Gwyneth Paltrow is monetizing your eyerolls
Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't think her life is perfect. She smokes a cigarette each month, after all. And Goop, her rosé-tinted lifestyle brand, isn't supposed to make you perfect either.
But it still dishes out chocolate that purports to regulate your hormones, claims jade eggs can prevent vaginal prolapse, and makes a fortune on unproven medical advice disguised as quinoa breakfast bars — advice that hasn't been fact-checked since Paltrow launched Goop in 2008, The New York Times Magazine reports.
The Goop brand began as Paltrow's newsletter full of recommendations, and she celebrated when it first brought in $45 in advertising revenue, the Times says. Now it's Paltrow's $250 million pastel kingdom, selling "skincare you can drink," throwing "wellness summits," and encouraging women to know where their latex comes from. It has also rejected medical knowledge in favor of all-natural solutions to all of life's problems, like using frog venom as a psychedelic or drinking bottled water that's full of "valuable electrons."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Balancing the holistic with the capitalistic is the key to Goop's — and Paltrow's — identity. Paltrow will gladly encourage vaginal steaming, but also covet a $2,132 purse that's literally made of straw. It's an unnatural combination, and one that's grown to the point where Paltrow feels it's time to hire a fact checker, seeing as the bee sting therapy mentioned in a Goop article killed someone last year, the Times points out.
Sure, this questionable medical advice has attracted some negative attention for Goop. But Paltrow tells the Times she's perfectly happy to "monetize those eyeballs." Read more about the world of Goop in The New York Times Magazine.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 24, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - taped bananas, flying monkeys, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt Gaetz
Cartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strike
Speed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published