Alex (Cooper) versus Alix (Earle) has absolutely taken the Internet by storm. To understand exactly what’s going on and why it matters, we have to go back to the beginning. Alex Cooper (31) blew up alongside her ex-best friend, Sofia Franklyn, with their podcast Call Her Daddy, landing on Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Sports podcast lineup, until she eventually parted ways with both Franklyn and Barstool. Cooper created her own podcast network, Unwell Network, and signed Alix Earle’s Hot Mess podcast. Earle (25) is a TikTok influencer who got her start making relatable “get ready with me” videos during her time at University of Miami. She was the epitome of a fun-loving party girl from New Jersey and grew a massive following rapidly. Eventually, Hot Mess was dropped by Cooper’s network, and the public never got much of an explanation as to why.
In recent days, Alix and Alex have both popped off on social media, insinuating that maybe there’s more drama to their parting ways than meets the eye. Fans have started to notice Earle liking and reposting some shady videos about Cooper on TikTok. One in particular, reposted by Earle on April 14th, labeled Cooper as an “ambulance chaser”—essentially calling her out for exploiting vulnerable women in the wake of their trauma as guests on the mega-popular podcast Call Her Daddy. After Cooper maintained sole ownership of the pod, the vibe shifted from usually raunchy, always sex-positive discussions to interviewing celebrities and influencers.
Everything hit the fan when Cooper posted a TikTok video directly calling Earle out for that repost, asking “what’s the beef?” Followers of both girls went wild. Earle commented “On it,” reposted the video, and uploaded footage of her sister and friend waking her up to show it to her, making it a point to prove just how unbothered she feels.
We haven’t heard much from Alix since that upload…but we have heard from Dave Portnoy, who, if you’ll recall, worked very closely with Alex Cooper before she took off on her own. He also explained that he’s met Alix Earle before, too, and knows both girls pretty well. He is as invested in the “tea” as all of us are, and has been talking about his theories as to what happened in his TikTok series “Tea By The Sea.” Another of Dave’s podcast hosts, Brianna Chickenfry, involved herself as well, coming forward to express her own negative experiences with Cooper. Cooper retaliated via Instagram story, and Chickenfry has since gone deep in a recent podcast episode.
While still waiting for Earle to post her full side of the story, the Internet has lost a good bit of patience. The theories about what happened are spiraling out of control, with very few trustworthy sources. I’ve noticed a few things while witnessing all of this discourse:
- Alex Cooper is being pinned immediately as the stereotypical, ruthless “mean girl” caricature. It seems like the actual plot of Mean Girls. Cooper is a businesswoman, first and foremost. When I remember that this is not the first time this has happened, it does make me wonder. Her ex-cohost, Sofia Franklyn, is about to come out with her memoir, Daddy Issues, which will hopefully unpack for all of us what really happened between the two. Do these “mean girl” allegations have merit?
- Even if they do, we all know it wouldn’t change Cooper’s success. After all, the internet loves a mean girl. Drama is entertainment, as sick as that may be. We crave it, and Cooper can deliver it. Even if, ultimately, Earle ends up being in the right, we will all still tune into Cooper’s responses and any episodes of Call Her Daddy that feature guests we really love. Being “mean” isn’t enough for us to lose interest—instead, it fuels us.
- Everyone is so excited to see what’s next…seemingly forgetting that these are real people. Whatever the “beef” was between these two could’ve been extremely harmful to either one’s mental health and/or business success. Does that matter to the general public? Seemingly, not really. Alix Earle just launched her own skincare brand, Reale Actives, after years of publicly dealing with acne. Instead of praising her for her new business, all of the attention is now on this girl drama. Is all publicity really good publicity, or is it damaging her mentally? Is it damaging our brains, to be focused on the negative so deeply, even when positive things are going on, too?
All of these thoughts will certainly ebb and flow as the “drama” continues. But it’s made me realize some of my own flaws when consuming content. Being so excited about other people fighting can’t be good for our own energy. I would urge you to be mindful of the way you are consuming content online, especially drama and beef between two creators! Remember that they are people, too, and regulate your feed with some positive content in drama’s place when you can.