Did Dave Portnoy break up the Sway House? Josh Richards explains fall of TikTok group

The fate of the once-great Sway House collective has been up in the air, and TikTok star Josh Richards explained how the group dialed down, as well as Dave Portnoy’s place in the whole dilemma.

Much of this speculation started in early December 2020 when Blake Gray’s tweets sparked speculation that something bigger was happening around the Sway House.

“All good things must come to an end at some point,” he said, instantly igniting discourse around the TitkTok collective.

Shortly after, it was damage control from members like Bryce Hall and Richards who shut down those rumors in the following days, saying no one had left the group.

Of course, matters weren’t made any better as influencers started disassociating themselves from ‘Sway House’ on their socials.

As a commentator of the L.A. influencer scene, there was talk that Portnoy might have had something to do with Sway House seemingly crumbling, something that he asked Richards on the BFF’s Podcast.

“No, I don’t [think you split up Sway House],” Richards said in response to the host.

“I think that’s something people are talking about… but it’s hard to say it’s split up or if it’s still even exists — It’s weird cause half the people are already out of it.”

Richards then explained how the members remember Sway House with fond memories, but talked about the natural separation the group is going through as they grow their own individual content.

• Read more: TikToker goes viral after using Gorilla Glue as hairspray

“How can you really say it’s broken up?” Richards continued to say. “Cause one week there’s no YouTube content together, a TikTok hasn’t been made, or there’s this joking around, or this beef, that ‘Sway’s over, Sway’s ended.’ People just jump to conclusions.”

SwayLA Instagram

Sway members are still collaborating, just not as much as before.

Richards explains that everyone eventually found their target content that they individually do. So while they’ll work together when possible, they’re all largely doing their own thing.

• Read more: UFC’s Dustin Poirier says YouTubers challenging pro fighters “crosses the line”

Moreover, the group is “growing up,” as Richards says. Now that everyone is dipping into the business or managerial side of social media stardom, Richards said that Sway House fans might not get their regular dose of content even if the TikTokers do link up.

As for Portnoy’s place in the saga, Richards downplayed any involvement from Portnoy and is expecting the friends to make sporadic content every once in a while.