The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Is "Call Her Daddy" Alex Cooper A Hypocrite?

Episode Date: April 1, 2026

Taylor Frankie Paul's season of The Bachelorette was pulled from the air, but in a shocking twist, her baby daddy, Dakota, was announced as a cast member of a new reality competition show!Ben and Producer Heather have the latest and break down the other controversial cast members!It raises the question: should contestants be allowed to compete for a cash prize while investigations are open? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Get yours before they sell out at Ticketmaster.com. This is. is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. It's the almost famous podcast. As we've been covering the fallout, what would have been, Taylor-Frank Paul's season of The Bachelorette, we wanted to bring you some additional headline news

that recently came out. This week, Alex Cooper of Call Her Daddy, announced the cast for her new YouTube show Unwell Winter Games, premiering April 6th. Some Bachelor Nation favorites are also in the minute, mix. We have a lot to cover when it comes to this episode. Let's start with the Bachelor Nation favorites. Joe and Serena, who recently joined Alex Cooper's podcasting network, are at this unwell winter games. Heather, we did a winter game for The Bachelor years ago. Ashley and myself were

both a part of it. We were on this show. A lot happened in both of our lives. For me, it was very uncomfortable, didn't want to be there, and not didn't want to be there like I was forced to be there. I chose to be there. Once I got there, I was like, this is not for me. I'm not ready for this yet. Ashley did have a little bit of a love interest on the show and also was very out of her element when it came to Winter Sports, which added a very comedic element for me living in the house. The show I thought was well done. It did not get great viewership. Nobody really watched it. But if you did watch it, I think you would say, yeah, that's a lot. I think you would say, yeah, was a pretty good show. It kept me entertained. It had good competitions. It had good challenges.

It was a beautiful setting. There were some great cast members there. They brought in people from all over the world who were part of Bachelor Nation in different countries to be a part of this. I loved it. It was a lot of fun to be in the house when it wasn't pressured for dating or, hey, are you going to meet anybody and all those things. I'm curious if Alex Cooper's is going to be similar. I'm guessing it is going to be winter sports focused, but it's almost, summer. Like, we're moving out of winter. Yeah. And it feels, I wonder what you think about that. It felt like maybe your show, Winter Games, was probably not taped in the winter. Or was it? Ours was. Yours was. So how long was yours held on to then?

It was a pretty quick turnaround. Okay. It was not long. Okay. So that's what I thought. I thought with this show, I was like, oh, they probably just filmed this in the winter in Utah and probably the goal was to turn it around fairly quickly and I feel like it's been delayed and maybe it's been delayed because of a lot of these contestants having some stuff that's come out in recent weeks that is slightly problematic. Do you know this? This might be a little bit too much. This news just came out to us. We're just learning about this show, just understanding the cast. I saw on social media that Joe and Serena were in Utah, it looks like.

So are they filming it and putting it out within like the same week? No, I think that this was already filmed. Okay, this was already filmed. So when were you seeing Joe and Serena in Utah? Today on social media. On Joe's social media, they posted, I would love to understand if this is going to be one of those almost live shows where they're not editing much out. know how they would do that. I don't think so. I get the vibe that they these clips you're

seeing on their social media were held. I think these are I think these are old. Okay. Yeah, because because I can't imagine Dakota filming a show right now because he has full custody of his son with Taylor. So like how would he even be navigating that right now? Let's dive into this. Obviously, we love Joe and Serena. They're great. They're fun. They're sweet.

They're great. There's not a lot to talk about them other than, hey, I'm glad they're on our TVs again. They're good people. They're going to be a lot of fun. But there are some interesting cast members that are a part of this show. Yes. I'm really curious to see if Dakota is going to promote the show like Joe and Serena did. Because it does feel very weird.

to me. And this is my own personal opinion. It feels weird to me to know that you've been in the headlines because your ex, or I guess your ex and also the woman that birthed your child season of The Bachelorette was canceled due to a situation that you're involved in, that you're still involved in, that you hold full custody of the child right now because of this situation that just happened, and that you be promoting your, show that you're going on. That feels to me, and tell me if I'm wrong, it just feels messy.

I could probably put more language behind that. It feels super weird. It would feel very strange if he's out here. And I haven't checked his social media actually in the last 24 hours, but I can pull it up right now. But yeah, I think that is safe to say that that would feel

very weird to have been going through this huge media blitz in the last two weeks. and then to turn around and be like, and hey, tune into this YouTube show that I'm on, where I'm competing and maybe flirting. Like, we don't really know the full concept of what's going to happen on this show, other than that they're competing in challenges, but like some of these people are single.

