Latest news with #CallHerAlex
Time Magazine
24 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Call Her Alex Isn't a Portrait of Alex Cooper—It's an Infomercial for Her Brand
In the breakout third episode of Call Her Daddy, the podcast's co-hosts, Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn, encouraged a male listener to track his crush's movements via Snapchat, advised a woman that there was no need to tell her boyfriend about her sugar daddy, and plotted to sell dirty Coachella shoes to foot fetishists. But the bit that really made 'Gluck Gluck 9000,' posted on Oct. 3, 2018, a classic was Cooper's lively and detailed description of the eponymous, supposedly game-changing oral sex technique. Six years and three days later, Cooper hosted an episode of the same podcast in which she posed to Kamala Harris, then the Vice President of the United States and Democratic candidate for President, questions about mental health, reproductive rights post- Roe, and the economic challenges facing young people. How did the Call Her Daddy that launched, not so long ago, as a chronicle of two 20-something Lower East Side roommates' X-rated exploits evolve into the ultra-mainstream Call Her Daddy of today? The short answer is that Cooper and Franklyn's cheerfully raunchy banter quickly attracted an audience of millions and just kept getting more popular, fueled by successive deals with the fratty platform Barstool Sports, then Spotify, and now a three-year Sirius XM contract reportedly worth $125 million. A more illuminating explanation for the show's expansion into a media empire would require an understanding of who Cooper—a solo act since Franklyn's departure in 2020—really is. The Hulu doc Call Her Alex presumably exists to offer such insight. But in just two scattered episodes (whose release as a series rather than a feature probably comes down to marketing), it's less a portrait of the podcaster than an infomercial for her brand. Directed by Ry Russo-Young (Nuclear Family, And Just Like That) and, crucially, produced by Cooper's company Unwell, Call Her Alex takes a form so typical of the authorized 21st century celebrity documentary, it's become a cliché. Behind-the-scenes footage of Cooper preparing for her first tour, which she's determined to make more exciting than the live tapings that comprise so many podcasters' events, is paired with a roughly chronological origin story. In the present, tension builds around troubled rehearsals of a program that includes musical numbers where Cooper is flanked by male dancers. The pressure to give her beloved listeners, known as the Daddy Gang, an unforgettable night seems insurmountable. An anxious Cooper seeks comfort from her unflappable husband and business partner, Matt Kaplan (a figure so adored by the Daddy Gang, some audience members carry giant cutouts of his face). Of course, as the trope dictates, last-minute disasters give way to an unequivocally triumphant opening night. The biographical portions can feel evasive—weirdly so, considering that messiness and candor are central to Cooper's brand—often swerving away from uncomfortable topics. She recalls escaping the pain of boys' bullying, as a skinny redhead, by bonding with other girls on the soccer field and making videos with friends. Then, suddenly, the awkward childhood photos are replaced by images of the perfectly proportioned and coiffed blonde she'd become by the time she matriculated at Boston University. There's no talk of how this glow-up might've affected her personal life or career, or the messages it might send to skinny redheads who worship Father Cooper, as she calls herself. The defining contradiction of Call Her Daddy, like Cosmo and the 'female chauvinist pigs' of Y2K pop culture, is its frequent implication that female empowerment requires catering to male desires. But Russo-Young never really interrogates Cooper's gluck-gluck feminism. Also conspicuously downplayed is the Cooper-Franklyn split, a perennial hot topic for the Daddy Gang. Talking heads who lived through it allude to a breakdown of the women's personal relationship as well as their professional partnership, as they renegotiated their initially meager Barstool contract—old news. Cooper doesn't have much to say about this. And while Barstool's controversial founder, Dave Portnoy, who also became a character in the contract drama, offers a few anodyne words of praise for Cooper in the doc, Franklyn is only glimpsed in archival footage. Anyone hoping to learn more about the end of the friendship, which isn't necessarily unreasonable for fans of a show premised on the intimacy of girl talk, will be disappointed. Still, Cooper is too savvy to put out a product entirely devoid of revelations. The morsel of news that started circulating in the days leading up to the series' release concerns the accusations of sexual harassment she levels in Call Her Alex against a since-retired BU soccer coach. Framed by Cooper's return to Boston for her tour, her story of a female coach who she says pried into her sex life and touched her inappropriately and used the students' scholarships to manipulate them—and of the university's alleged refusal to act on her scrupulously documented complaint—is infuriating. (Boston University has yet to comment on these allegations.) It also complicates Cooper's memories of soccer as a safe space and her choice to build a career around what is often euphemized as locker-room talk, though those aspects of the ordeal are barely explored. Instead, it's framed as yet another chance for Cooper to demonstrate her strength and tenacity. 