Social media debate between New York governors Kathy Hochul’s Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took an unexpected turn when the governor’s team responded to him by bringing up a personal scandal from nearly 10 years ago.
According to the New York Post, the exchange began after Hochul urged wealthy people who had left New York to come back. portnoy has moved to Floridareacted to this. He said it was contradictory that Hochul was trying to attract affluent residents while New York City’s new mayor was trying to attract affluent residents. Zoran Mamdani There is a push to increase taxes on the wealthy.
“Begging millionaires to return to New York while the new mayor simultaneously says he despises millionaires and supports communism is incredibly arrogant and hypocritical. I wonder why people are flocking to Florida?” Portnoy wrote on X.
Hochul’s office fought back, but with a different story
Rather than directly address Portnoy’s argument, Hochul’s office took a different approach. “This is why you’re so angry,” the governor’s team posted on X, along with a screenshot showing New York has the most SoulCycle stores in the country.
The post referenced well-known personal scandals in Portnoy’s life. In 2017, he discovered that his then-girlfriend was having an affair with her SoulCycle instructor.
Portnoy spoke openly about the incident on social media and in podcasts rather than keeping it secret. In one post, he wrote, “Best way to avoid calling 911? Don’t let your mentor fuck the girlfriend of the head of a major media company,” and shared the post along with a warning message from SoulCycle to its studios about possible protests.
The incident attracted widespread attention online, with the hashtag #cuckcycle quickly trending.
social media reaction
The governor’s office’s response didn’t go down well with some online users, who questioned its relevance.
“Am I missing something by not understanding what having the most soul cycles has to do with people escaping New York?” one user wrote.
Another wrote: “Governor Hochul’s response is disgraceful. Completely out of character and a complete failure. New York deserves better from the governor. Better. You should start by replacing the press office staff.”
Another wrote: “Should have spent more time researching…you dug up something from 9 years ago to distract from the fact that your money is going out…goodbye tax dollars.”
The exchange quickly gained traction online, with reactions centering on political arguments and unexpected references to Portnoy’s past.
