Dave Portnoy is not happy after spotting an antisemitic sign in a Philadelphia branch of his Barstool bar.
Portnoy, 48, shared a video he described an “Emergency Press Conference” via X and Instagram on Sunday, May 4, after a light-up sign that read, “F— the Jews” was spotted being held up by a waitress at the bar.
“Usually a great bar. You know, bottle service, people buy drinks, you get a sign. There was a sign yesterday that said, ‘F— the Jews,’” Portnoy, who is Jewish, explained. “I’ve been shaking. I’ve been so mad for the last two hours. Like I instantly got on, this is why the Emergency Press Conference is late, because I was so over the top.”
“I’m gonna f—ing make it my life f—ing mission to ruin these people. Like, I’m coming for your throat. I’m never ending,” he continued. Portnoy also said he is “hunting down” the waitress who held the sign up.
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In a second video, Portnoy said two waitresses who held the sign up were fired and he described one as “one of the dumbest f—ing humans I’ve ever talked to in my life.” He also said he contacted one of the students who posted the video and then deleted it.
The person in the video also told Portnoy they aren’t antisemitic. “I don’t buy it for a second,” Portnoy said. “Who the f— would do that sign in my f—ing bar? You think I’m just gonna sit here? I’m gonna make it my mission to put you in lights.”
He added, “Tell me how do I make this right before I go apes—. You want to take anti-Semitism classes? You want to do whatever? You make it feel right. I don’t need your tears… Trust me, they’re pulling the footage.”
Portnoy continued, “I’m 20 steps ahead and I’m using everything. I am going to come for your f—ing throat unless you give me answers.”
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Despite his anger, Portnoy also said he wanted to attempt to maintain his cool. “What I’m saying is: I’m getting the names, I’m trying to be a little responsible, I’m trying to keep it together, but I’m on it. I’m f—ing on it,” he explained.
In another video, Portnoy announced that once he’d had a chance to cool off a bit, he came up with a better solution: education.
“Two hours ago, I literally could have cooked an egg on my head,” Portnoy said in the clip, which he also shared via Instagram. “That’s how much steam and heat I had come out of my ears. And the more I thought about it, it’s like these are young f—ing morons who did this. They’re drunk. It’s like you really want to ruin somebody’s life.”
Portnoy added that he has “had more hate, more anti-Semitism in the last year, year and a half that I’ve ever had” in his time running Barstool.
“So, yeah, my initial reaction was like, I’m going to f—ing burn these people to the ground,” he said. “Their families, everything. And it’s like, you know what? Maybe that’s not the best course of action. Maybe I can use this as a teaching moment.”
Portnoy said he will send the customers who purchased the offensive sign to Auschwitz, one of the most gruesome concentration camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during the Holocaust and World War II.
“They’ve agreed to go,” he explained. “We’re going to send these kids to Auschwitz and they’re going to do a tour of the concentration camps in Germany, and hopefully learn something.”
Portnoy concluded, “And maybe like their lives aren’t ruined and they think twice and more importantly, other people like, see, it’s not just like words you’re throwing around.”
