Call Her a Mean Girl:
Alex Cooper's Employees Have Spoken

Remember when Matilda Djerf's perfectly curated Scandi-girl image came crashing down after employees exposed an allegedly toxic workplace culture? Well, history might just be repeating itself. This time, it's Alex Cooper and her media company, Unwell Network.

Vanity Fair recently published an investigation featuring interviews with more than 40 current and former employees, revealing that the media empire behind Call Her Daddy may not be quite as empowering behind the scenes as its portrayal would have you believe.

The timing couldn't be worse. Cooper has already spent the past few months making headlines after her very public fallout with Alix Earle, one of Unwell's first creators. After Earle quietly left the network less than two years after signing, Cooper took to TikTok, saying that if Earle had something to say, she should "say it directly."

Well... someone finally did.

Only it wasn't Alix.

According to former employees, the reality of working at Unwell looked nothing like the feminist success story the brand has spent years selling. Many staff members reason for joining was because they admired Cooper. They grew up listening to Call Her Daddy and saw her as proof that women could build media empires on their own terms. Instead, it turns out that many rarely interact with Alex at all.

The person they did have to interact with? Her husband, Matt Kaplan.

Employees describe Matt as the real decision-maker behind the scenes, claiming that he regularly created an uncomfortable environment through his shouting, career threats and comments about employees' appearances and sex lives. Several said they learned very quickly that speaking up came with consequences.

For a company built on women finding their voices, that's quite the plot twist.

It's a familiar story, just with a different company.

It’s somewhat expected from men in leadership roles, but there's something particularly disappointing about Unwell preaching female empowerment to then allegedly reproduce the very power dynamics it claims to challenge. Call Her Daddy has built its identity around amplifying women's voices, hosting female icons from Michelle Obama to Kamala Harris and Hailey Bieber. Yet according to these investigations, some of the women working behind the scenes didn't feel their own voices were safe to use.

Perhaps the biggest irony? Earlier this year, Cooper proudly claimed there were "no men at this company by design." Except... according to Vanity Fair, some of the biggest decisions were allegedly being made by men.

The investigation also includes allegations against chief brand officer T.J. Marchetti, who, alongside Kaplan, was accused by former employees of making inappropriate comments about young female fans, including discussions about which women were "attractive enough" to post online.It's difficult to sell female empowerment while allegedly reducing women to exactly the kind of appearance standards your brand claims to reject.

But in the end, Alex Cooper alone is responsible for every allegation made about her company. She has tried to shut down the investigation and refused to speak to Vanity Fair. Leadership isn't just about who shows up as the podcast host. It's also about the culture that's created when the microphones are off.

The girlboss era promised us that putting women in charge would automatically create better workplaces. But feminism has never been about who sits in the CEO chair. It's about what happens once they're there.

Because if your company is called Unwell, maybe your workplace shouldn't be too.

by Julia Petersen

Photos: ig @alexandracooper