Bizarre Things About Gwyneth Paltrow That Are Hard To Ignore
Gwyneth Paltrow became a household name thanks to her acting talent and Hollywood pedigree, but she's made headlines for far stranger things in recent years. The star is rather passionate about wellness, to say the least, even launching her own lifestyle brand called Goop. Unfortunately for Paltow, she has been called out for promoting some controversial wellness trends. Take, for example, when she discussed what she eats in a day during a March 2023 appearance on "The Art of Being Well" podcast. "I do a nice intermittent fast," she said in a now-viral clip of the interview. "I usually eat something about 12. And in the morning, I'll have some things that won't spike my blood sugar. So, I have coffee." Paltrow went on to reveal she eats bone broth for lunch and paleo meals for dinner.
A number of TikTok users made it clear that they were not exactly on board with the Goop founder's diet; as one user dryly put it, "So coffee and bone broth are meals now." Paltrow took to social media to defend her eating habits despite the backlash. "I have been working to really focus on foods that aren't inflammatory, [and] it's been working really well," she penned in part on Instagram Stories shortly after her podcast appearance went viral. "This is based on my medical results and extensive testing I've done over time."
This wasn't the first time the "Avengers" actor had to defend herself. Keep reading for a complete overview of the bizarre things about Gwyneth Paltrow that are hard to ignore.
Gwyneth Paltrow released a controversial candle
Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand, Goop, garnered attention after it launched a candle called This Smells Like My Vagina. The product is actually a best-seller, so it seems that there are at least a few customers who weren't turned off by the name.
You might be wondering why on earth Paltrow would launch such a bizarre product. It turns out it all started as a joke. "I was with 'The Nose,' Douglas Little ... and we were kind of messing around," the actor explained during an appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." "And I smelled this beautiful thing and I was like, 'This smells like my vagina.' And I was kidding, obviously."
As headline-grabby as the name may be, Paltrow went on to share that there is also a deeper meaning behind it. "I think women, a lot of have grown up feeling certain degrees of shame around our body, or whatever," Paltrow said. "So, this is just a little bit of a, you know, subversive candle for all of us out there." The controversial candle may have resulted in success for Goop, but it also resulted in a lawsuit in 2021. Court documents from the lawsuit revealed a customer alleged their candle exploded after burning for three hours. Goop responded in a statement that read in part, "We're confident this claim is frivolous and an attempt to secure an outsized payout from a press-heavy product," per NBC News.
The actor gets bee sting facials
Gwyneth Paltrow seemingly isn't afraid to bug out when it comes to her wellness regimen. She's even willing to endure pain as part of her skincare routine. "I've been stung by bees," she in a 2016 interview with The New York Times. "It's a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy. People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It's actually pretty incredible if you research it. But, man, it's painful. I haven't done cryotherapy yet, but I do want to try that." The star also raved about this treatment on her Goop website. "I was recently given 'bee venom therapy for an old injury and it disappeared," she penned in part in an article titled "The Importance of Honey & Bee Pollen."
While this painful treatment may have worked out for Paltrow, others haven't been as lucky. In 2018, a woman died after numerous apipuncture treatments. It was later determined that she suffered a stroke following a severe allergic reaction. Medical experts have since warned others who may be tempted to try out the facial after reading about celebrities like Paltrow praise it. "The public need to be very aware of the unorthodox use of allergens such as bee venom," Amena Warner, Head of Clinical Services for Allergy UK told BBC. "This will come with risk and, in susceptible individuals, can lead to serious life threatening reactions."
Gwyneth Paltrow went on a goat milk cleanse
Along with promoting strange (and potentially harmful) beauty habits, Gwyneth Paltrow has also been criticized for participating in and encouraging controversial fad diets. The star came under fire in 2017 after sang the praises of a rather dairy-heavy cleanse. "I just tried a goat milk cleanse for eight days to rid my system of parasites," she told Shape magazine (via Red Online). "That was really interesting. It's only goat's milk and herbs. The theory is that we all have parasites, and they love the milk protein. So if you eat nothing else, they all come out of the intestinal wall and then you kill them with the herbs." Yes, for over a week, she really consumed nothing but goat milk.
