Alex Cooper’s Media Company Unwell Is Under Scrutiny After Allegations of a Toxic Work Culture

Alex Cooper’s business empire may be unwell, according to information provided to Bloomberg by people familiar with its operations. The Call Her Daddy host’s husband and co-CEO Matt Kaplan seems to be at the center of its issues.

Cooper and Kaplan reportedly founded umbrella company Trending (better known as Unwell) together in 2023 to bring her podcast network and his production company, which produced the Netflix hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Beforeunder the same roof. The Los Angeles-based business has since grown to reach about 100 employees, expanded into live events, and launched both a beverage brand and a creative agency.

Over the past three years, Kaplan has earned “a reputation for frequently yelling at staff members,” per Bloomberg.

As the host of Call Her Daddy and public face of the business, Cooper “is often extremely busy,” according to the outlet’s anonymous sources. Kaplan, on the other hand, handles the day-to-day operations.

Conflicts between him and employees have escalated to the point of crew members threatening to walk off “walk off the job at film sets and live tours if he doesn’t keep his distance,” per Bloomberg.

Sources cited one particular incident that occurred during the creation of Unwell Winter Gamesa reality competition show Unwell released on YouTube earlier this month. Kaplan “berated” staff during filming, according to Bloombergthreatening to “prevent them from ever working in Hollywood again if they messed up.”

Crew members then filed formal complaints over the on-set interaction—which reportedly made one experienced crew member break down in tears—and eventually threatened to quit unless they saw improvements in Kaplan’s behavior.