Alex Cooper has parted ways with talent agency UTA following the recent news about Unwell Media’s newest investor.
A representative for Cooper’s brand Unwell confirmed to Variety on Sunday, August 16, that the media company ended its relationship with UTA on July 27.
A source close to Unwell told Us that the decision for Cooper, 31, to part ways with UTA was due to Unwell growing “exponentially over the past year.” The insider added UTA was focused primarily on Unwell’s “podcast business.” Unwell has since branched out to doing things “in-house” for its partnerships, events, production and more.
According to the source, since Unwell finalized its $500 million deal with investment firm WTSL on August 12, the brand “spent the last ninety days aggressively building a strategy for its next phase of rapid growth and part of that review involved rethinking traditional talent representation and exploring those options.”
Unwell plans on expanding across podcasts, TV and film, live events and consumer products. The company is also venturing into its own creative agency and foundation. The source explained that with the new elements, Unwell “requires partners that match the speed, scale, and multi-vertical infrastructure it is building right now alongside WTSL.”
After news broke of Cooper’s exit from UTA, Bloomberg reported that the podcaster is in talks with agency Creative Artists Agency. A deal has not been finalized.
Us has reached out to Cooper for comment.
News of Cooper leaving UTA comes nearly a week after the announcement of WTSL’s investment earlier this month. WTSL valued Cooper’s Unwell brand, which she founded alongside husband Matt Kaplan in 2023.
“Trust has become the ultimate distribution channel and seventy million women a month tune-into Unwell,” Cooper said in a statement earlier this month. “We’re scaling on all fronts, combining nimbleness, social-first premium content, and our understanding of culture to serve this highly influential audience. With WTSL’s backing, the company is now also poised to accelerate our media platform’s growth through acquisitions and investments.”
Cooper has been booked and busy as Unwell has continued to grow in the past few months. Unwell has added more creators to its podcast slate including the Ha Sisters as well as Georgia Hassarati and Isabel Timerman. Unwell has also stepped into the TV space as they’ve worked with Netflix on Harry Jowsey’s Let’s Marry Harry reality series in addition to producing the upcoming book adaptations of Icebreaker and Deep End.
While business has been booming for Cooper, she has also faced scrutiny for alleged drama with former colleagues Dave Portnoy and Alix Earle. Cooper worked with Portnoy, 49, at Barstool before taking “Call Her Daddy” to Spotify and launching her own media empire. Earle, 25, was previously signed as a podcaster for Unwell Media before parting ways with the company last year.
