Alex Cooper turned her raunchy podcast into an empire. Could she be the millennial Oprah?
With her long blonde hair pulled back into a claw clip and wearing a purple hoodie bearing the name of her media network, Alex Cooper sat across from the vice president of the United States. It was October 2024, a month before the presidential election, and as the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris was only doing one lengthy podcast interview. With Cooper. At the time,Call Her Daddywas the No. 1 podcast for women, and it remains a cultural force and a household name. The interview — one of the tamest in the podcast's history — made sense when Harris was competing against President Trump, who sat for interviews withultra-popular, right-leaning male podcasterslike Logan Paul, Joe Rogan and Theo Von. But aside from advocating for abortion, which she views as a women's rights issue, Cooper had never gotten very political. The interview, which was offered to 30-year-old Cooper while she was doing her first-ever live tour, is the peak of the two-part Hulu docuseriesCall Her Alex,which premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 8. The docuseries charts Cooper's meteoric rise, from her not-so-humble beginnings as a raunchy podcaster whose initial claim to fame was popularizing a sex act she created and named the "Gluck Gluck 9000." Now, she's the interviewer that every celebrity wants to talk to. Jane Fondacalled her"one of the best interviewers I've ever had." Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy, misspeaking slightly,called Cooper"the female Oprah." He was one of the first people to see her potential and give her a platform. Gayle King, one of the most iconic interviewers of all time and a friend of Oprah's, said inCall Her Alexthat Cooper is "a true girl's girl … I know she's just getting started." Orna Guralnik, a psychologist who facilitates the sessions in the TV showCouples Therapy,said Cooper's skill is that "she's not afraid of going to difficult places. Meanwhile, it's fun, because she's funny and warm." Cooper didn't ascend to the top of the media mogul pyramid in spite of her raunchy past, but because of it. Her goal has always been to empower women, herself included. The idea forCall Her Daddyemerged from her desire to harness "locker room talk" for girls, and landed right as women were looking for ways to reclaim their power in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Podcasting itself has long been a male-dominated field, but Cooper is an astute businesswoman who understands her craft. Call Her Alexextensively details how Cooper's competitive spirit, nurtured by her loving parents and cemented in her college soccer career, gave her the drive to chase her dreams of being a creator even when traditional studios and media outlets weren't giving her a chance. She took her dreams into her own hands, editing and producing the podcast she cohosted with her then roommate Sofia Franklyn, and just one month after sharing the first episode on Instagram in 2018,Call Her Daddywas picked up by Barstool Sports. It has only soared since then. One of the keys to Cooper's success is her devoted fandom known as the Daddy Gang. Lucy Donaghey, a celebrity publicist at Streamline PR, is a longtime member. "In a male-dominated podcasting world, Cooper stands out. She is fun, aspirational and go-getting [while] still embracing the messiness of life as a young woman navigating the world," Donaghey told Yahoo Entertainment. "She's the 'It Girl' of podcasting, and for many women, a more relatable and comforting voice than someone like Joe Rogan." As a publicist, Donaghey sees why Cooper books such big interviews: She's "candid and compelling without ever becoming confrontational." That puts her guests — and her audience — at ease. Even without a buzzy guest, Cooper is fun to listen to. "Cooper herself is a huge draw. To her fans, she is a best friend, a big sister and an honest voice on topics many shy away from: mental health, sex, heartbreak and self-worth," Donaghey said. "That intimacy has created a cult following, which makes her show incredibly valuable from a PR perspective. She reaches a huge audience that listens and deeply trusts her." Another Daddy Gang member, Camila Contreras Merlo Flores, is 28 — around the same age as Cooper. She was struck by how "normal" theCall Her Daddyhost has remained compared to her peers, in spite of all her fame and success. "Her profile is one of so many people I know, but the difference is that she took conversations that were sort of 'off limits' for women and made them quotidian topics for me and my friends," she told Yahoo Entertainment. Fans are a major focus ofCall Her Alex.They laud Cooper's relatability and her candidness. At one stop on her tour, Cooper pulled a fan onstage to let her speak about howCall Her Daddysoothed her as she sat with her father at chemotherapy appointments. Cooper got emotional, leaning closer to her fan and asking gentle questions about how she's doing. For a moment in 2020, Cooper didn't seem like such a girl's girl. After contract negotiations with Barstool, her cohost Franklyn was dropped from the show, and it moved forward with Cooper as its sole voice. The former roommates, who seemed like best friends on-air, had a fractured relationship behind the scenes. InCall Her Alex, Cooper explained that they both realized "the Daddy Gang was bigger than both of us." Frankyln wanted to shop the podcast around in search of a better deal, but Cooper wanted to stick with Barstool for another year so that she could take ownership of the podcast when the contract