Some experts have argued that there isn't much evidence to back Paltrow's claims that this cleanse would help eliminate parasites in the body. "I love a good goat cheese," gastroenterologist Dr. Kyle Staller told Stat News. "But the idea it's going to cleanse you from parasites is fraught with problems." Researcher Francesco Visioli chimed in about the misconception that goat milk has unique benefits. "As far as we know, there are no major and remarkable physiological differences between goat and cow milk," he told the outlet. Unfortunately, Paltrow's goat milk cleanse may have been just another one of her strange wellness habits that don't provide many actual benefits.
Her vaginal steaming advice raised eyebrows
While Goop is without a doubt a huge money maker for Gwyneth Paltrow, as you've probably noticed, it has also generated some bad press. The company made headlines for all the wrong reasons once again after its website shared a review for a vaginal steaming service at Tikkun Spa in Santa Monica. "We're burying the lede though, because the real golden ticket here is the Mugworth V-Steam: You sit on what is essentially a mini throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam treats you to an energetic release," the review read in part.
Paltrow endorsed vaginal steaming in an interview with The Cut in 2016 and offered up its purported benefits. "The first time I tried v-steaming, I was like, 'This is insane,'" she revealed. "Then I start to do research, and it's been in Korean medicine for thousands of years and there are real healing properties. If I find benefit to it and it's getting a lot of page views, it's a win-win." As you may have already guessed, this treatment, which involves sitting over piping hot water, might not be the most foolproof. As Dr. Lynette J. Margesson told Women's Health, it can actually do more harm than good. "The steam almost never gets inside the vagina," Margesson said. "Steaming would just affect the vulva and potentially scald the skin." In 2019, a 62-year-old woman suffered third-degree burns after undergoing vaginal steaming.
She once 'used ozone therapy rectally'
During a 2023 appearance on "The Art of Being Well," Gwyneth Paltrow shared the details of some of her strangest wellness habits. "I have used ozone therapy, uh, rectally," the actor revealed in a clip of the podcast shared to TikTok. "It's pretty weird. But very — it's been very helpful." According to Cleveland Clinic, ozone therapy has the potential to aid healing through boosting a person's immune system.
The problem? Well, there hasn't been enough research done to conduct the treatment without potentially harmful risks, according to experts. "There may potentially be a role for ozone therapy someday, but right now it hasn't been studied enough," Dr. Vickram Tejwani told Cleveland Clinic. "We need more data on the potential side effects, which could be severe, before we start offering it as a mainstream therapy or treatment."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration even warned the public about ozone therapy in 2019. "Ozone is a toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy," the FDA penned in part. "In order for ozone to be effective as a germicide, it must be present in a concentration far greater than that which can be safely tolerated by man and animals." Other experts have also chimed in to warn others about the dangers of ozone therapy. Paltrow might benefit from warning her fans and followers about the risks associated with some of the treatments she raves about.
The actor's company's claims about 'healing stickers'
With all of Gwyneth Paltrow's strange wellness habits, it did not exactly come as a shock when her lifestyle brand, Goop, began selling and promoting some pretty bizarre and questionable products. By now, you're already familiar with the aforementioned "This Smells Like My Vagina" candle. In addition to that, ahem, interesting item, Goop also promoted "harmonizing" stickers sold by a company called Body Vibes.
Goop discussed the alleged benefits of these stickers in a post on the company website. "While you're wearing them—close to your heart, on your left shoulder or arm—they'll fill in the deficiencies in your reserves, creating a calming effect, smoothing out both physical tension and anxiety," the article read in part. "The founders, both aestheticians, also say they help clear skin by reducing inflammation and boosting cell turnover."
According to CNN Money, the article also claimed that the product was "made with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses to line space suits so they can monitor an astronaut's vitals during wear." Sounds pretty out of this world, right? Well, don't get too excited: NASA debunked these claims, noting that they do not use carbon material in their suits. In response, Goop cut the claim about the space suit material that was included in the aforementioned article. "The opinions expressed by the experts and companies we profile do not necessarily represent the views of [Goop]," the company's statement read, per CNN Money.
The star's yoni eggs resulted in a hefty fine
Gwyneth Paltrow sparked outrage once again when Goop began selling yoni eggs. According to the product description on the company's website, the jade or rose quartz eggs are meant to be inserted into the vagina for healing benefits. "Yoni eggs harness the power of energy work, crystal healing, and a Kegel-like physical practice," Goop promises in the product description. The company also reportedly claimed that the eggs could regulate hormones, strengthen the pelvic floor, and more.
