“Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper has pushed back against claims of helping foster a toxic work environment at her media company, Unwell, remarking, “Don’t believe everything that you read on the internet.”
Earlier this month, Vanity Fair published a lengthy exposé citing 40 sources, including 30 who were identified as either former or current Unwell employees, who claimed that Cooper’s media company had become a toxic workplace. One former Unwell freelancer told Vanity Fair that Cooper’s husband Matt Kaplan “creates the most toxic work environment that I’ve ever seen.”
“Matt will scream the worst things and say the nastiest things to you, and Alex will be there next to him, not defending anyone,” the freelancer alleged.
In a 30-minute, sit-down interview with The Wall Street Journal‘s Suzanne Vranica, Cooper disputed the allegations against her, her husband and the environment at Unwell.
“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,” Cooper said, adding, “I will just kind of leave it at, ‘Don’t believe everything that you read on the internet.’ I think everyone knows that at this point.”
“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,” Cooper said in response to further questioning from Vranica. “I think, unfortunately, being a woman in this industry is extremely difficult because you’re held to a complete different standard. Whether it’s a smear campaign being created for someone’s narrative — whatever it be.”
“I think when you read lies about yourself to fuel something else that is an obvious situation going on, it’s hard,” the “Call Her Daddy” host concluded. “But I think the reason that I’ve had success in this industry is I have really thick skin, and I’m going to keep pushing forward.”
Cooper is currently pregnant with her and Kaplan’s first child together. In its Unwell exposé published in June, Vanity Fair wrote that some of the sources interviewed for its story claimed Kaplan had been heard calling certain employees “stupid” and “retarded.” He is also alleged to have threatened to negatively impact some employees’ future careers.
One source called out Cooper directly, pushing back against her proud, female-driven public image, telling Vanity Fair, “What I found is, behind the scenes, there’s this man, her husband, running around wreaking havoc and making people cry, cower [in] fear.”
