Alex Cooper revealed she was sexually harassed by her college soccer coach in her new documentary, “Call Her Alex,” then told a Tribeca Film Festival audience Sunday that it “changed my life forever.”
The “Call Her Daddy” podcast star fielded a Q&A session after the Hulu docuseries about her premiered, leaving spectators gasping when she made the stunning claim, Deadline wrote. She said while on stage that she had waited several years to go public because it was difficult to reopen the wound.
Cooper alleged in “Call Her Alex” that her then-coach at Boston University, Nancy Feldman, made comments about her body, constantly attempted to be alone with her, asked her sexual questions, and made unwelcome efforts to touch her thigh, multiple outlets reported. Cooper claimed that attempts to distance herself from Feldman resulted in less playing time.
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Lawyers warned Cooper and her parents that the school would “drag out” a complaint for years, and the university did not respond to documentation of Feldman’s misconduct, Cooper said, per reports.
Cooper played for Boston University from 2013 to 2015. Feldman retired in 2022.
Cooper returned to campus for the filming of the documentary.
“The minute I stepped back on that field, I felt so small,” Cooper said as she broke into tears during the Q&A and got a roaring ovation of support. “I just felt like I was 18 years old again, and I was in a situation with someone in a position of power who abused their power, and I felt like I wasn’t the ‘Call Her Daddy’ girl. I wasn’t someone who had money and influence or whatever. I was just another woman who experienced harassment on a level that changed my life forever and took away the thing I loved the most.”
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Cooper once credited the still-undisclosed trauma for guiding her into podcasting, where she averages millions of listeners per episode. She also joined NBC for its coverage of the Paris Olympics last summer.
HuffPost has reached out to Boston University for comment and left a message at a purported number for Feldman.
The “Call Me Alex” docuseries premieres on Hulu June 10.
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