Alex Cooper is in serious talks with CAA following her departure from UTA, according to Deadline. Nothing has been signed yet, but the expectation is that the talent agency will become her new home. Bloomberg was first to report the agency shift.
Cooper rose to prominence as the host of Call Her Daddy and built the Unwell podcast network around that platform. UTA had been central to her business growth. The agency's Oren Rosenbaum negotiated a $125 million deal with SiriusXM in 2024, and UTA also represented Cooper when she launched the Unwell podcast network in 2023.
The move comes during a complicated stretch for Cooper and her company. As The Hollywood Reporter noted, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair both published reports about staff turnover and unease at Unwell, with claims centering on the behavior of Matt Kaplan, Cooper's husband and the company's co-founder. Kaplan is said to have yelled at and berated staff members. Deadline also reported that Kaplan apparently demanded earlier this year that UTA drop Alix Earle, a creator the agency also represents.
Earle, who formerly worked with Cooper but left her network, remains at UTA. Both she and Cooper had been at the agency for more than a year before the split.
Cooper's departure also follows the planned shutdown of her branded beverage line, Unwell Beverage Co., later this year. But the financial picture is not entirely bleak. Last week, Patrick Whitesell and Jason Lublin's WTSL, a Silver Lake-backed firm, made a significant investment in Unwell, pushing the company's valuation to $500 million. Cooper and Kaplan plan to use the funding to expand beyond podcasting into live events and a film and TV production arm, including through acquisition.
Unwell's podcast network includes more than a dozen shows and reaches millions of listeners daily. The company has also been growing its YouTube presence. Cooper has more than 100 million followers across platforms.
UTA declined to comment. CAA also declined. Cooper's team did not respond to requests for comment.