ended. Cooperwon the breakup. In 2021, she tookCall Her Daddyfrom Barstool to Spotify in a$60 million deal. Franklyn, whocalled the situationa "betrayal," started her own podcast but hasn't been able to reach the same heights that she had with her former roommate. This also marked a major shift in tone forCall Her Daddy.In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cooper traded in some of her signature raunchiness for openness about her mental health. She stopped pretending she was "made of steel" and talked about going to therapy. Even the tone of her literal voice changed. Cooper's persona might be relatable, but her success isn't. In 2024, shesigned a three-year deal with Sirius XM reportedly worth $125 million— one of the biggest deals in podcasting history. Her trajectory is unprecedented but still feels inextricably linked to her fans, so they're basking in her triumphs with her. In addition to hostingCall Her Daddy,Cooper helmsUnwell— an entertainment network with its own drink brand. She's redefining what it means to be a media mogul, signing younger Gen Z influencers like Harry Jowsey and Madeline Argy, crafting her own legacy in the same way Oprah helped make Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz household names. "I want to create something bigger than just myself," Cooper says inCall Her Alex.The way she has become a crucial stop in the press tour circus and begun to tap her own network of successors makes her sound like the next Oprah indeed. But is the path that Cooper is carving out for herself really comparable to anyone? "The Oprah comparison makes sense in spirit, but the blueprint is entirely different," Victoria Anderson, senior vice president and co-head of strategy for global marketing agency 160/90, told Yahoo Entertainment. "Rising during an era of media gatekeepers, Oprah brought people into her world. Alex is rising in an era of chaotic communication infrastructure, and she builds worlds around her people." "She's not just creating media, she's creating gravity through a very modern style of influence," Anderson added. As a fan and publicist, Donaghey said Cooper has "already shown she can make her own seat at the table and build a cultural phenomenon." "I don't think she's going to be the next Oprah, but that is exactly the point: She is creating her own lane," she said. "Sitting in sweats with guests on her couch might not pull Oprah-sized ratings, but it's built a cult-like audience that's deeply loyal and only growing." Daniel Iles, the founder of the social media content agency Viral Coach, advises influencers on their careers all the time. He said Cooper certainly benefited from being trained under the "Barstool method" — the company identifies up-and-coming influencers and trains them to be successful even beyond the sports media brand. "[Cooper] has definitely conquered her zone, and she's carving out a new one," Iles told Yahoo Entertainment. Oprah and Martha Stewart have both done that — taking a personal brand and turning them into companies in completely different verticals. "Both of them got attention first from millions of fans, then built business around the audience that they already had, which is very different from how most entrepreneurs approach business — they build a product first, then have to go find customers," Iles explained. Cooper already has both an audience and a product, so building a network around those things makes perfect sense. "I think she's going to branch out and meet other parts of her audience's interest. Maybe she'll start a charitable arm for women's rights or do some kind of political move," Iles said. "Or maybe she'll keep things business-focused with a range of products. She already has a documentary on Hulu …. Why not do a reality TV show on Amazon or Netflix?" As someone who has dominated podcasting for so long, Cooper also runs the risk of oversaturation. Kevin Mercuri, an executive in residence at Emerson College, told Yahoo Entertainment that he'd advise Cooper to "stay the course — slow and steady wins the race." "We've seen other podcast and internet personalities over-diversify to make money and increase market share, only to alienate fans and damage their public standing," he explained. "Jake and Logan Paul are good examples of overexposure. Both brothers are now perceived by many as inauthentic, given crypto scams and absurd boxing matchups." "Cooper can potentially be the next Oprah Winfrey, but the Oprah brand wasn't built in a day … I'd counsel her to focus on her podcast and be very judicious of every opportunity that presents itself. Less can be more when building a brand as large as Alex's," Mercuri said. InCall Her Alex,Cooper's interview with Harris was depicted as a huge honor — and not one that she took lightly. She didn't settle on the decision to do it without processing nervousness about how she'd be perceived. "I'm going to do it the way I'm going to do it," Cooper says, rejecting comparisons to CNN or Fox News. "This isCall Her Daddy." When the two women sat across from each other — both smiling, clad in pointed heels — Cooper spoke about how "as a woman, we have to work 10 times harder." "When people tell you no … what does that ignite in you?" Cooper asked the former vice president. "I don't hear no. I urge all the Daddy Gang, don't hear no, just don't hear it," Harris replied. "I think it's really important not to let other people define you." Maybe that's what Cooper has been doing all along.
Alex Cooper turned her raunchy podcast into an empire. Could she be the millennial Oprah? With her long blonde hair pulled back into a claw ...
