Why Is Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Goop’ So Controversial?

Gwyneth Paltrow is known all over the world for her impeccable acting skills. She is most known for her iconic role as Pepper Potts in the Ironman and Avengers movies.

While her popularity has rapidly grown over the years, there is one business venture that she has started that is causing her a bit of controversy. Her health brand Goop is driving millions of people all over the world crazy. 

So, what exactly is Paltrow’s new product and why is it so controversial? Here is what we know.

What is ‘Goop’?

Goop is a wellness brand that Gwyneth Paltrow created back in 2008. The website features Paltrow’s top recommendations on different things that help to allow women to live better and healthier lives.

According to the Goop website, Gwyneth Paltrow “created Goop to organize her unbiased travel recommendations, health-centric recipes, and shopping discoveries for friends, and also a place to get her own questions – about health, fitness, and psych – answered.”

The site features a full list of some of her favorite things such as clothing, cookware, vitamins, feminine hygiene products, books, and many more items that promote both physical and mental wellness.

‘Goop’ has received a lot of criticism in the past

Although the Goop website had stated that the list of recommendations was originally created for Paltrow’s friends to enjoy, people were quick to point out that many things on her list were ridiculously priced.

She may not have been suggesting that the items should be bought by the average person, however, many people thought that the fact that she posted these kinds of items online for everyone to see made her seem pretentious. Some of the extremely overpriced products included a $425 kitchen knife, a $1,220 casserole dish, and a $7,425 lamp. 

In addition to the items being way out of most people’s budget, the website also highlighted many articles that have been written by alleged experts that make outrageous claims. One article that got a lot of criticism was an article entitled “The Scary Power of Negative Words.”

The reason why this article got so much negative attention was that it had claimed that negative words were actually able to manipulate the physical structure of water. 

Following some of the advice on the ‘Goop’ website could be dangerous

While the website claims to “highlight alternative studies,” many people are claiming that most of these “studies” have no actual evidence and data to back up their claim of promoting health.

Take, for instance, the “bee sting article.” In this post, Paltrow talked about how she has been using apitherapy for years to cure her own injuries. Apitherapy is where you take live bees and make them sting. Once they have stung you, their venom is then flowing through your bloodstream and allegedly healing all sorts of aches and pains.

There have never been any real studies that prove bee stings to be a beneficial way to cure aches and pains. Also, the vice president of the board of the American Academy of Pain, W. Clay Jackson says that using bee venom can be an extremely dangerous practice for some people and the venom has even been known to cause hemorrhagic strokes.

Furthermore, a large number of people are allergic to bee venom. Some people who may have never been stung by a bee have no clue if they are allergic to bee stings or not. So, many people could be playing Russian Roulette with their life when they try these “home remedy.”

What is next from ‘Goop’?

Last year, Goop settled a lawsuit and was ordered to pay $145,000 after being sued for false advertisement for promoting a product called Jade Eggs on the website. The claim was that when a woman inserted this $66 vaginal egg inside of her, she would be able to “increase vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy.”

The court found that there was no evidence to support such claims. After the lawsuit was settled,  the Santa Clara district attorney said, “We will vigilantly protect consumers against companies that promise health benefits without the support of good science..or any science.”

So could a company that has become so controversial and even lost a lawsuit over some health claims actually get its own TV show? The answer is apparently yes. Goop has had its own podcast for quite a while and now Netflix has announced that they would like to turn that podcast into a TV series with Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop‘s chief content editor, Elise Loehnen, spending the full 30-minute show talking about different topics that have to do with spiritual and physical health.

The show is scheduled to start streaming on Netflix later this year. And although the company is very controversial, we are sure there will be plenty of people tuning in just to see what kind of crazy health claims the A-list actress will be making next.