'I was so determined,' she says in a voiceover that accompanies her stroll across an empty BU soccer field, 'to find a way where no one could ever silence me again.' Cooper is indeed a force—shrewd, ambitious, dynamic, hard-working. She knows her worth and fights for it. But that much has been obvious for years, to anyone with a casual awareness of her ascent to media-mogul status, as she's built an empire that now includes a media company (Trending), a podcast platform (Unwell Network), and an electrolyte drink (Unwell Hydration). The Daddy Gang certainly gets it. Which raises the question of who the audience for this documentary is supposed to be. Potential business partners, maybe? Watching Call Her Alex, at times, I felt as though I was being pitched a product: an empowered woman whose brand is female empowerment. All this marketing detracts from an element of Cooper's personality that is far more fascinating and rare and, I think, critical to her appeal than the stuff Russo-Young focuses on: she's great with people. The glimpses we do see of her interactions with fans are among the doc's highlights. When an audience member at one of her tour dates tearfully recounts how Call Her Daddy helped her cope with her father's death from cancer, Cooper calls her up to the stage, gets her a chair, sits at the young woman's feet, holds her hand, listens and reacts to every sentence of her story. Any performer could go through these same motions, but Cooper's care and curiosity—whether she's talking to a fan or a disgruntled employee or the most powerful woman in U.S. history—always come across as genuine. When she tells someone 'I f-cking love you,' which she often does, it sounds like she means it. This is probably why so many of her Gen Z listeners have likened her to a big sister. Yet she's something more complicated, too, a comforting but also aspirational figure, whose ugly-duckling-to-sex-goddess-swan transformation has left her with an unusual combination of empathy for the everygirl and the charisma to make that Daddy Gang diehard feel special. In a world that plays mean girls against mere mortals, she plays the part of the people's Regina George, her burn book replaced by an endless supply of sincere compliments.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paris Jackson Styles Botanical Whimsy in Fendi for 2025 Tribeca Film Festival
Paris Jackson hit the red carpet on Sunday night for the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The singer and daughter of the late Michael Jackson attended the premiere of the film 'One Spoon of Chocolate,' in which she stars. For the red carpet premiere, Jackson opted for a design courtesy of Fendi's fall 2019 couture collection, which made its runway debut during Milan Fashion Week in July 2019. The maxidress featured a flowing, whimsical silhouette complete with botanical inspiration. More from WWD Alexandra Cooper Wears Shiny Strappy Sandals and Matching Corset Dress for 'Call Her Alex' Tribeca Film Festival 2025 Premiere Cardi B Embraces Reptilian Inspiration in Nicol & Ford Strapless Dress for ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards 2025 How Nicole Scherzinger's Hairstylist Created Her Slicked Updo Inspired by 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' for the 2025 Tony Awards Jackson's dress featured a sheer green fabric with flowers and long strands of leaves extending from the hemline to the bodice. The dress also featured billowing sleeves, with a flowing, bohemian style and cinched cuffs. The cuffs and hemline of Jackson's dress included sharp, geometric shaping to offset the botanical design. Jackson wore a slipdress beneath the frock. She paired her look with black platform sandal heels. Fendi's fall 2019 couture collection fashion show was set against an imposing backdrop of the Roman Colosseum. The collection marked a step toward the future, following the death of noted designer Karl Lagerfeld in February 2019. Lagerfeld served as creative director of the Italian luxury fashion house. Designer Silvia Venturini Fendi curated the collection, featuring 54 looks that symbolized Lagerfeld's 54-year tenure with the fashion house. 'In readying the collection, she reviewed the archives somewhat randomly and came away with several ideas as reference points, particularly those revolving around lightness,' Bridget Foley wrote in WWD's review of the collection. 'She also took inspiration from a gift Lagerfeld gave her the last time they were together, a book on the Viennese Secessionists' magazine Ver Sacrum,' Foley wrote. View Gallery Launch Gallery: Tribeca Film Festival 2025 Red Carpet Arrivals, Live Updates: Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus and More Celebrity Style, Photos Best of WWD Mia Threapleton's Red Carpet Style Through the Years [PHOTOS] Princess Charlene of Monaco's Grand Prix Style Through the Years: Louis Vuitton, Akris and More, Photos Princess Charlene's Monaco Grand Prix Style Evolution at Full Speed: Shades of Blue in Louis Vuitton, Playful Patterning in Akris and More
