Gwyneth Paltrow’s Netflix series The Goop Lab, about her alternative lifestyle brand worth more than 250 million dollars, raises quite a few eyebrows and makes some people very angry. Despite the tremendous success of her brand, the former actress turned lifestyle guru is under scrutiny for her health claims and for recommending medically dubious, when not dangerous, treatments. As a result, her company has already faced several legal actions. And it had to pay a 145.000 dollars fine for making fraudulent claims. That is because Goop sells vagina jade eggs to balance hormones, improve bladder control, and regulate menstrual cycles. But gynaecologists proved that they could cause bacterial infections instead.
Over the years, Gwyneth Paltrow has been ridiculed for her absurd claims, becoming a bit like Trump and Kanye West. Nevertheless, she has a legion of adoring fans following her pieces of health advice. Among the surreal and costly products Gwyneth Paltrow sells, you’ll find perfume and candles called “This Smells Like My Vagina”. According to Goop, it’s a “funny, gorgeous, sexy and beautifully unexpected scent.” And the description goes on; “it’s a mix of “geranium, citrusy bergamot and cedarwood absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed.” I wonder how anyone was able to pick up on all these scents up there.
An article in Rolling Stone magazine puts the Netflix show under a magnifying glass. And here are Gwyneth Paltrow’s most surreal health claims they’ve fact-checked.
This article was originally authored in 2021, but in light of Ms Gwyneth Paltrow’s ongoing dissemination of unscientific beliefs and practices that can jeopardize the welfare of her followers, we have revised and republished it.
1- Psychedelic mushrooms for anxiety and depression
The Goop team goes to Jamaica in the first episode of the Netflix show to take psychedelic mushrooms. They expect to heal traumas thanks to the drug, Shamans and smudge sticks in the best New Age fashion. Paltrow interviews members of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. MDMA researches psychedelics for therapeutic purposes, such as treating depression, PTSD, and anxiety. One of the MDMA doctors implies that psychedelic-assisted treatment doesn’t have the terrible side effects of anti-depressants. But he fails to mention the dangers of taking a drug that causes rising body temperature, faintness, and high blood pressure.
2- Vampire Facials à la Kim Kardashian
The vampire facial treatment that Kim Kardashian turned famous for is another controversial topic in Gwyneth Paltrow’s Netflix show. After undergoing the beauty procedure, Paltrow claims she looks five years younger. But we prefer to believe Rolling Stone which states she looks exactly the same. Additionally, there is no medical evidence that supports this expensive and painful practice. Moreover, the New Mexico Department of Health closed down a spa in 2018 after the facial infected two customers with HIV.
3- Talking with the dead
Goop also explores talking with the dead to heal grief by finding an endless source of connection. So, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Netflix show presents a medium that claims she can communicate with the dead through an invisible screen. They then interview Dr Julie Beischel, an “expert” from the Windbridge Research Center, who claims scientific evidence supports psychic abilities, suggesting clairvoyance is a legitimate area of study. But, of course, the Dr forgets to mention that the Windbridge Research Center is, in fact, a donation-supported centre she and her husband run. In addition, Dr Beischel has a degree in pharmacology and toxicology, which doesn’t really make her an expert on the afterlife but instead has you wonder what kind of substances would make you think you’re talking with the dead.
4- Energy healing
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Netflix show presents in another episode the Goop team undergoing energy healing sessions. While the chiropractor waves his hands over them, they contort their bodies ecstatically and then state they’ve been cured of their traumas. Paltrow, for example, claims the practice cured the trauma the C-section caused her when her daughter was born. The chiropractor goes on to say, “When our bodies are cut into, we don’t think about the energetic planes we’re rupturing.” So, according to the show, you can alleviate trauma and physical pain by manipulating the energy field around a person. But, again, a claim with no medical evidence whatsoever, which doesn’t seem to bother Goop’s devotees.
4- Other Gwyneth Paltrow psychedelic claims
The latest of a series of dangerous claims the actress has made was that herbal teas, infrared saunas, and fasting could cure long COVID. Before that, the non-profit group Truth in Advertising examined the health claims of 50 Goop products and filed formal complaints against them. For example, a vaginal steamer to “clean your uterus”, which caused second-degree burns instead. But as we’ve heard so many times before, there’s no such thing as bad publicity; hence Goop’s sales keep growing. All in all, Gwyneth Paltrow exploiting the idea of women’s empowerment to sell Goop products with unsound claims is already outrageous enough. Now, having to sit through her Netflix show pseudoscience, that’s more than I can bear. Not to mention that the bizarre health treatments it promotes can be downright harmful and dangerous to her gullible fans.
Photo via Shutterstock and Netflix