On the attack
Goop debunker buoyed by renewed attack on Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness brand
Timothy Caulfield targeted Goop’s famous founder with his last book, “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?”
Years later, the Albertabased health policy expert still believes the actress-turned-wellness entrepreneur is wrong, about so many things.
But he’s heartened by the prospect of increased scrutiny over Paltrow’s lifestyle brand and website, Goop, now in the crosshairs of the U.S. watchdog group Truth in Advertising.
“I loved it when I heard this was happening with Gwyneth,” Caulfield admits in a recent call from Edmonton, where he is a professor at the University of Alberta and a Canada research chair in health law and policy.
“Really, I think that’s great, great news. Now, whether it will work is another question but I just think it’s fantastic that the attempt is being made and it’s highlighting how this is not accurate.”
Truth in Advertising has called on California regulators to investigate Goop for using “unsubstantiated, and therefore deceptive” claims to promote its health products.
The Connecticut-based nonprofit, which fights false advertising and deceptive marketing, sent a complaint letter to two district attorneys on the California Food Drug and Medical Device Task Force, urging “appropriate enforcement action.”
Paltrow shot back on the podcast Girlboss Radio, suggesting critics are really targeting women’s rights: “There’s something that feels inherently dangerous to people about women being completely autonomous” in their sexual and psychological health, she told interviewer Sophia Amoruso.
This riled Caulfield in a big way.
“Her response drove me absolutely nuts,” says Caulfield, a longtime critic of Goop’s claims that its products can treat, cure, prevent, or alleviate the symptoms of various illnesses including depression, infertility and arthritis.