Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper breaks silence on toxic workplace claims
Call Her Daddy podcaster Alex Cooper has spoken out for the first time regarding toxic workplace claims at her company, Unwell Network.
The 31-year-old media mogul has been embroiled in allegations of a toxic work environment after a recent Vanity Fair report cited sources who alleged that Matt Kaplan — Cooper’s husband and business partner — was yelling at staffers and making inappropriate comments towards them. A Bloomberg report, published in April, also claimed that Kaplan would berate the staff. Representatives for the couple denied the claims at the time.
Cooper has offered her first comments on the matter during an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Wednesday, saying: “I will say that building a startup, there is so much growth that comes with that, and I am extremely proud of what we have built at Unwell.”
The Call Her Daddy host continued: “And I will just kind of leave it at ‘don’t believe everything that you read on the internet’ — but I think everyone knows that at this point.”
Pressed further about the claims made by former or current employees, she said: “I think that we have done a really incredible job at Unwell, and I think if you walk the halls, there are so many people that are so happy to work at this company.”
The podcaster added that being a woman in her industry is “extremely difficult because you’re held to a complete different standard.”
She continued: “Whether it’s a smear campaign being created for someone’s narrative — whatever it be.”
Cooper said that she had developed thick skin working in the industry, adding: “I think when you read lies about yourself to fuel something else that is an obvious situation going on, it’s hard. But I think the reason that I’ve had success in this industry is that I have really thick skin, and I’m going to keep pushing forward.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Cooper and Kaplan for comment.
The Vanity Fair report detailed allegations from 40 unnamed sources who were current and former Unwell employees, who accused Kaplan of yelling and making inappropriate comments at staffers, which led some junior employees to have panic attacks and anxiety.
It also stated that sources cited a “stark contrast between Cooper’s public image as a female leader who brings up the women beneath her and her persona behind the scenes.” In the report, a representative for the couple called the allegations “false and outrageous claims” amounting to a “meritless hit piece.”
According to Bloomberg, one person claimed that Kaplan screamed at workers on the set of Cooper’s YouTube show Unwell Winter Games and caused a crew member to burst into tears.
Another rift in Unwell Network has raised eyebrows lately after Cooper called out her feud with Alix Earle, host of the Hot Mess podcast. Cooper’s company parted ways with Earle, one of Unwell’s first partnerships, in 2025 and offered little explanation for the split.
Cooper and Kaplan, a film and TV producer, co-founded their company Trending Media in 2023. Trending is the parent company for the Unwell Network, which includes Cooper’s lifestyle podcasts and Kaplan’s production company, ACE Entertainment.
The couple has been together since 2020 and tied the knot in Mexico in April 2024. The couple announced in May that they’re expecting their first child together.
Cooper rose to fame after founding the podcast Call Her Daddy in 2018. It has become one of the most-listened-to podcasts of all time, featuring celebrity guests including Kamala Harris, Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow.
