DID GOOP’S RISQUÉ MOVE DRIVE GWYNETH AWAY?
GWYNETH PALTROW FANS risked spilling their chia smoothies last week, when it was announced that the wellness guru is planning to consciously uncouple from her lifestyle brand Goop. Speaking at the 2016 Sage Summit, she described running the business as an ‘amazing journey’, but added, ‘In order to build the brand I want to build, its scalability is limited if I connect to it. So I always think: “How can I grow the brand? How can I separate myself from it?” and I think it’s going to be more its own brand. My dream is that one day no one will remember I had anything to do with it.’
Her comments come just months after Gwyneth, who launched Goop as a weekly newsletter in 2008, revealed she was quitting acting to ‘focus completely’ on the website. So why is she suddenly so keen to distance herself from the blog that introduced us to vagina steaming, 24-carat gold dildos and sex bark?
According to one source, ‘People treat Goop as a bit of a joke, but to Gwyneth it is anything but. It’s been her baby since day dot and she’s desperate to see it grow, but worries that the association with her risks turning people off. In the past, she’s been hurt to see her high-maintenance lifestyle ridiculed, and speculated that her profile turned off potential investors. She also doesn’t want to be so personally associated with everything the website promotes, especially the more risqué elements. She’s concerned that along with her hand in private members’ club Snctm [which holds erotic parties in the US and has been featured in Goop], she may appear a bit tawdry, and wants to be perceived as more wholesome. She also sees herself as very down to earth, but
admits that’s hard to reconcile with selling products for tens of thousands of pounds.’
Gwyneth, 43, has previously spoken about her public reputation. Appearing at Cannes Lions in June, she expressed her shock at topping a 2013 survey of hated A-listers. ‘I was like, “I’m the most hated celebrity? More than, like, Chris Brown?” What did I do?’ she said. ‘All I can do is be my authentic self. If you know me, you know who I am and that I have fun and eat and am so appreciative for my life. But there are things about me that make people draw conclusions. People think I eat just seaweed and a bit of air. I have never had a horrible experience with French fries. French fries are my life!’