Alex Cooper has broken her silence on claims of a toxic work environment at her company, Unwell, describing the allegations as a 'smear campaign.' The popular podcaster and co-founder of Unwell addressed these reports on Wednesday during a conversation at the Cannes Lions Festival.
Allegations Against Unwell
Earlier this month, a Vanity Fair investigation cited over 40 sources who claimed that Matt Kaplan, Cooper’s husband and business partner, engaged in verbally abusive behavior towards staff. The report alleged Kaplan screamed at employees, made inappropriate comments about their physical appearance, and inquired about their personal lives. A similar report from Bloomberg in April also accused Kaplan of berating staff.
During her interview with The Wall Street Journal advertising editor Suzanne Vranica, Cooper stated, 'Building a startup involves significant growth, and I am extremely proud of what we have built at Unwell. 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.'
Cooper's Defense of Unwell
Vranica pressed further, questioning if the allegations reflect changing employee expectations or highlight a genuine issue. Cooper responded, 'I think we have done an incredible job at Unwell, and if you walk the halls, there are so many people that are so happy to work at this company.' She continued, 'Being a woman in this industry is extremely difficult because you’re held to a completely different standard. Whether it’s a smear campaign being created for someone’s narrative — whatever it be.'
Personal Impact and Future Plans
Cooper acknowledged the personal impact of reading false claims, expressing, '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 I have really thick skin, and I’m going to keep pushing forward.'
Cooper and Kaplan married in 2024 and announced in May that they are expecting their first child. Her podcast, Call Her Daddy, ranked as the fourth most popular podcast globally in 2025, according to Spotify. In 2024, Cooper secured a $125 million multiyear deal to transfer her podcast and network to SiriusXM from Spotify.
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/alex-cooper-toxic-workplace-claims-reacts-1236629981/