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alex Cooper Reveals Why It Took Her 10 Years to Come Forward with Sexual Harassment Allegations
In her new docuseries Call Her Alex, Alex Cooper came forward with claims of sexual harassment by her college soccer coach Nancy Feldman The Unwell media network founder continued to discuss her allegations in a new episode of Call Her Daddy, in which she claims she met women who went through the same thing at Boston University Cooper said these similar stories made her realize "without a doubt" that she had to tell her story in the docuseries, though it took her a decade to publicly speak about her claimsAlex Cooper is continuing to open up about her claims that she was sexually harassed by one of her college soccer coaches. The Unwell media network founder first came forward with the allegations in her new Hulu docuseries, Call Her Alex. In the two-part Hulu special — which premiered at Tribeca Festival on June 8 — Cooper, 30, claimed she was sexually harassed by coach Nancy Feldman while attending Boston University. In the docuseries, Cooper said she noticed Feldman "really starting to fixate on me, way more than any other teammate of mine, and it was confusing," during her sophomore year of college. "[It] was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body and her always wanting to be alone with me," Cooper claimed in the doc. Feldman, Boston University and the school's athletic department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Tuesday, June 10. In her most recent installment of Call Her Daddy, the podcast host continued to discuss the allegations, explaining why it took her "a decade to tell this story" and why she decided to include it in her docuseries. Cooper admitted that she was "afraid of retaliation" before coming forward. "I also worried people would downplay or dismiss the severity of what I experienced because the abuse wasn't physical," she added. "And with a podcast that focuses on empowering women, I felt shame that my abuser happened to be a woman." In the 8-minute episode — which dropped on Tuesday, June 10 — Cooper continued, "I was worried that sharing my story could quite literally undermine everything I stand for." She also recalled how she hesitated to discuss her traumatic experiences while filming in Boston during a stop on her live podcast tour. It was the Call Her Alex director, Ry Russo-Young, who urged her to explore the possibility. "I had told the director that I wasn't sure I wanted to get into what happened to me in college in this documentary. I figured, let's keep it light. Let's keep it fun. Let's just approach it with a more positive energy," said the media mogul. "She was obviously extremely supportive and understanding." Cooper continued to share how Russo-Young encouraged her to return to the university to see what type of emotions it inspired. "The minute I stepped on that field, I felt so small. Money, power, status, followers, years of therapy, none of it mattered. I felt like I was 18 years old again, completely powerless with no voice," Cooper said during this week's Call Her Daddy. "I didn't realize how much I had suppressed and how much I was still carrying with me." Toward the end of filming the docuseries, Cooper said "new information came to light" that compelled her to come forward: "I immediately knew without a doubt that it was time for me to speak up," she explained. "I found out that other women had stepped onto that same field and experienced the same harassment I did. I discovered that the abuse and trauma I had been subjected to at Boston University was still actively happening on that campus in 2025, a decade after I left," Cooper alleged. "I spoke directly with one of the victims. Everything changed for me that day. And it really put in perspective that the harassment and abuse of power was and is so much bigger than me." She grappled with the "systemic" aspect of the issue and ultimately realized she needed to step up as an example for others. By opening up about the allegations in Call Her Alex, Cooper is both sharing her own story and speaking to "what women continue to endure everywhere, every single day," she said on her hit podcast. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who Is Alex Cooper's Former Coach, Nancy Feldman? What to Know About the Woman Cooper Accused of Sexual Harassment
