In a new documentary, "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper alleged that she was sexually harassed by her former college soccer coach at Boston University.
"Call Her Alex," a two-episode series which premiered Tuesday on Hulu, follows the podcaster as she prepared for her live tour in November 2023, simultaneously showing her rise to audio stardom. Cooper first began airing her advice show in 2018, and it quickly rose to become one of the most popular podcasts in the country.
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Cooper, who grew up in Newtown, Bucks County, said in the documentary that she was inspired by her father, a former TV producer for the Flyers, to make videos in her basement as an escape from bullies at school. But she was also a competitive athlete and received a full scholarship to play soccer at Boston University.
According to Cooper, her freshman year was relatively normal on the team. But when she was a sophomore, she noticed her coach, Nancy Feldman, fixating on her more than other players.
"It was confusing because the focus wasn't like, 'You're doing so well, let's get you on the field, you're going to be a starter,'" Cooper said in the show. "It was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body and her always wanting to be alone with me."
Cooper went on to describe Feldman sitting close to her on couches and placing her hand on her thigh during meetings after practice. Eventually, Cooper said it came to a head after Feldman heard she had spent the night off campus and largely left her on the bench during an important game as punishment. After that, Cooper said she started taking different routes to practice to avoid Feldman, sitting as far away from her as possible and avoiding being alone with the coach.
"It was this psychotic game of: You want to play? Tell me about your sex life," Cooper said.
Cooper and her parents eventually reached out to an attorney, who said they had a case but that it would go on for years. After speaking with the athletics department, who declined to investigate Feldman, Cooper eventually left the team at the end of her junior year but was able to retain her scholarship.
Boston University did not immediately return a request from PhillyVoice to comment on the allegation. Boston.com was unsuccessful in receiving a response from Feldman, who retired from coaching in 2022.No charges have been filed, and the documentary does not include a statement from Feldman or the university.
Cooper also released a short podcast episode Tuesday detailing why she decided to come forward in the series.
"Call Her Alex" is available now on Hulu. Watch the trailer below.