Alex Cooper, the once wildly successful host of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, found herself at the center of controversy this past weekend after releasing a surprise interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. What was likely meant to be a high-profile, attention-grabbing episode ended up alienating a significant portion of Cooper’s loyal fanbase, the “Daddy Gang.”
The drama began when the podcast’s Instagram account teased the interview on Sunday, showcasing a clip of the 30-year-old host sitting down with Harris, the current Democratic presidential nominee. However, rather than being excited for the high-profile guest, many fans flooded the comment section to voice their disappointment and frustration. For some, the issue wasn’t just that Harris was featured, but that the show had veered into political territory at all.
“Unbelievable. One of my favorite podcasts and now I’ll never listen again,” one disgruntled user commented, while another wrote, “Listening to your podcast was a nice escape from politics… Now I’m done.” Fans who tuned in for candid discussions about relationships, sex, and advice felt blindsided by what they saw as a pivot into the political sphere, with one listener lamenting, “This feels like propaganda.”
The backlash wasn’t just limited to the decision to have Harris on the show. Some listeners criticized Cooper for not using the opportunity to ask the Vice President tougher questions on pressing issues like immigration or the Biden-Harris administration’s response to recent crises, including Hurricane Helene. “Ask her what she’s doing to help hurricane victims,” one comment read. Others wanted more focus on policy accomplishments (or lack thereof) over the past four years, questioning why Cooper hadn’t pressed Harris harder on those topics.
Adding to the controversy, Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, recently faced accusations of domestic violence dating back to 2012. While Emhoff’s team firmly denied the claims, fans noted that the Vice President failed to address the allegations during her appearance, despite her discussing domestic violence and her career as a prosecutor inspired by defending victims of abuse.
During the podcast, Harris recounted her early career aspirations, motivated by the experience of one of her high school friends, Wanda Kagan, who had suffered abuse. “We have to talk about it,” Harris said in the episode, emphasizing the importance of shedding light on domestic and child sexual assault. But while she touched on significant issues, many fans felt the interview missed the mark, sidestepping pressing current events.
To make matters worse, Harris’ appearance failed to make the splash Cooper might have anticipated. The episode’s segment on YouTube garnered only around 100,000 views in its first 16 hours—an underwhelming performance, especially compared to the podcast’s usual numbers. Worse still, the video was met with overwhelmingly negative reactions, receiving 11,000 dislikes compared to just 4,900 likes. The comments section was equally unkind, with users expressing their frustration at the timing of the interview, particularly as major issues like natural disasters remained unresolved.
NEW: Kamala Harris’ appearance on ‘Call Her Daddy’ turns into massive flop as the YouTube segment barely received 100k views in the first 16 hours with mostly negative reactions.
At the time of this post, the segment on YouTube has 4.9k likes and 11k dislikes, meaning it has a… pic.twitter.com/XyEbTCZJ45
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 7, 2024
“People in my neighboring state don’t have power, water, or roads, and our VP is talking about this,” one user commented, encapsulating the sentiment shared by many of the podcast’s once-loyal listeners.
Despite “Call Her Daddy” ranking as the second-most popular podcast on Spotify last year, second only to Joe Rogan, the show has dropped into the fifth position, beaten by “The Shawn Ryan Show” and Tucker Carlson.
