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Gwyneth Paltrow has told Sky News she feels a sense of “satisfaction” in knowing her “instincts were right” regarding her move to becoming a pioneer of wellness, before it became the trillion-dollar industry it is today.

The Hollywood A-lister and Oscar winner, who has largely left acting behind after setting up her lifestyle business Goop, has faced some criticism and raised eyebrows about some aspects of the brand, including jade “yoni” vaginal eggs and guides to everything from detoxing to yawning.

However, since she launched in 2008, the wellness industry has become big business.

Gwyneth Paltrow
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Paltrow launched Goop in 2008. Pic: Reuters

Speaking to Sky News’ The UK Tonight in a UK exclusive interview, when asked how she feels looking back at some of the criticism she has received, Paltrow said: “I think it’s actually funny at this point, you know, when I look back and I think about how mean people were about a number of things.

“We always just talked about things early. I think there is maybe a satisfaction, to know that, not to be glib, but just to know that I was on to something, my instincts were right. And I think it’s reaffirming, for myself, and going forward… if I really believe in something and I think it’s interesting and I think people might want to know about it, I’m happy to share about it.”

‘You can sit in a meeting, but get the benefits from meditation’

Paltrow, 51, is now launching a new mindfulness app, Moments Of Space, which aims to teach an “eyes-open” approach to meditating. “I like to say it’s for people who think they’re too busy to meditate, or their minds are too active to meditate,” she said.

“What you essentially do, you’re kind of led through a guided meditation where you start to explore with a very softened gaze, the space – the negative space around you, the positive space around you, and you’re able to sit in a meeting and listen, but kind of get the benefits from meditation.”

Another health issue Paltrow has spoken out about is the menopause, with other celebrities such as Davina McCall in the UK and Naomi Watts in the US trying to encourage people to be more open about it.

Davina McCall at the Yesterday premiere in 2019
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Davina McCall is campaigning to educate people more about menopause. Pic: Reuters

However, in a paper on the subject published earlier this month experts, including from the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and King’s College London, said the stage of life is not a disease and is being “over-medicalised”.

Commenting on the paper, Rachel Weiss, founder of the Menopause Cafe charity, said the pendulum had swung from “‘put up and shut up’ about menopause to sensationalising”, and that there was a danger of hearing too much about “celebrity horror stories”.

Paltrow told Sky News: “I think that’s, quite frankly, really reductive and disrespectful. I think menopause has always been a very difficult thing to pass through… for me, that’s like a relic of the patriarchy, you know, trying to silence women and that therefore keeps them out of their power.

“But if we all come together and say, this is happening, let’s share information, this is nothing to be ashamed of, that’s where you see progress.”

Gwyneth Paltrow gives her acceptance speech after winning the Oscar for Best Actress at the 71st Academy Awards March 21. Paltrow won for her role in "Shakespeare in Love," which won for Best Picture. **DIGITAL IMAGE**
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Paltrow won the best actress Oscar for her performance in Shakespeare In Love in 1999. Pic: Reuters

‘I thought, this is crazy. I’m not dumb’

Speaking about making the leap from actress to businesswoman, Paltrow said the one thing she would want other women to take from her experiences would be “not being afraid to ask questions”.

She continued: “When I was starting, I was so aware of everything I didn’t know and it made me feel self-conscious and insecure. I wish I had asked questions with more frequency earlier. There was a period of time, when I started learning about e-commerce and operating an e-commerce business, I would have to Google under the table certain acronyms and stuff.

“One day I just thought, like, this is crazy. I’m not dumb, I just don’t know yet. I just haven’t learned. So I gave myself permission to really ask questions. And there’s a vulnerability in that. But I think asking questions is the fastest way to learn and succeed.”

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‘I have a spicy sense of humour’: Paltrow on viral vagina candle

Paltrow also commented on one of Goop’s most famous former products – the This Smells Like My Vagina candle – saying: “I have a very spicy sense of humour, which those who know me well know.

“That candle was really about me being tired of women having shame around their bodies and the sort of very misogynistic framework that a lot of culture operates in. And so we just thought it would be kind of punk rock and funny, having no idea it would become the viral candle that it did.”

When it comes to social media, Paltrow admitted she can find navigating it “difficult” and that some platforms can be “incredibly anxiety-provoking”.

However, she recognises it’s importance for connecting with people – and when she does post, she says she isn’t afraid to speak her mind.

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“I can’t fake it,” she said. “If I’m going to go on there, I’m going to be myself and I’m going to be honest. That’s me, for better or worse. I think I’m a very authentic person, one way or the other. So, you know, that’s my style.”

