Alex Cooper’s Husband Accused of Berating Staff Members, Including on Reality Show’s Set

A new investigative report from Bloomberg divulges the reported toxic management style of Alex Cooper’s husband, Matt Kaplan. Kaplan reportedly oversees day-to-day operations at Cooper’s Unwell Network in his role as CEO.

The Unwell Network’s head of brand marketing, head of the network and chief growth officer have departed the company in the past year amid high staff turnover and continued growth. Much of the turnover is reportedly due to Kaplan’s managerial style.

In 2023, the couple co-founded Trending, an umbrella company housing the power couple’s growing business ventures. They hired dozens of employees in waves to staff their varying projects in streaming, television, podcasts, live events, and beyond. Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast is currently ranked as No. 4 in the U.S.

Cooper has claimed in an interview with Marie Claire that as CEO, her door is “always open” to employees and that she and Kaplan have a “very positive and safe” environment for their young staff. However, multiple testimonies paint a different picture.

With Cooper busy focusing on her podcasts and other projects running, Kaplan has been the go to for daily operations. According to staffers, current and former, he’s earned a reputation for yelling at staff members, which has caused some to threaten to quit if he doesn’t change his behavior or keeps his distance.

During a launch of a new YouTube program last month, there were some technical issues and a last-minute cancellation from an influencer who was slated to participate. Kaplan is accused of berating the staff on set and threatening to blackball them from ever working in Hollywood again if they messed up. One prominent, long-experienced crew member breaking reportedly down in tears.

All of this comes as Cooper is dealing with the public fallout from her partnership with Alix Earle ending. Their personal business drama has spilled onto social media.Other projects within the company have not performed well, with three in a partnership with SiriusXM being cancelled not long after their debuts. Call Her Daddy remains the biggest success. However, the live tours have been a hit, and the company continues having projects spread across multiple platforms including Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+, and Cooper has landed partnerships with big companies like Google.