Hot mess, indeed.
Alix Earle’s “Hot Mess” podcast has been dropped by Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network. Sources say SiriusXM will also no longer sell ads for the show and that the Unwell Network has renounced all rights to “Hot Mess” so that Earle can freely explore future opportunities.
The move comes amid growing chatter on social media of a feud between Cooper, host of the wildly popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” and Earle, the party girl influencer with a massive TikTok following. Speculation of a rift grew when Earle skipped an Unwell Super Bowl party in New Orleans even though she was in town.
In August 2023, Cooper announced that she was launching the Unwell Network and signed Earle to join the fold. The network was positioned as a production shingle that could speak to Gen Z audiences with “unique voices that embrace social challenges and personal insecurities through honest conversation.”
Unwell’s initial talent signings also included “Pretty Lonesome” host Madeline Argy, who, alongside Cooper and Earle, would “develop a variety of multiplatform concepts and projects” across such silos as pop-culture, beauty, fashion and lifestyle.
The Unwell Network is a subsidiary of Tending, the media company Cooper founded with her fiancé, Matt Kaplan of ACE Entertainment. In August 2024, Cooper inked a deal with Sirius XM that includes Unwell Music (Cooper’s own music channel) and Unwell on Air (“The Daily Dirty” and “The Dialed In Show”).
Despite Earle’s exit, Unwell has a deep bench. In February, the network signed Grace O’Malley to launch her “DisGRACEful” podcast. Cooper’s network also includes Harry Jowsey’s “Boyfriend Material” and Owen Theile’s “In Your Dreams.” And Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” continues to land huge guests. In the fall, she sat down with Kamala Harris during the presidential election run-up.
