Business Insider and Dave Portnoy have been in a battle for what both claim to be the truth in Portnoy's ongoing sexual misconduct allegations controversy.

After Portnoy's latest threats of legal action, Insider has defended their case with a strong response.

Business Insider to Challenge Dave Portnoy's Lawsuit

Right after Portnoy announced he would sue Insider and Julia Black, the author of their exposés, for their allegations and false reporting, Insider came out with their own statement.

The publication, through their representatives, told Variety on February 3, 2022, that they were not going to back down from a court case.

"If we are sued, we will defend the case vigorously," the representative told Variety. Insider also regarded the incoming lawsuit as a business expense, saying that news organizations got sued regularly.

Dave Portnoy has threatened to sue Business Insider over sexual misconduct allegations.

Dave Portnoy has threatened to sue Business Insider over sexual misconduct allegations. (Photo: Twitter)

Further, they defended their reporting, saying, "We took extreme care to be fair and accurate in our reporting."

Insider also released an editorial on February 2, giving their reasons in detail regarding why they pursued the Portnoy story.

"We published our stories on Dave Portnoy because we consider them to be in the public interest and newsworthy," the publication claimed in the article.

They also bashed Portnoy for allegedly turning consensual relationships into violent ones without further consent from the women involved.

Similar to their statement to Variety, the editorial also reiterated they had enough credible allegations from multiple women on their side and that they were correct in doing what they did — publishing those exposés.

History of Dave Portnoy's Sexual Misconduct Allegations

The battle between Portnoy and Insider began in November 2021.

On November 4, 2021, Insider published their first of two exposés. In the first piece, the author, Julia Black, compiled the experiences of three women who were all alleging Portnoy of similar things — sexual misconduct.

The article went into graphic details about the experiences of three women whose names have not been revealed yet because of their requests. These were just a few among more than two dozen women Insider spoke with who had direct experience with Portnoy and Barstool Sports.

Following this article, Barstool's attorney responded, saying the allegations "embody half-truths" and were highly misleading. The attorney also questioned the women's credibility and motivations.

However, no further responses were made despite Insider claiming they had given them time for the same.

Then, on February 2, 2022, things escalated. In a second exposé, this time penned by Black and Melkorka Licea, three more women had come forward with similar accusations against the Barstool owner.

The women claimed Portnoy had filmed their sexual encounters without consent. He even broke one of the women's rib cages during an aggressive incident.

Dave Portnoy's Response

Soon after this came his rebuttal and announcement that he would sue Insider and Black. On the day of the second exposé's publication, he wrote a blog post on Barstool Sports' website.

In his writing, he denied the accusations that he had ever taken videos of the accusing women without consent. After this, he cast doubt on how the events allegedly happened, according to Insider and the women.

"Well as promised I am now suing Julia Black and Business Insider," Portnoy then expressed, saying Insider, "bank on guys like [him] who are not willing to go through the hassle of a lawsuit."

He refused to give up until he put the outlet out of business — "There will be no settling. No amount they can pay me to get them off their backs."

Then, he posted many of what he judged to be proofs of his innocence — screenshots of text messages, posts, and blurred videos from what he claimed to be from the accusers.

Further developments about the case, if any, are yet to be publicly released.