Dave Portnoy is the epitome of bro culture

Last December, Dave Portnoy, a 46-year-old Boston businessman, ignited controversy with a heated rant aimed at Kim Kardashian, seemingly defending Taylor Swift. He labeled Kardashian as “garbage” and vowed to hold her accountable for her villainous excesses. While the exact context of his tweets remained unclear, Portnoy garnered swift support from his vast social media following on Barstool Sports and One Bite Pizza Reviews.

You might be curious about Dave Portnoy and why his thoughts on Kim Kardashian matter. Allow me to explain. Portnoy represents a troubling and potentially irreversible trend in the world of media and popular entertainment in the United States. In 2007, he launched Barstool Sports, a sports website for young people who claimed to be non-judgmental and adverse to political correctness. However, journalists Kevin Draper and Amelia Nierenberg of The New York Times recently reported that over the years, Barstool Sports has attracted a large community of white, twenty-something bros who frequently post racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments.

In 2015, Barstool Sports had over 250 million monthly visits and reached a market value of $15 million. It also made Portnoy a prominent figure in the “incel” (involuntary celibate) movement and, according to many pundits, played a role in Trump’s appeal to young men who use opioids and love NASCAR racing.

After the success of Barstool Sports, Portnoy embarked on a new business venture that has made him the most influential figure in the pizza world. Around 10 years ago, he started sharing his One Bite Pizza Reviews online. In these videos, he visits pizza shops and restaurants all over the country, orders a slice, takes one bite, and rates it on a scale of 0 to 10. There are now over 1,000 videos with 136 million likes on TikTok.

Journalist Luke Winkie wrote in Slate magazine that if Dave Portnoy visits your restaurant, its fate will be determined within 10 minutes. Winkie says Portnoy uses mafia-like pressure tactics to make pizza shop owners give in to his intimidation and extortion, all to ensure a good pizza review based on one man’s instant judgment.

Portnoy’s outsized pizza power was cemented at the first One Pizza Festival in Atlanta last September. The New York Times hailed it as one of the most influential food events in decades. Thousands of attendees had the chance to sample the products of 35 pizzerias personally selected by Dave Portnoy. One expressed momentary concern about Dave’s disturbing “messianic” image, but quickly excused the man by saying he’s just rating pizza and not running for president of the United States. Time will tell.

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