Dave Portnoy has made it clear he has no plans to stop making music after his diss track about Zach Bryan was taken down.
The Barstool Sports founder released his song “Smallest Man” with podcast co-host Josh Richards on Tuesday (November 5). The tune – which has since been deleted from YouTube and Spotify – featured digs at Bryan, who announced his split from Portnoy’s podcast co-host and friend, Brianna Chickenfry, last month.
Portnoy shared a video on social media on Wednesday to address “another twist in the smallest man diss track saga.”
“‘Smallest Man,’ once again taken down from YouTube,’” he said, before quoting the song’s lyrics, in which he alleged: “How lucky is Bri, to be free of ZB and his STDs.”
The internet personality said that he initially thought the song’s “outro” was causing a copyright issue, considering it kept being taken down from streaming platforms. However, Portnoy learned that in 2020, Richards “signed a music deal” with Warner Music Group, so the company “owns [his friend’s] a**.”
Portnoy made a dig at Bryan, who is also represented by Warner Music Group, calling the singer a “little man” who was “thin-skinned.” While the song keeps getting removed, he explained that he was not going to stop working on his music.
“I will write 10,000 diss tracks,” Portnoy said. “I will go die in the booths. I’ll put on the headsets. I’ll come back spitting bars twice as hot. Maybe we do Dave’s version. Oh, I heard Bri will maybe get in the booth with me and do her version. We’ll figure this s*** out. It may take 24 hours.”
He then criticized Warner Music Group, claiming that if the company “worries about” his song, the “worse it’s going to get.”
“You’re in the mud, you got me mad,” Portnoy said. “I’m going to have to get in the booth. I thought it was going to be one-and-done. I don’t care. I’ll keep spitting.”
Portnoy ended his video by noting that he was about to appear on the news to discuss the 2024 presidential election, after Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris. “Getting back into the booth to talk about the electoral college,” he concluded. “I’ll see you in the booth in the next 24 hours.”
In the music video for “Smallest Man,” which has been shared on TikTok, Portnoy and Richards are dressed up like policemen as they pull over a man who’s driving a pickup truck. The lyrics make multiple references to Chickenfry and Bryan’s relationship, including how they met on the exclusive online dating app, Raya.
“I said trust me, caught your pants on fire / Tinder, Bumble, Raya, knew you was a liar,” the song began. “You’re a douchebag, you just made a new rival / Pretty soon you going to need a revival.”
The lyrics called out Bryan with his initials “ZB,” and claimed that he was “f***ed up.” Portnoy and Richards also referred to Bryan’s previous tweet about his preference for Taylor Swift over Kanye West, which he later apologized for.
“I mean you should have known the first signs / Who picks Kanye over Taylor ?” the lyrics continued.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Warner Music Group and Bryan for comment.
Last month, Portnoy shared his initial reaction to Bryan’s split from Chickenfry, whose real name is Brianna LaPaglia. In response to the breakup news, he posted a link to Swift’s hit breakup song, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” from her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. “Dedicating this to @BChikenfry,” he wrote.
On October 22, Bryan revealed on his Instagram Story that he and Chickenfry had split after more than a year of dating. “Addressing something: Brianna and me have broken up with each other [sic] and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart,” his statement began. “She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that, I’ll always thank her.”
He continued: “I’ve had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go out different ways.”
Chickenfry then released a statement of her own on her Instagram Story, writing: “Hey guys I’m feeling really blindsided right now. Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk.”
She later posted a video on her YouTube channel, explaining that they ended the relationship one day before Bryan posted his Instagram statement.
“I just woke up to Zach posting on his Instagram that we broke up, and I had no idea that post was going up,” she said through tears. “He didn’t text me, he didn’t call me.”
She added: “How can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally through stuff that you shouldn’t. How can you give every ounce of yourself to someone and then be discarded of in a few days? It’s really, really heartbreaking.”
