A Mississippi student was arrested early last week on suspicion of attacking Jewish billionaire and social media star Dave Portnoy. Following his arrest, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to support his legal defense, raising nearly $30,000 within 24 hours.
While standing outside a pizzeria filming a review video for his successful show "One Bite Pizza Reviews," the American Jewish billionaire became the victim of an antisemitic act when a passerby shouted at him, "F*ck the Jews," threw coins at him, and then directed the same wish at Portnoy himself.
The suspect in the incident, Patrick McClintock (20), was arrested by Starkville police after he allegedly was the one who attacked Portnoy. Subsequently, charges were filed against him for "disturbing public order." The fundraising campaign launched on GiveSendGo, a site primarily serving Christian causes. According to the site, over 900 donors participated in the support campaign.
Posts in the campaign included antisemitic language and conspiracy theories, including references to alleged "Zionist" control and criticism of what was characterized as "Jewish privilege." The campaign portrayed the student's arrest as a "violation of free speech rights" and claimed he was a "victim of tribal privilege exploiting the law."
According to police, the student moved "from the boundary of free speech to disturbance," leading to his arrest. A video posted on social media shows Portnoy reacting to the incident, which he characterized as an "unjustified antisemitic outburst." Witnesses said those present at the incident swiftly rejected the attacker's words and expressed support for Portnoy.
Portnoy himself said following the incident that antisemitic incidents and hate events have become a "daily occurrence" and that the case represents part of a broader cultural shift. He also expressed concern that the student would face academic punishment from the university, noting, "What he did will follow him for life." According to reports, McClintock voluntarily withdrew from MSU following the widely publicized incident.
This is not the first time Portnoy, the owner of the successful site Barstool Sports, has found himself "starring" online due to incidents tainted with antisemitism. Last June, while he was filming a pizza review video for his show in Toronto, Canada, he encountered an attack similar to what he's experiencing now when a passerby shouted at him the same antisemitic curse.
Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) is doing a pizza review when a man approaches and shouts "Fuck the Jews!" Dave handled it so much better than I would have, but my God I'm getting tired of these freaks. Antisemitism is a disease — enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/Hz8lYrCWwV
— Casey Babb (@DrCaseyBabb) November 8, 2025
A month before that, in May, Portnoy chose to punish originally two employees at his sports bar after learning they had waved a sign with the antisemitic inscription "F*** the Jews" during a baseball game. "I was seething with anger when I heard about the incident," he addressed the incident at a press conference he held.
"I was shaking and thought my next mission would be to destroy these two's lives. I'll grab them by the throat and finish the job with them," he shared how anger initially caused him to think, but ultimately, after calming down, he decided on a different punishment, one that would teach them a lesson. "Did someone think I would tolerate such crap at my workplace? They need to face the consequences, believe me, I'm planning something big for them."
However, Portnoy eventually calmed down and chose for the two a difficult, extreme punishment to teach them a lesson. "I won't destroy their lives, but I will educate them – they will fly to Auschwitz for a history lesson. There have been too many cases of antisemitism in the United States since October 7, and this needs to end."
