This article contains references to sexual harassment and allegations of abuse.
Hulu’s docuseries,Call Her Alex, provides a new insight into the life of Alex Cooper, one of the most successful podcasters in the world. Cooper began her career in podcasting in 2018, with the launch of her comedy and advice podcast,Call Her Daddy, in which she co-starred with Sofia Franklyn. Downloads quickly rose to an average of two million per month. In 2021, Cooper signed a three-year deal with Spotify worth approximately $60 million.
In 2024, Cooper announced the launch of her first live comedy tour, the Unwell Tour. The two-part docuseries explores the background to rehearsals, stage production, scriptwriting, and how Cooper prepared herself to go on tour. In what looks to beone of Hulu’s best documentaries,Call Her Alexexplores how Cooper overcame the struggles she faced in her youth and the growth of her podcast.
8Alex Cooper Was Inspired By Her Father To Make Content
Her Father Worked As A Sports TV Producer
Cooper is shown practicing comedy scripts for her Unwell Tour, which she describes as different from her podcast because “[she’s] more animated” on stage. She is given advice by her husband, film producer Matt Kaplan, and her family on how to present herself on stage. InCall Her Alex, Cooper talks about her childhood, growing up in Pennsylvania as the youngest of three siblings, and what inspired her to eventually take up a career in filmmaking and performing.
Cooper’s parents, Bryan and Laurie, spoke about how Cooper’s motivation to succeed began at a young age. Cooper revealed that her father “introduced cameras into [their] home,” and regularly recorded the family’s daily activities and sports events. She also stated that Bryan Cooper worked as a sports television producer for the Philadelphia Flyers, which she described as “the most incredible, magical job.” Cooper revealed that she became “enamored” with her father’s job, and it inspired her to begin filming comedy skits and impersonations as a young child.
7Alex Cooper’s First Co-Stars Were Her Childhood Friends
Her Close Friends, Lauren McMullen & Kristen Gatti Appeared In Call Her Alex
Cooper’s early videos that she filmed as a young girl are shown throughout the docuseries.She performed with her childhood friends, Lauren McMullen and Kristen Gatti, who Cooper described as “the two main girls who were always in [her] films.” The three women are shown as young girls making music videos, dressing up in costumes, and re-creating movies, includingThe Devil Wears Prada. Gatti described this as filming “whenever [they] weren’t playing soccer or at Catholic school together.”
Although both McMullen and Gratti later moved away from making movies as they grew up, they appear to have both remained close friends with Coope. McMullen later moved in with Cooper and her formerCall Me Daddyco-star, Franklyn, attending Tulane University in New Orleans, and working with the non-profit organization, Teach For America; in 2021, she began a degree in Higher Education at Columbia University (viaDistractify). McMullen later appeared on an episode ofCall Me Daddy,and has assisted Cooper on her tour.
6Alex Cooper Struggled With Bullying & Self-Esteem Issues Growing Up
She Admitted To Having Body Issues As A Young Teenager
Cooper’s parents spoke about their child’s strong desire for success that began at a young age with footage showing Cooper competing in sports competitions and performing for the camera in comedy skits. Cooper spoke about her childhood and revealed that she never had any issues making friends with girls growing up, “whether it was on [her] soccer team or at school,” but found it difficult to make friends with boys as they would make fun of her appearance.
Footage of Cooper shows her as a young teenager, where she highlights her natural red hair, freckles, and her braces, which were frequently negatively commented on by boys at school. She revealed that boys would often make fun of her appearance, calling her a “skeleton,” that she was “frail,” and she looked “disgusting” and “had no soul” due to her red hair.Cooper stated that the consistently nasty comments that she received impacted her self-esteem growing up, and while she did hide it from her family and friends, she admitted that she “hated [herself].”
5Alex Cooper’s Unwell Tour Faced Complications Before The Tour Began
Cooper Admitted To Feeling Uncertain About Going On Her First Live Tour
Call Her Alex, was created by Cooper and director Ry Russo-Young to allow insight into how the Unwell tour was created. It’s shown that in the weeks before the tour, it faced several issues with production, including the teleprompter’s screen freezing on stage, microphone issues, and delays in prompting. At one point, the tour’s production manager, Jon Dindas, admitted to feeling “burnt out” during production and that he was nervous about the show’s first performance in Boston. Cooper also confessed to having mental uncertainty about the tour.
During the rehearsal footage, Cooper is shown to be nervous about the stage show and admits to her family that she isn’t sure about whether she will be able to perform.
