Alex Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” is the most successful woman in podcasting. This year, she signed a reported $125 million deal with SiriusXM — breaking with Spotify, where she has 4.4 million followers.
Ahead of the presidential election, she interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris, an appearance that generated a firestorm of criticism on social media, even from loyal listeners.
But Ms. Cooper spends much of her time explaining what she is not: Asked at The New York Times’s DealBook Summit whether she considered herself a journalist or an entertainer, she said that “no, I consider myself Alex Cooper.”
“I don’t care if people consider me a journalist or a podcaster, or just a girl that talks online every week,” she continued. “I know what I’m doing is changing a lot of lives.”
Ms. Cooper discussed the transition of her podcast from a chat show focused on sex advice to an interview format that often delves into trauma. (Sex is still a recurring, though not dominant, subject.)
“I’m not trying to be the next Howard Stern,” she said. “What he has built is incredible, and I think what I have built is also incredible.” She also praised Joe Rogan, Spotify’s top podcaster.
Ms. Cooper has largely distinguished herself through the Unwell Network, a channel of five podcasts hosted by other creators, each aimed toward young people.
Before Spotify, Ms. Cooper’s first platform was Barstool Sports, founded by Dave Portnoy, a self-described “degenerate gambler” with a record of making misogynistic and racist comments, including using the N-word.
Ms. Cooper on Wednesday praised Mr. Portnoy as “really, really smart.” On his offensive comments, she said: “I think I could ask every single woman in this room, like, ‘What’s been said about your boss?’ Probably similar stuff.”
For the past year, Ms. Cooper and her business partner and husband, Matt Kaplan, have made it clear they want to expand into consumer products.
The Unwell Network’s fan merchandise, such as sweatpants and T-shirts, is already an eight-figure business, Ms. Cooper said in January. But she was intrigued by the success of creators who sold their own consumer products, like Mr. Beast, the YouTuber behind the snack brand Feastables.
At the DealBook Summit, Ms. Cooper announced that Nestle had partnered with her on Unwell Hydration, a beverage that is aimed at women and sold at Target beginning in January.
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