Some of them aren't. I just looked at his Instagram. He has not posted anything. So he's not promoting this at all, not even on his stories, it looks like. So, yeah, and not only. is Dakota on this cast, but so is Demi from Secret Lives, who is a former or current mom talk member. I mean, it kind of is questionable what's going on with Mom Talk. But she also has a situation that's kind of playing out right now because she's currently in a defamation lawsuit with Vanderpump Villa Star Marciano.

And we've been seeing that play out in the headlines. He's suing her for defamation. And then we've got this pending domestic violence thing going on with Dakota. We also have Huda from this past season of Love Island, who currently has a restraining order out against her from her current boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. That's literally just happened within the last two weeks. So that's why I kind of feel like this show might have been on a bit of a delay in the last couple of weeks because I think, Also, I noticed Alex Cooper when she announced the cast only promoted it to her Instagram stories and left her unwell brand to do all the rest of the posting.

I think that that was a calculated thing in a lot of ways. And we can go into some of the comments that I've seen. But I think we'll just say what the synopsis of the show is it's set to premiere on YouTube next week. It's four episodes and brings together 16 contestants at a lot. luxury chalet in Park City, Utah to compete in a series of mental and physical challenges over four days. They're divided into two teams, one purple and the other blue, with one team winning the final team prize. In addition, competitors will individually compete for cash prizes throughout the challenges that make up the competition. The series was shot this past winter and

was approved for film incentive money by the Utah Board of Tourism Development. Interesting. Okay. So it was shot already. They've decided to come out with it. And I think that's an element here that we should discuss. There's, you didn't mention Anna Delvey.

Oh yeah, Anna Delvey being in the cast, obviously, is a very controversial move. Did you know what her situation was about that she was a artist? Yeah, I've watched the whole Netflix show and then also she was on Dance with the Stars. Yeah.

I guess and just help me make sense of it. I look at this cast, I'm like, okay, there's some stuff here, right? Like some stuff that we should be, I would assume that society still takes very seriously. Some stuff that like is harmful or has hurt themselves or others in the process. And yet it feels like those are the people right now that we are promoting to. the biggest platforms and the biggest stages. I think the only thing I have to say is, is it, I don't want to say it like a question, I think my initial reaction is this and I'll say it.

It feels to me almost hypocritical for Taylor Frankie Paul. And again, I don't agree with what happened there. I think it should have ended. I don't think the show should have aired. Yeah. For that season not to air, but yet Dakota is out here two weeks later. later on a new show that is not getting the same type of recourse or questions. And from my understanding, and Heather, you've been tracking this and following this.

Like, yes, the video in 2023 is really bad. It makes sense, again, on why ABC did what they did. But he's not clean in all of this yet either. No, there's a huge question mark on what happened in February. still don't know. He has said one thing. She has said another. We, he brought a last week. We now know that he is filing charges for a situation that happened in 2024 with her, which we don't know the details on. We don't know what's going on with that. So who's to say this show starts, you know, on April 6th, but something happens with him tomorrow where he gets charges brought against him.

what are you going to do in that situation? Are you going to air this show? Are you going to scrap it? Same thing with the Huda thing. She has a active restraining order out against her from a woman. And I won't go into all the details. You can read them online about what she's been accused of, violent threats, things like that. And I just think that there's no way that these conversations that you and I are having right now didn't happen on the production side of this show, especially yesterday when they were in the process of making the announcement of their cast. I think the internet is more of a Wild West compared to television, which...

That's what I was going to ask. Is it a different standard when it comes to network television or YouTube? 100%. They're not having to cater to the same kinds of ad. buyers, I feel like on YouTube, right? It's like a huge part of the money that they're going to be making on this show is based on clicks, not on necessarily ads. So that's your free will, right? To go and watch the show, click on it, and that is going to attribute to them making money. Are there probably some sort of ad integrations in this show? I would expect so. And it goes back,

though, to what we were kind of talking about with the network, choosing to make the pull. It's a morality decision at some point. Do you morally want to continue to give a platform to people that have a checkered past or have questionable things going on currently in their lives that we don't know all the details on? Do you want to take that risk and give them a platform? And does this fit with the Alex Cooper brand that she has been promoting in the last couple of years, which is very female forward, very female independent, very women's rights focused. And remember, she was the one who made the initial announcement and did the full interview

with Taylor Frankie Paul, helping her to set the record straight as to why she deserved this opportunity about her background, taking accountability, to then talk about her toxic relationship with Dakota and then turn around and give said toxic man a platform. It feels a little like you said, hypocritical in some ways. It's, I'm sure these conversations have existed, like you said, in the production room already. And, you know, they decided to still announce that this show was happening. I don't, I mean, I think they could have paused it and nobody really would have known. But then we're further away from winter. The longer you pause, we're further away from winter. and when does it then make sense to air it?