Cooper is shown to be nervous about the stage show and admits to her family that she isn’t sure about whether she will be able to perform. One team member, Chase Masters, stated that “if [she keeps] getting frustrated going into rehearsals,” then it will only negatively impact her performances on stage.Cooper expressed her thanks and gratitude to her team members and her husband, Matt Kaplan, for helping her to maintain focus on the tour,which eventually became a big success.
4Alex Cooper Visited The Apartment Where She Originally Started Her Podcast
Cooper Began Call Her Daddy At An Apartment In Delancey Street, New York
Cooper reflected on her time living in the NYC apartment, saying that she had “really low moments of self-doubt” about launching the podcast and that some relatives distanced themselves from her, as they were uncomfortable with the initial sexual content in her work. However, she also describes her old apartment as “magic” to the new residents. Her parents later expressed their support of the podcast, with her mother, Laurie, later appearing on an episode to state her approval of her daughter (viaPeople).
3Alex Cooper Expressed Mixed Emotions About Returning To Her Alma Mater
Cooper Attended Boston University Where She Played Soccer
Cooper was accepted into Boston University on a full tuition scholarship, where she enrolled in film and television studies. She also joined the university’s Division 1 soccer team, where she met her close friend and soccer teammate, Alex Schlobohm, who eventually became her roommate at college. Footage of Cooper performing for Boston University’s soccer team is played throughout the series. Initially, Cooper’s experiences at Boston University were highly positive, but during her senior year, she faced conflicts with her coach and the staff.
InCall Her Alex,Cooper returned to Boston University’s campus for the first time since her departureand went onto the soccer pitch. When walking onto the pitch, she is shown breaking down in tears and saying that it is difficult to return, because of “how it was all taken away from [her]” in her senior year. She also expressed her anger and disappointment at the staff at Boston University and expressed how she felt that nothing was done to properly help her.
2Alex Cooper Made A Claim Of Sexual Harassment Against Her Soccer Coach
She Claimed Her Soccer Coach Nancy Feldman Sexually Harassed Her For Three Years
In one of the most shocking revelations of the Hulu docuseries, Cooper revealed that she left her soccer team at Boston University after her junior year after she accused her coach, Nancy Feldman, of sexual harassment. InCall Her Alex, Cooper stated that during her freshman year, she had a normal relationship with Feldman, but as time passed, Feldman “paid extra attention to [her].” Initially believing it to be her coach seeing her potential, in her sophomore year,Cooper stated that Feldman began to make comments about her body that made her very uncomfortable.
Nancy Feldman served as the women’s soccer coach at Boston University from 1995 until her retirement in 2022.
Cooper revealed that Feldman would come up with excuses to spend time alone with herand touch her inappropriately, and warn Cooper that there would be consequences if she said anything. After her roommate, Alex Schlobohm, was kicked off the team, Cooper and her parents reached out to the staff at Boston University about the sexual harassment. Cooper’s parents “chronologically [wrote] every single [time]” that Feldman harassed her, but no investigation was launched. The lack of assistance from the staff at Boston University severely impacted Cooper and resulted in her quitting the team and ending her soccer career.
1The Reason Why Alex Cooper & Sofia Franklyn Ended Their Partnership
The Duo Ended Their Partnership On Call Me Daddy In 2021
In the years following Sofia Franklyn’s departure fromCall Her Daddy, there has been speculation as to the reason why Cooper and Franklyn chose to end their professional relationship. Both Cooper and Franklyn launched the podcast in 2018 while they were roommates in New York City; Cooper revealed that, despite the initial belief that the two were long-term friends, she had actually only known Franklyn for a few months before launching the podcast. In 2020, Franklyn announced her departure fromCall Her Daddy, resulting in speculation that she and Cooper had suffered a falling out behind the scenes.
Cooper and Franklyn ultimately decided to end their working relationship on Call Her Daddy, after Franklyn decided not to accept Barstool Sports' offer to stay another year.
Cooper explained thatshe and Franklyn had a difficult relationship throughout their time working on the podcast,and had further conflicts when they renegotiated their initial contract. Cooper and Franklyn ultimately decided to end their working relationship onCall Her Daddy, after Franklyn decided not to accept Barstool Sports' offer to stay another year. While her working relationship with Franklyn ended acrimoniously, as shown throughoutCall Her Alex, Cooper used her experiences to help establish herself as one of the world’s most successful podcasters.
Call Her Alex
Cast
Alex Cooper, the driving force behind Call Her Daddy, has reached a major career milestone with a record-setting podcast deal. A new two-part documentary provides an intimate look at her journey, shedding light on the critical experiences and decisions that have established her as a powerful and influential figure in the podcasting world.
