If there’s one thing which all non-Paltrow stans agree upon it’s that Gwyneth Paltrow is a bit of a joke and undeserving of respect.
Born into showbiz royalty (her godfather is Steven Spielberg, for freak’s sake!) she epitomises the cliche of the privileged elite wafting through life and never knowing the struggles of the real world.
From winning an arguably underserved Oscar to hawking nonsense on her GOOP site to speaking in airy-fairy New Age psychobabble about “conscious uncoupling” to forgetting who her co-stars are, there’s no shortage of reasons to hate on her.
So for everyone who’s already made their mind up that she’s a cipher of a caricature of a cartoon, it’s a little surprising to be reminded that she’s also one of the foundations of the #metoo movement – specifically, in terms of bringing down Hollywood mogul and serial abuser Harvey Weinstein.
New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey discovered this when they were attempting to get some of Weinstein’s alleged victims to speak on the record. Many had signed non-disclosure agreements. All knew it could end their careers.
But as Kanton and Twohey gained the trust of these women, it was Paltrow – the A-lister whose very success meant she had the most to lose – that hosted a meeting in her house for the women to share stories.
In that, it was Gwyneth Paltrow that convinced Ashley Judd to go on the record and report what Weinstein had done to her, and to eventually add her star power to the litany of complaints against the producer. That’s huge, and hugely deserving of respect.
And now making fun of her jade eggs and choice of baby names just doesn’t seem as potent, knowing that she was instrumental in beginning a worldwide movement to hold predatory men to account. It’s time to give Gwyneth Paltrow the respect she deserves.
GOOP is still snake oil though. Let’s never forget that.