You know, so it's, I understand they're, they're on a time table as well. It's either they air it or they don't. I don't think that they actually had the opportunity to pause it much longer. I assume that they did for a second. But I think we should read some of the feedback. Yeah, I haven't seen any of this. You have all of this. Yeah.

I, I just, I hope the listener's tracking with the, like, thought process here of this just feels And I mean, goodness, unfortunately for the Unwell Network, this is ill time no matter what at this point. Like, it is stuff happened outside of, you know, this show specifically with a large cast that made them have these conversations in the background. And they probably have a lot of money into the show. And it's one of their first shows that they're, you know, launching. I agree. But I will say that Anna Delby is a choice, right? All of her stuff happened long.

for filming. But Disney had her on. Exactly. The Stars. So if, you know, they fell on the sword for it. And they did have a lot of negative feedback. I do remember that, you know, coming out of the show. But she made it, you know, didn't she make it reasonably far?

No. She got kicked off really early on. Okay. But, yeah, it's a choice. It's a choice, though. The other things, the Dakota stuff, the Huda stuff, the Demi stuff. That all has really come out in the last, like, month or so. Yeah, I mean, some of these comments that were left on the unwell page,

Bream Z News underscore said, Alex, do not piss me off. Why would you have Dakota on this show? He is involved in a serious investigation. Do better and don't do everything for views, shaking my head. Another, Olivia Pegg Ram X says, why does Taylor's show get canceled and then Dakota gets an opportunity? Has nobody watched Tell Me Lies? He is not worthy of this opportunity. People went on to say Dakota and Huda, what are you doing? I spy domestic abuse and filed restraining orders all over this lineup with a mix of actual cool people.

What is happening? Are there no standards anymore? And I think that just kind of goes back to what you and I were just discussing. It feels like the wild cards are just being given opportunity time and time again when other people have to jump through hoops and have to pass background checks and things like that. It just seems like celebrities and I use the term celebrity very loosely when talking about this lineup is given things and cut corners. and we just saw how cutting corners for somebody ended up. It ended up with a show being put on the cutting room floor. So I guess it'll be interesting to see if people click on this and watch it or if anything else comes out before this show premieres. But I think it's kind of a weird move for a female founder

who has built this gigantic platform on women and women's stories. and women kind of going against the grain, it just feels a little off. Wants to send you and a friend with flights from tripcentral.ca. Two nights at Sheridan Center, Toronto. Tickets to Bruno Mars and $1,000 to cash. Don't believe me, just what. Download the free IHard Radio app. Listen to Iheart new music for 10 minutes.

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Almost 30 years together, four kids and some of reality TV's most unforgettable moments, we know a thing or two about living life out loud. We're taking you behind the scenes in our new podcast, Between Us, with me, Heather Dubrow. And me, Terry Debrough. Between Us, isn't about perfect lighting or curated Instagram grids. It's the unfiltered behind-closed doors conversations you wish you could eavesdrop on. Equal parts, smart, funny, and a little bit scandalous. Every week, Heather would bring you an unapologetic take on the headlines, the trends, and the cultural moments everyone's texting about. And Terry will deliver insider beauty, health, and wellness insights you won't find on TikTok.

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And this is the cast that was brought out to the public and now it works. Do we just continue down this lane of bringing on people who have a questionable past because they are in the headlines, because they are making the news? Do we just keep bringing them on these shows because we, you know, production companies believe that that's who, you know, what the viewers want? I think it's a little hard for me to determine what. what would be a success for this show and what would be a fail. I think obviously a fail would be very low view count or something.

