Unwell, the media company co-founded by "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper and Matt Kaplan, has secured its first outside investment at a $500 million pre-money valuation, according to Axios. The amount of capital being invested was not disclosed. The investment is being made by WTSL, a firm whose leadership includes Patrick Whitesell and Jason Lublin.
Whitesell, who has represented actors including Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, founded WTSL in 2024 with backing from private equity firm Silver Lake, according to Bloomberg. Media, entertainment and sports define WTSL's investment thesis, with Omaha Productions, Diamond Baseball Holdings and League One Volleyball representing some of its existing bets. Cooper and Kaplan launched Unwell in 2023.
The company's podcast network hosts more than a dozen shows and has a distribution and advertising sales partnership with SiriusXM, which pays Unwell more than $30 million a year, according to Bloomberg. Beyond podcasting, Unwell produces film and TV content, hosts live events, operates a creative agency and sells consumer products including hydration and energy drinks developed in partnership with Nestle. Cooper also produced a documentary for Hulu and hosted live programming from the Paris Olympics for Peacock.
Cooper said in a statement that the investment will help accelerate growth through acquisitions and new investments. "Trust has become the ultimate distribution channel and seventy million women a month tune-into Unwell," she said. "We're scaling on all fronts, combining nimbleness, social-first premium content, and our understanding of culture to serve this highly influential audience." The investment comes against a backdrop of scrutiny facing the company.
Vanity Fair published an investigation in June that drew on conversations with more than 40 people, among them current and former Unwell staff, and described a pattern of alleged workplace toxicity and erratic conduct by Kaplan. Cooper has pushed back on those claims. She told the Wall Street Journal, "I think, unfortunately, being a woman in this industry is extremely difficult because you're held to a complete different standard." The company has also drawn attention following influencer Alix Earle's 2025 exit, when her "Hot Mess" podcast departed the network.
Cooper characterized Earle's public comments as "fake drama"; Earle has offered no public account of why she left. According to the company, WTSL's involvement is expected to provide Unwell with access to the firm's network and operational know-how.
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