Dave Portnoy vowed to “ruin” people who bought an antisemitic sign at his Barstool Sansom Street bar in Philadelphia.
After a video surfaced online Sunday of bottle-service waitresses holding up an illuminated sign that read, “F–k the Jews,” the Barstool Sports founder posted a video on Instagram telling fans he was holding an “emergency press conference” about the incident.
“I’ve been shaking. I’ve been so f—king mad for the last two hours,” he said. “… I’m going to make it my life’s f—king mission to ruin these people. I’m coming for your throat. I’m never ending.”
Portnoy, 48, shared that he had been on “the trail” for the last few hours to find the culprits.
“You think I’m going to put up with this s—t at my bar?” he asked. “I want consequences for f—king actions. So, I’m not just sitting back … no, trust me. I have been on it.”
The social media personality, who is Jewish, said he had already talked to one of his bar’s two now-fired waitresses, whom he described as a “total idiot.”
Portnoy said one of the people responsible for the sign told him he was not “antisemitic,” which he did not believe.
“Who the f–k would do that sign in my f–king bar? You think I’m just gonna sit here? I’m gonna make it my f–king mission to put you in lights. My f—king mission,” he said.
“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. But I’m on it. I’m f–king on it.”
In a second video, the businessman appeared a bit calmer as he shared that he was going to pay for the people who ordered the sign to go to Germany to make this a “teaching moment” so they can learn about the Holocaust and Auschwitz concentration camps.
His bar also released a statement on Instagram Sunday apologizing for the “role we played in allowing hate speech to transpire.”
Additionally, Temple University president John Fry announced that the person who had purchased the sign was “placed on interim suspension” at the school.
“In the strongest terms possible, let me be clear: antisemitism is abhorrent. It has no place at Temple and acts of hatred and discrimination against any person or persons are not tolerated at this university,” Fry wrote.