But like, does high view count mean that it actually retained people? Does it actually mean that people are watching it and then going and talking about it with their friends and their family and telling other people to go watch it? That is what I determined to be more successful. So it's hard for me to understand what a success. would be for a YouTube show. Also, the fact that there's only four episodes means that to me that the bar is pretty low in terms of success. Shooting four episodes is a heck of a lot cheaper than shooting 10. So is it like we get a million views for four videos? That sounds successful then, you know, because we didn't put a lot into it. So it's going to be hard to determine, I think, what makes

this show, quote unquote, successful or if they're just looking at it as successful because it's in the headlines and it's already getting a lot of buzz. Yeah, and it's promoting the shows that are in her network like the Joan Serena show and her talent. And so if it's, if this is a promotion or marketing play, then yeah, it would be hard to know what's a success or not. It's going to be interesting. It was just announced. We wanted to break it down for you here at the almost famous podcast because there are Bachelor Nation contestants that are involved in this show. And then obviously we have

kind of the buzz around the show with the cast that was announced as well. Heather will watch and see, I'm getting older, but I want to watch like really like fun people do fun things. I don't necessarily love to come on this show and break down headlines

that feel very serious. every week and talk about them to the point where you almost get calloused to the whatever's happening in somebody else's world. Like, I don't want to get there. That's kind of my hope is as a society, as a as a viewership, as a listener base, we don't get calloused to these things that are really affecting human lives and affecting people and are hurting people in the process, just because then, you know, obviously those are the people that are finding the most success by getting on every reality television show that's out there. But that's like probably my old man like stance that most people would disagree with.

And they're like, no, we love watching the messiness. Well, maybe our listeners should tell us if they want us to break down more episodes. I would love for them to. Please tell us. We'll listen to you. But that's kind of my initial thoughts on this whole thing. Heather, always a pleasure to have you. It's always a gift to have you.

Thanks for the work that you do behind the scenes to bring. this to our listening ears. We will continue to break down the last episode of Bachelor Mansion Reno, along with the start of the road. I said Bachelor. It's not The Bachelor. It's very different, actually. The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.

We will be breaking it down here in the almost famous podcast with a very special host. And don't forget, we're also breaking down Love Overboard, the new Gabby Windy show with Oh my goodness. You guys are making me watch a lot of reality television these days. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's great. That's another Alex Cooper show, right?

That is. That's produced by Alex Cooper. And I will say we've done the first four episodes so far. And we're loving it. It's actually a really, really good show. It was my birthday week last week. So I was kind of out hanging out. And so I'm diving back in to all the news, all the shows.

all the things that are happening. But I will say, Heather, as much as you love overboard, I am so excited to be breaking down the Real Housewives of Rhode Island with this incredible get as a co-host that we have. Ashley cannot be co-hosting those episodes for obvious reasons. And we have an incredible co-host

that I think is going to bring a piece to this show that will make all of our listeners very happy. We'll be announcing that soon on the very first. breakdown of the Real Housewives of Rhode Island. So stay tuned, listen in. Until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Heather. We'll talk to you soon.

Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Miles Turner. And I'm Brianna Stewart. And our podcast, Game Recognized Game, has never been done before. Two active players giving you a real look

at our lives and what we actually think, on and off the court. Nothing's off limits. We talk tanking. I might get in trouble for this answer, but I think it's, like, definitely happening in the WBA. We talk about our mistakes, too. They pulled me to the side and was like, hey, man,

we got a call last night, man. You can't be rolling around the city like this tonight before games. Check out Game Recognized Game with Stoian Miles on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of IHeart Media, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of My Heart. marketing. Math and magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while

sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this seasonal math and magic, CEO of Liquid Death Mike Sessario. People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower. It's really like a stone sculpture. You're constantly just chipping away and refining. Take two interactive CEO, Strauss Selnick, and our own chief business officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Pie, or wherever you get your podcast. It's the new me and it's the old them. This Woman's History Month,

the podcast, If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes, spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power. My like tunnel vision of like, I gotta achieve this was off the strengths of like I want to make a better life for us. If You Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it, unpacking career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This Women's History Month, the podcast Keep It Posit, Sweetie, celebrates the power of women choosing healing, purpose, and faith, even when life gets messy. Love is not a destination. You have to work on it every day. Keep It Posit, Sweetie creates space for honest conversations on self-worth, love, growth, and navigating life with grace and grid led by women who uplift, inspire,

and tell the truth out loud. I have several conversations with God, and I know. Why? It took the 20 years. To hear this and more, listen to Keep It Posit, Sweetie, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday, May 2nd, country's biggest stars will be in Austin, Texas. At our 2026, IHeart Country Festival presented by Capital One. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours before they sell out at Ticketmaster.com.

That's Ticketmaster.com. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.