For employees inside Alex Cooper’s expanding media business, matt kaplan has become the name tied to a climate of strain, complaints, and fear. The latest allegations paint a workplace where the pressure is not just public-facing, but personal, and where some staff members have said they were close to leaving.
What is being alleged inside the company?
The core claim is straightforward: people familiar with the company’s operations have described a tense environment involving Matt Kaplan, who serves as co-chief executive officer and is said to handle day-to-day operations while Cooper focuses on creative work. In the reporting, anonymous staff members said Kaplan was known to yell at and berate employees frequently.
One example centered on Unwell Winter Games, a YouTube reality series tied to the company. During filming, Kaplan allegedly berated staff and said they would never work in Hollywood again, a moment that was said to have brought one crew member to tears. Other people working on the project reportedly filed complaints and threatened to quit if the behavior did not change. At least 20 people who worked for Unwell were said to have listed departures in 2025 and 2026 on LinkedIn.
Why does this matter beyond one workplace?
This story matters because it shows how fast-growing media brands can run into old workplace problems even while projecting a polished public image. In this case, the company has been expanding its staff alongside new business ventures, and that growth appears to have brought more pressure into the room. matt kaplan sits at the center of that tension because his role connects leadership decisions to the daily experience of employees.
The broader pattern is not unusual: when creative ambition, business expansion, and tight deadlines overlap, staff can feel the strain first. Here, the strain appears to have shown up as turnover, formal complaints, and threats to walk off the job. For workers, that can mean instability. For a company, it can mean damaged morale and lost trust long before any public statement is made.
How does the public feud around Alex Cooper fit in?
The workplace allegations are landing in the middle of another public dispute involving Cooper and Alix Earle, whose podcast left the Unwell Network in February 2025. Earle later said the split was “behind the scenes, a little bit of a hot mess, ” and she more recently reposted criticism of Cooper’s business sense and interviewing style. Cooper responded in an April 13 TikTok, saying she was tired of waking up to “fake drama” and urging Earle to be specific.
That public exchange matters because it adds another layer to the company’s image problem. Even without making any direct connection between the feud and the staff complaints, the timing leaves Cooper’s brand exposed to questions about how the company is run and how conflict is managed when it surfaces.
What do the named voices in the record say?
Cooper’s own words offer a glimpse into the expectations inside her business. In a 2025 Marie Claire interview, she said her staff would likely describe her as someone with very high expectations, adding that everyone needs to look out for themselves. She also said her door is always open and that she hopes someone at her company will eventually build a rival business.
That quote suggests a culture built on competition and independence. But the allegations around Kaplan point to a different side of the operation: a workplace where some people say the pressure crossed a line. ’s reporting referenced people familiar with the company’s operations, while unnamed employees described complaints, tears, and threats to quit. Because those accounts are anonymous, they remain allegations rather than findings, but they are serious enough to shape how the company is being viewed.
What has the company done in response?
Cooper did not immediately respond to a request for comment in the reporting. The available context does not show any public internal changes, formal findings, or disciplinary action. What is clear is that the company continues to face scrutiny from both the public feud and the workplace allegations at the same time.
That leaves a difficult question for a brand built on voice, personality, and audience trust: can a company growing this quickly keep its creative edge without letting the workplace fray? For now, matt kaplan remains at the center of that question, while employees, fans, and rivals watch the next move.