The Oscar winner's lifestyle brand was hit with a hefty fine in 2018 after California prosecutors determined the company made false claims about the benefits of the eggs. Per Vox, the Orange County District Attorney's Office fined the lifestyle brand $145,000 for making these "unsubstantiated" claims.
While Goop agreed to pay the fine, chief financial officer Erica Moore issued a statement that explained why the company made such claims about the eggs in the first place. "Goop provides a forum for practitioners to present their views and experiences with various products like the jade egg," Moore shared, per Vox. "The law, though, sometimes views statements like this as advertising claims, which are subject to various legal requirements...The Task Force assisted us in applying those laws to the content we published, and we appreciate their guidance in this matter as we move from a pioneer in this space to an established wellness authority."
Gwyneth Paltrow's 'conscious uncoupling' was mocked
Gwyneth Paltrow set the internet ablaze when she used the term "conscious uncoupling" to announce her divorce from Coldplay's Chris Martin on the Goop website in 2014. Despite the ridicule and questioning, Paltrow defended her choice of words in an essay she wrote for British Vogue that same year. She revealed that she actually didn't come up with the label. "I had never heard of the phrase 'conscious uncoupling,'" the star penned. "Frankly, the term sounded a bit full of itself, painfully progressive and hard to swallow. It was an idea introduced to us by our therapist, the man who helped us architect our new future."
The "Iron Man" actor went on to explain that navigating her divorce as a "conscious uncoupling" helped her and Martin successfully co-parent and remain cordial despite the separation. Paltrow also detailed her reaction to the public's response to the term. "The public's surprise gave way quickly to ire and derision," she penned. "A strange combination of mockery and anger that I had never seen. I was already pretty tattered from what had been a tough year. Frankly, the intensity of the response saw me bury my head in the sand deeper than I ever had in my very public life."
While the "conscious uncoupling" wasn't well received at first, it seems to have helped the couple remain close after their divorce. Paltrow even referred to Martin as 'brother' during an interview for "Today" in 2021.
Her privilege was put on display during her 2023 ski trial
In March 2023, Gwyneth Paltrow found herself in the courtroom after she was sued by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson. The man alleged Paltrow crashed into him at a ritzy ski resort in Park City, Utah, in 2016. The actor countersued Sanderson, claiming that he was the one who crashed into her. Throughout the trial, Paltrow's wealth and privilege was on full display, and she made a few remarks that were not only very meme-worthy, but acted as a reminder that she leads a very different lifestyle than most.
Take, for example, when Paltrow was asked to share how she was impacted by the accident. While Sanderson claimed he'd sustained life-changing injuries, Paltrow had her own gripe: "Well, we lost half a day of skiing." Naturally, this response got a lot of attention on social media, and not all of it good. "You lost half a day of skiing @GwynethPaltrow ?!" wrote one Twitter user. "Oh, please tell that to people who have lost their homes from war or natural disasters. Or those who have lost loved ones. Cry me a freaking river."
What's more, fellow celebrities also had a bit of fun with Paltrow's testimony. "Freaks and Geeks" alum Busy Philipps posted a selfie on Instagram and wrote, "Well, we lost a half day of skiing." The star even took to Instagram Stories to share a video from Paltrow's testimony and called the "Shakespeare in Love" actor's statement "Iconic."
The Iron Man actor answered some strange questions in court
When Gwyneth Paltrow headed to court in March 2023, Terry Sanderson's legal team wasn't going to let anyone forget her level of celebrity. In the end, the jury found that Paltrow was not at fault for the ski accident, and she won the $1 she asked for in her countersuit. However, before the verdict was reached, Paltrow had to field a number of questions that sounded like something straight out of "The Chris Farley Show" from "Saturday Night Live." Sanderson's attorney Kristin VanOrman speculated about Paltrow's tipping habits, gushed about her height, and dug into her relationship with Taylor Swift. At one point, after Paltrow confirmed she wears typical gear when she hits the slopes, VanOrman replied, "Probably had a better ski outfit, though, I bet." Paltrow seemingly couldn't help but laugh at VanOrman's arguably bizarre questions and comments.
While some may argue that all of these questions were part of some sort of strategy to disarm the A-lister while she was on the stand, there's no doubt that it was all fairly surreal to watch. Naturally, it made a splash on social media and it was hard to look away. As the Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon tweeted, "Gwyneth Paltrow is currently being asked what Christmas gifts she has given Taylor Swift in the past during this trial (???), the best television content I have watched in years."