Podcast host Alex Cooper played soccer at Boston University under head coach Nancy Feldman for three seasons In her Hulu docuseries, which premiered on June 10, Cooper claimed that she was sexually harassed by Feldman Feldman coached women's soccer at Boston University from 1995 to 2022Alex Cooper has accused her former college soccer coach, Nancy Feldman, of sexual harassment. The Call Her Daddy podcast host, who played soccer at Boston University from 2013 to 2015, claims that Feldman made her feel "deeply uncomfortable" when the head coach began to fixate on her during her sophomore season. "It was confusing because the focus wasn't like, 'You're doing so well. Let's get you on the field. You're going to be a starter.' [It] was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body and her always wanting to be alone with me," Cooper claimed in her new Hulu docuseries, Call Her Alex, which had its premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 8. The docuseries premiered on Hulu on June 10. Cooper and her parents, Bryan and Laurie Cooper, also alleged that Boston University athletics officials failed to take action after being provided written documentation of Feldman's inappropriate interactions. Feldman continued to coach women's soccer at Boston University until her retirement in 2022. Boston University, Feldman and the school's athletic department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on the allegations. So who is Alex Cooper's former college soccer coach? Here's everything to know about Nancy Feldman and the accusations made by the Call Her Daddy host. Feldman is from Needham, Mass., a suburb of Boston. She loved baseball growing up, but with the absence of Title IX, she was unable to play Little League with the boys her age. "My father took me down to town hall at 10 or 11 years old to sign me up for Little League, and I was denied an opportunity to play," she recalled during an interview with ESPN in 2022. "I was sorely disappointed because I love baseball." She began playing soccer at age 13. 'It just fit me, it fit my personality,' Feldman, who also played softball and basketball and ran track, told BU Today in 2012. 'I just loved how much energy it took, 'cause I loved to expend energy.' Feldman played forward and midfield at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, according to BU Today. Her record for most goals scored in a single game (four) still stands, per the university. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in public health from UMass Amherst in 1983. She went on to earn a master's in exercise and sport studies from Smith College in 1988, per LinkedIn. Feldman was named the first head coach of Boston University's Division I women's soccer program in 1995. Previously, the school had only had a club team, Feldman told ESPN. Feldman amassed 326 victories during her 27-season tenure at Boston University, according to her Boston University bio. She led the team to 14 NCAA tournament appearances and was named the conference coach of the year 12 times. Feldman shares two adult children with her longtime partner, Emily. The couple also have two grandchildren, per her Boston University bio. Feldman announced her retirement as head coach of Boston University's women's soccer team in 2022. "The program deserves someone that is able to give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time," she told BU Today at the time. "I was starting to feel that I wasn't going to be able to meet my own standard of doing it at the only level I know how to do it, which is all-in. I never wanted to be someone who took shortcuts to success." In 2025, Cooper came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Feldman in her Hulu docuseries, Call Her Alex. The podcast host claimed that Feldman acted inappropriately on several occasions, beginning during her sophomore year. She recounted alleged instances of physical contact, such as the head coach placing a hand on her thigh and asking her about her sex life. "It was this psychotic game of, 'You want to play? Tell me about your sex life,' " Cooper alleged, claiming that Feldman would tell her, "I have to drive you to your night class. Get in the car with me alone." Cooper said that she initially kept quiet about her alleged interactions with Feldman because she was fearful of losing her full-ride scholarship. "If I didn't follow this woman's rules, I was gone," she claimed. "Every time I tried to resist her, she would say, 'There could be consequences.' And there were.' Cooper and her parents eventually brought their concerns to Boston University athletics officials, who allegedly chose not to launch an internal investigation, according to Vanity Fair. Meanwhile, lawyers that the Cooper family had contacted reportedly discouraged them from pressing charges, warning them that the case could last for years. In 2016, Cooper decided not to play soccer in her senior year, but she was allowed to keep her scholarship. 'I want to finish out what I worked my entire life for, but I can't play for this woman,' Cooper recalled telling university staff, per Vanity Fair. 'They said, 'We're not gonna fire her, but you can keep your entire scholarship and that's that.' No investigation. Within five minutes, they had entirely dismissed everything I had been through.' While filming Call Her Alex, Cooper visited the Boston University soccer field. "The minute I stepped back on that field, I felt so small," she recalled during a Q&A at the project's Tribeca Festival premiere. "I just felt like I was 18 years old again, and I was in a situation with someone in a position of power who abused their power," Cooper continued. "I wasn't someone who had money and influence or whatever. I was just another woman who experienced harassment on a level that changed my life forever and took away the thing I loved the most." The Unwell Hydration founder added that she's "not ashamed" that it took her 10 years to speak out about her alleged experiences. "I think this documentary, as difficult as it was to explore, I actually think this is just the beginning," she added. "It's really opened my eyes to how difficult the system is, and it's so built against us as women." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alex Cooper on Why She Waited 10 Years to Go Public With Sexual Harassment Claims Against Her College Coach
