Mail that Portnoy’s previous denials that the Cornett rumor was shared on official Barstool channels were ‘bewildering’ as ‘Mary Kate and her family saw the Barstool U post in real-time.’
She confirmed that the clip posted to Barstool U will used in future legal action against Barstool Sports.
Cornett, she added, ‘continues to struggle with having to attend class online, with being photographed and jeered, and with being mocked by strangers.
‘She wants badly to get her normal life back but she can’t unring this bell.’
