Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has just launched a new lifestyle website called Goop. There’s not much to it yet (I think it’s still in beta), but I’m getting an Oprah/O magazine vibe from it with a focus on “nourishing the inner aspect” through recipes, travel information, shopping recommendations and tidbits on personal growth.
“My life is good because I am not passive about it. I want to nourish what is real, and I want to do it without wasting time. I love to travel, to cook, to eat, to take care of my body and mind, to work hard…
Whether you want a good place to eat in London, some advice on where to stay in Austin, the recipe I made up this week, or some thoughts from one of my sages, GOOP is a little bit of everything that makes up my life.
Make your life good. Invest in what’s real. Cook a meal for someone you love. Pause before reacting. Clean out your space. Read something beautiful. Treat yourself to something. Go to a city you’ve never been to. Learn something new. Don’t be lazy. Work out and stick with it. GOOP. Make it great.”
I’m all for women spreading a positive message online, but celebrity often brings with it vast sums of money and the freedom that comes with wealth and privilege. Certainly, celebrities are people too — frail — with families, health issues, traumatic experiences, fears and desires, but when they try to relate to working class folks on a personal level, they aren’t always aware of their own good fortune in life.
I believe she has good intentions, and I’ve always thought highly of Gwyneth. I’m sure she wants to use her star power to improve the lives of women through her website, but, honestly, cleaning out my space? What does that mean to a multi-millionaire?
Organizing or cleaning the bathroom might be fun for someone who only does it once a year because the maid stops by every Wednesday, but for regular gals that kind of household stuff is a given; cleaning happens every weekend, otherwise we live in filth. That’s all there is to it.
A few of the items she lists within the site’s mission statement (I wonder if she really wrote it) seem to have been written by someone a bit out of touch.
“Cook a meal for someone you love.” Yup, for some families (those without personal chefs), cooking “a meal for someone you love” happens three times a day.
“Don’t be lazy.” Hmm… Wouldn’t it be nice to even have the option to be lazy? I know a lot of women who can’t let up for one minute because they simply *have* to work hard to support themselves and their families.
I dunno, maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning (it happens), but I don’t know if I can relate to this lifestyle site in the way I could to Oprah’s (someone who, despite her current wealth, grew up extremely poor) or even Rachel Ray’s. I applaud Gwyneth’s efforts, but I hope to see her reflect upon how celebrity has changed her life and comment upon how wealth and privilege have changed her perspective.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Karen,
I guess maybe I’ve gotten out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, too, ’cause this site sounded a bit preachy to me. I agree that it is out of touch to tell us “normal” people to cook for our families and be real about life. With the economy the way it is right now, I think most people see life in a harshly “real” light! If I’m going to read a blog for enjoyment, I want to read something fun, like yours, rather than someone telling me how to live, who has no clue what it is like to worry about getting through the upcoming winter’s heating bills! Love your site and sorry for being a grouch 🙂
Hahaha, ok, I think this makes *three* of us who have gotten out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. Sounds kinda self-indulgent, but it *is* coming from, uh, someone who’s probably never had to worry about money and got a career right away thanks to her connections and just happens to be married to some billionaire rock star guy who brings in even more dough.
Wow, I think I just had some hater tots and washed them down with haterade. Must be that whole “struggling working student trying to pay off her student loans while the economy crumbles beneath her” vibe I have going on right now in my life!
mee toooo mee tooo – i got up on the wrong side of the bed
seriously if i had that kind of $$$ my behind sure i would love to clean etcetc
but unfortunately this is the reality of my life
i work 9-10 hours a day to come home clean and cook
weekends are reserved to laundry and deep housecleaning and grocery shopping
i mean come on that is lifes reality for the layman or laywoman
now to feel like i had some well rounded fulfillment i would love to just workout with a trainer everyday, work for charities because i just happen to have the times and the means to do so
oooohhh i am so in agreeance with Elle above i dont know if i am just jaded because of the reality of how difficult life is for the working class especially 20 – 30 somethings these days or if i just drank some “HATERADE” ( love that phrase!)
wow i must be super cranky
sorry to ruin the mood on this every always lovely blog lol
I think a lot of celebrities have no idea how they come off sounding. I remember I read an interview once with Kathy Hilton, who was talking about Paris, and saying how “hard” her daughter worked.
I’ve never forgotten that because at the time (and even now) I just wanted to laugh in the woman’s face. Paris Hilton? Hard work? PLEASE.
Jetting off to Japan to promote your new perfume, attending launch parties, going to awards shows, and starring in one bad reality show after another is NOT hard work. Maybe Paris should spend her day picking strawberries in the fields of central California, and THEN she can dare to purport that she’s a hard worker.
