Dave Portnoy says Dianna Russini’s resignation from the Athletic makes “zero sense” after the sports journalist’s letter announcing her exit was publicized.

“If we’re just being honest this explanation really makes zero sense. I don’t think anybody should lose their job over alleged canoodling but this statement makes it seem like there was definitely canoodling happening,” the Barstool Sports founder wrote via X Tuesday.

“An innocent canoodler would prob welcome a thorough investigation to prove their innocence and exonerate themselves right? This screams guilty canoodler to me.”

Russini’s resignation letter, addressed to Athletic Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg and sent Tuesday afternoon, comes days after Page Six published photos of her at a luxury hotel with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.

Portnoy first weighed in on the bombshell snaps on Monday, speculating that “something beyond a friendship was happening” between Russini and Vrabel — who are both married to other people.

“They’re both married with kids. So, in that respect, very sad story,” Portnoy, 49, said during his “Wake Up Barstool” sports talk show, claiming that it is nothing but a “personal issue” for the NFL coach.

For Russini, Portnoy admitted it got “dicey” because “you cannot cross the line with your sources.”

He still argued that neither party should lose their jobs over the scandal.

“So maybe she crossed a work line, which will cause her to be terminated. Now she’s not dealing with nuclear codes. She’s not dealing with politicians. It’s football,” he explained.

After her bombshell statement, Ginsberg confirmed Russini’s resignation in a memo to the Athletic staff, noting that “additional information emerged” and “new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”

Last week, Page Six exclusively obtained photos of Russini and Vrabel holding hands and hugging at the Ambiente in Sedona on March 28.

An eyewitness us that the pair had breakfast on the patio of the hotel restaurant around 10:30 a.m. on March 28 before spending a leisurely hour or so together at the pool and lounging side-by-side in a hot tub.

After the photos surfaced, the Athletic, which the New York Times obtained in 2022, sidelined Russini and launched an investigation into the matter.

Both Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43, addressed the photos in statements to Page Six.

“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response,” Vrabel told us.

Russini also told us, “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”

Ella Langley is opening up about what it was like for her growing up in a small town as a Southern Baptist.

During an interview on the “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” podcast, the 26-year-old country music star spoke about her upbringing in a small town in Alabama, recalling getting scared in the church’s “judgment houses.”

“It’s, like, they do it around Halloween,” she said. “It’s like a haunted house for Christians, I guess. Very scary. I remember our youth group took us. You get in there, and it’s like this car crash scene, and it’s pretty much like convincing you… that you could die the second you walk out of here, so you better settle up. You better get saved.”

She explained that the haunted houses “affected me so bad” that when they asked her youth group if anyone wanted to talk, she raised her hand and “got saved again.”

The “Excuse the Mess” singer recalled her dad telling her, “Well, you are kind of a dumba–, cuz that’s the whole point of being saved.”

Langley explained that she was homeschooled for many years, and her life consisted of going to church, noting, “Pretty much all we did was go to church.”

She noted it was a “really, really small church. It started in a barn. The house that I also grew up in, my dad grew up in, and there was an old barn across the street, and it started in hay bales on that barn, and then they moved it to a church, and I mean every Sunday and Wednesday until I was 18 years old.”

She compared growing up in a small town to her experience with fame, explaining, “You’ve known all these people your whole life,” and growing up in that environment, “I would hear s— about me all the time,” adding, “you just get used to that.”

Langley began her career on social media, gaining a following by posting covers on TikTok and Instagram, leading her to release her EP “Excuse the Mess” in 2023.

The EP helped solidify her fan base and included many of her early hits, including “If You Have To” and “Country Boy’s Dream Girl.” She achieved mainstream success when she collaborated with Riley Green on her hit song “You Look Like You Love Me,” which went viral on TikTok, got millions of streams on Spotify and Apple Music, and expanded her audience.

Her debut studio album, “Hungover,” was released in August 2024, and in April 2025, Langley was presented with the ACM New Female Artist of the Year award by country icon Miranda Lambert, who has become a good friend to the budding star.

“I was singing constantly as a kid. Like I said, I’ve known my whole life what I wanted to do, so I was always doing it,” she told Grammy.com in August 2024, adding she became a stronger songwriter during COVID, saying, “all I did was write, write, write.”

The “Choosin’ Texas” singer told the outlet that storytelling is in her blood, noting, her “dad’s an incredible storyteller” and so was her grandpa. “Storytelling is what my family did,” she said.

When speaking with Theo Von on the podcast, she credited her grandparents on her father’s side for nurturing her love of music, saying her “grandpa could play anything by ear.”

“I was, like, the first girl in the family, and I started to match pitch with [my grandma] as a baby, and so she figured out I could sing, and singing was her thing, and my grandpa could, like I said, play any instrument by ear, and so at their house, that’s all we did,” she said

“I sang at church a lot. I learned how to read from singing hymnals,” she added. “I really, just the whole time, like, my whole family, we all just were like, ‘This is what she’s gonna do.’”

A new documentary series will explore the dark side of the 1990s boy band boom.

*NSYNC member Joey Fatone is among the executive producers of “Boy Band Confidential,” which premieres tonight, April 13 on Investigation Discovery (ID).

Per an ID press release, the series explores “how the industry transformed young performers into marketable commodities while exposing untold stories of abuse, addiction and financial manipulation” through “raw, unfiltered interviews with some of the biggest names in pop.”

“Being in a boy band was one of the greatest experiences of my life but it also came with challenges we didn’t always understand at the time,” Fatone said, in the same release. “This project gave all of us a chance to reflect, to be honest, and to share what really happened behind the spotlight.”

The four-part docuseries is part of ID’s “Hollywood Demons” series. A new five-episode season of “Hollywood Demons” is set to premiere on May 20.

‘Boy Band Confidential’ release date

“Boy Band Confidential” premieres tonight, April 13, at 9 p.m. ET on ID.

Where to watch ‘Boy Band Confidential’ for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream “Boy Band Confidential” for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching TV live since all of its streaming plans come with a five day free trial, many of which include ID. When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $34.99/month and gain access to up to 160 live channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange One-Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ID. Sling also offers three and seven passes for its Orange plan.

‘Boy Band Confidential’ episode guide

Four episodes of “Boy Band Confidential” will air over two nights.

• Episodes 1 and 2: “The Price of Pop” – Monday, April 13 at 9 p.m. ET
• Episodes 3 and 4: “Breaking the Band” – Tuesday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET

‘Boy Band Confidential’ trailer

Who will be in ‘Boy Band Confidential’?

In addition to executive producer Fatone, *NSYNC member Lance Bass is set to appear in the documentary.

Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees; Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men; Ashley Parker Angel of O-Town; Brad Fischetti of LFO and more were also interviewed for the project.

Why Trust Page Six Shopping

This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for the New York Post, Page Six, and Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with information on how to watch all of your favorite reality TV shows and movies on each streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, celebrities and pop culture. Prior to joining The Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews