Francis Ellis's 2019 Firing From 'Barstool' Was Nobody's Fault but His Own

In terms of drama within a media organization, Barstool might take the cake for having the most stuff consistently going on. Dave Portnoy's news, sports, betting, and social media conglomerate has its fair share of famous influencers nowadays, but his team has also faced quite a hefty amount of drama over the years.

Case-in-point: the situation with former Barstool writer Francis Ellis. He was fired back in 2019, and some fans still don't really have the full picture regarding what exactly went down. So, why did Francis get fired from Barstool? Here's what we know.

Rewind back to 2019 and Francis was a big part of the Barstool team. A writer for the organization as well as a host of the popular Sirius XM morning radio show Barstool Breakfast alongside Willie Colon and Large, Francis's face was wholly tied to all things Barstool. That is, however, until he made a choice that changed his career forever.

According to The Daily Mail, Francis's issues began when he posted a blog to the Barstool website mocking then-missing Utah college student Mackenzie Lueck for having the phrase "proud sugar baby" on her social media profile. He also commented on her "pretty weak" social media following, profile on SeekingArrangements.com, and her fandom of the podcast Call Her Daddy.

Hours after the blog was posted, it was confirmed that Mackenzie had been murdered.

The recourse against Francis by Barstool was swift. In a since-deleted video, Dave Portnoy shared that he fired Francis.

"He put it up and deleted it before I even knew it existed, but the damage is done," Dave said of the blog post, adding, "I wish we didn't have to fire him, but we do."

Francis then apologized for his actions in his own tweet where he shared, "I will be reflecting on my choice for quite some time."

Even though Francis faced immediate punishment for his comments about Mackenzie, it didn't stop the internet personality from continuing on with his solo career. Nowadays, he hosts Oops the Podcast, alongside Giulio Gallarotti.

He still has a thriving standup comedy career and travels across the U.S. and the globe performing for fans.

On top of that, Francis' Instagram is filled with comedic skits, promotions for his shows, and hilarious selfies. It goes without saying that the situation at Barstool may have been a bit of a setback for Francis, but he managed to forge his own path beyond the controversy and establish himself wholly removed from the Barstool universe.