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I absolutely agree with your, Karen, and with the other comments up there. You know, I hardly can imagine Ms.Paltrow scrubbing one of her bathrooms. Maybe she is just the image of the project and that’s all. But the first impression I had is that the advices ere writen by a man, Lol! 😀
I’ve gotten out of the wrong side of the bed as well. 😛
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I think everyone is in agreement about this one. She is a bit out of touch with what the *reality* is of day to day life. Her reality vs. our reality is like this: when she says clean out your space, she probably means reorganize, redecorate, declutter, repaint, etc, but when I say clean out your space it means to go into the living room where my 3 kids are making a mess after a day of home schooling and changing poopie diapers – and reorganizing my lipstick – and try to make it presentable for my husband who will be coming home soon from his military post. That is reality!!! Oh, and I must also go cook dinner for the four people whom I love most!
She “nourish[es] what is real” what does that even mean? Gwyn Paltrow has made several off color remarks in the press over the years and this is just more evidence that she is out of touch with the average (in terms of income only, of course) woman. Granted, had I lived a charmed life and married a rock star I would probably be so out of touch I’d be in another solar system…but I probably wouldn’t create a lifestyle website full of my sage advice and call it GOOP no less. Call me crabby…but I won’t be checking this site out.
I love Gwyneth but let’s face it the girl is out of touch. Her family is worth $$$$$ dollars. She never has to worry about a mortgage payment or gas. Best doctors, best advice, best food, best schools.
That’s the thing about being out of touch, they don’t know they’re being out of touch in the first place.
But I don’t resent her for being naive. I resent her for being gorgeous, rich, and talented LOL!
You guys are absolutely right! Celebs are often very out of touch so when they say stuff like “cook for someone you love” it makes you want to shake them. Honey, most nights I’m too tired to cook for my damn self! I’m glad Karen was able to put this into words b/c it happens a lot…
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If I had all her money, then I would probably agree with her.
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I can’t help but think this website is a prelude to a launch of some sort of lifestyle/style brand. Like “here’s my feel good advice” and then once it gains a bit of publicity they launch a line of linens, bags, clothes, eco friendly cleansers etc…
People in the public eye never just do something like this for “fun”. It has to be some way of building a brand she is associated with.
And yes, I can barely cook for my own damn self either!!!
I’m all about spreading a positive message, too – but yeah it’ll be hard to relate.
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I find Gwyneth to be be quite condescending and patronising sometimes.She’s a woman who has everything to hand and an enormous amount of wealth ” Cook for someone you love”…what do you think we do everyday-day in and day out……
I remember her affending quite a few working mothers a few years ago, when she made a comment about taking time to look after kids and not working and those who do- well why did you have children if not to look after them”. Ya think we wouldnt given the choice….we need to feed, educate and put clothes on their back. If we had your money, then I’m sure we would love to stay home with the children, do yoga and bake cookies all day.
I do not care one way or other about this woman and as far as her telling me how to life my life, she should mind own business!!!
(Is that too mean-hahahaha LOL!!!!!!!)
Will someone please make a parody of Ms. Paltrow’s website with photoshopped pictures of her cutting coupons, shopping at the Walmart, and buying clothing at the Goodwill, driving a car that looked it was the loser in the Demolition Derby contest because she can’t afford to pay for the body work. I could go on and on….
this gets one big WHATEVER and an eye roll from me – Gywenth needs more acting work!
You took the words out of my mouth. Without getting too American Studies 101 about it, Gwyneth seems to have no sense of class privilege whatsoever. She is SO preachy and SO patronizing. I’d love to see her try to launch Goop (ugh on the name) if she actually had to do the coding, Photoshopping, writing, et cetera herself — all the while taking care of two kids and a home on her own. Methinks GP would be devouring some delivery. And I agree with Cloudburst: This is all about creating the GP lifestyle brand. Barf.
So, do you think her brand will also play off of the word Goop? (which I am now noticing starts and ends with her first and last intial–I guess I’m a little slow on the uptake there…)
Sorry, I left out an “i” in “initial”…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Oh, I needed a good laugh today. I sat here and thought, “Seriously? No, SERIOUSLY, Ms. Perfect-Rich-Pants want to give life advice? What does she know?!”
I can’t wait to see what products Gwen has that I can buy to help me achieve a stress free existence. *rolls eyes*
I’d love to see her spend a week eating ramen, cleaning up a messy apartment after her roommates and not having a car to go anywhere to top it all off. Also clipping coupons and counting every one of her dollars…
Yeah, I am a royally crabby person at the moment as well. 🙂 I like her acting, but what exactly does she bring to the table that could entice me to follow her “good living” advice? It sounds like a bunch of “goop” to me…
I don’t think everyone got up on the wrong side of the bed. I think everyone’s BS detector was firing on red-alert. GP is patronizing and ridiculous in her attempt to relate to lesser humans and tell us how it is. Spare me.
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