Gilbert Carrasquillo Alex Cooper isn't afraid to go there with guests on her hugely popular and extremely frank podcast, Call Her Daddy. But there's one part of her life she hasn't spoken publicly about, until now: In her new Hulu docuseries, Call Her Alex, Cooper alleges that she was sexually harassed by her college soccer coach at Boston University, Nancy Feldman. The harassment was so severe, she says in the series, that she quit the team before her senior year. In part one of the series, which debuted at the Tribeca Festival on Sunday, June 8, Cooper alleges that her coach began 'fixating' on her 'way more than any other teammate of mine.' She recalled that her coach's interest 'was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body, and her always wanting to be alone with me.' At one point, Cooper alleges, Feldman pulled her aside to scold her for spending the night off campus, and to ask if Cooper had had sex the night before. 'It was this psychotic game of, 'You want to play? Tell me about your sex life,'' Cooper said in the documentary. 'I felt so deeply uncomfortable.' Glamour has reached out to both Feldman and Boston University for comment. During a panel following the screening alongside Call Her Alex director Ry Russo Young, Cooper explained why it had taken her 10 years to come forward with the allegations of misconduct. 'I still feel so small,' Cooper told moderator Orna Guralnik, a clinical psychologist and host of Couples Therapy on Showtime. 'Part of why I struggled [coming forward] was because the person who abused their power over me and harassed me is a woman. I really struggled with that for a really long time because I didn't want [the story] to undermine everything I stand for: Fuck the patriarchy, fuck misogyny.' She recalls wondering, Will this take away from the message? but has since gained the confidence to tell her story. 'It is a position of power, and if someone is abusing it, it's wrong. Full stop,' said Cooper. 'It doesn't matter what sex, full stop.' The Unwell founder choked up as she added, 'I'm just happy I got that out there, but I still feel anxious.' The largely female audience, many self-identified members of Daddy Gang, gave her a roaring round of applause as she wiped away tears. In Call Her Alex, Cooper alleges that the harassment was ongoing for years. However, she says she remained quiet out of fear that her full-ride scholarship would be rescinded if she spoke up. But eventually, as Cooper details in the documentary, ahead of her senior year Cooper and her parents decided to complain about the coach's alleged behavior to the university's director of athletics. Cooper's parents recalled in the documentary that they went into the meeting armed with a book of handwritten notes—Cooper's mother says she had taken them down during phone calls with her daughter about the alleged harassment. In the docuseries Cooper alleges that the athletic director refused to even look at the notes, telling her that the school would not remove Feldman from her position. It was then that Cooper says she made the decision to quit the team. She says the school allowed her to keep her scholarship. Speaking to the crowd at the Tribeca Festival, Cooper said her experience 'doesn't define me, but it does help to talk about it. It doesn't mean I'm not scared shitless, it doesn't mean I'm not scared of retaliation or judgment. People are going to pick this apart—I understand—but speaking about it has almost allowed me to get one step closer to reclaiming this thing that has felt like a dark cloud over my life.' She continued, 'I think there's something about being someone who's very public about my life, I'm just kind of in awe at how I felt coming forward—scared, nervous, I doubted myself, and I think a lot of this process made me realize if I have the finances to pay for a lawyer, and if I have the resources to do all of these things, how is another woman going to feel comfortable coming forward? Like, I'm still fucking scared up here.' 'I was nobody when I was in college,' she continued. 'I did come forward. I was denied, essentially. The story is frustrating because I want to tell women, 'Come forward,' but I did, and I wasn't believed, and then it took me a decade. I'm not ashamed that it took me 10 years, but it makes me question a lot, and I think this documentary—as difficult as it was to explore, I actually think this is just the beginning.' Moving forward, however, Cooper says she hopes to use her platform to become reacquainted with the world of women's soccer through her brand Unwell Hydration's partnership with the National Women's Soccer League . 'That felt really good,' she said of the deal. 'I feel like that's a good 'fuck you.'' Call Her Alex premieres June 10 on Hulu. Originally Appeared on Glamour