Finally, with roles for women in Hollywood becoming more varied and more considered in recent years, Paltrow commented on a potential return to the big screen.

“You know, I’m about to embark on a different phase of life, my son is going to university in the Fall, so, you know, things can shift and change. With my job as CEO at Goop, it takes up all of my time. But who knows? I’m not actively pursuing it. I am very busy with my day job, but I’ve learned enough not to say never.”

Watch our full interview with Gwyneth Paltrow on The UK Tonight on Sky News at 8pm

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Fantasy v reality: Lena Dunham’s Too Much is a new spin on the London romcom

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Fantasy v reality: Lena Dunham's Too Much is a new spin on the London romcom

Horse-drawn carriages, picturesque gardens and endless cups of tea are just some of the stereotypical tropes that have shaped America’s romanticised image of England before even stepping foot on the island.

Thanks to classical literature and a steady stream of period dramas, Lena Dunham was no exception.

“I had so many fantasies,” she tells Sky News about growing up slightly obsessed with British culture.

“I loved Jane Austen, I loved Charlotte Bronte, I love British film, I was one of those little Anglophile kids.”

The writer and director believed it would be that area of classically depicted England that would fill her time when she first moved to “jolly old London” as a teenager with her mother for a brief time.

Instead, her attention was taken by another, and possibly equally influential group of artists.

“There was a pop show about S Club 7 and all I did was just sit in the hotel and obsessively watch things relating to [the group],” she said.

“So, I didn’t go home with all this cultural British knowledge. I went home with a deep abiding love of S Club 7 and came back to school when everyone was obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

“For me, I was literally like, ‘Guys, you got to hear this hot track right off the presses, it’s called Reach For The Stars’.”

Lena Dunham in a clip from Netflix series Too Much. Pic: Netflix
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Pic: Netflix

It wasn’t until her 30s, when the actress moved again to the city, that reality took hold and she quickly learned the difference between the imagined London and the real city.

Some stereotypes hold true, like the universal love for Paddington. Still, TV tropes like renting a flat on a single income in the city does not necessarily mean you’ll be treated to lavish rooms and a picturesque garden.

She says it was social cues she found most challenging to adjust to, as well as the different dictionaries used when speaking, technically, the same language.

“You come to a new country and even though you speak the same language, you’re totally absent from those tools,” she says.

“And I found that really striking as an adult in my 30s, trying to make friends, trying to date. I found it confusing enough to be a person in my own city of origin, so this was extra confounding.”

Too Much, her new Netflix series, is loosely inspired by her own London chapter and follows a workaholic New Yorker in her 30s who is sent across the Atlantic to work on a new project.

The 10-episode show is produced by Working Title – the company behind Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, About A Boy and Love Actually – and stars Hacks breakout actress Megan Stalter and The White Lotus actor Will Sharpe.

Megan Stalter stars as Jessica in Lena Dunham's new Netflix comedy Too Much. Pic: Netflix
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Pic: Netflix

Dunham says she always wanted to write about her time in the UK, but it was a conversation with Irish actor Andrew Scott that got the ball rolling.

“Actually, he’s the reason that I came to know Meg as an actor because he loved her on Hacks and he loved her videos, and he said: ‘Have you watched this woman’s work? I feel like there’s a real connection between you two’, and I started watching because of him and built a show around her.”

In a full circle moment, Scott appears in the series briefly as an arrogantly odd man who crosses paths with Megan Stalter’s character Jessica.

Andrew Scott in Lena Dunham 's new Netflix comedy series Too Much. Pic: Netflix
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Pic: Netflix

The Ridley actor isn’t the only famous face joining the cast in a cameo role. Dunham put a call out to most of Hollywood, and luckily lots were on board.

To name just a few, guest stars include Jessica Alba, Stephen Fry, Adwoa Aboah, Kit Harington, Rita Wilson, Rita Ora, Richard E Grant, Emily Ratajkowski, Andrew Scott, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Jennifer Saunders.

“It was one of those situations where you just reach for the stars, literally, and then you can’t believe when they appear,” says Dunham.

“It was just a non-stop parade of people that I was fascinated by, wanted to be around, completely enamoured of.”

Read more from Sky News:
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In pictures: The King’s state banquet for France’s Macron

Lena Dunham speaks to Sky's entertainment reporter Debbie Ridgard
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A whole host of high-profile cameos feature in Lena Dunham’s Too Much

She adds: “I remember asking Naomi Watson, thinking, there’s absolutely no way that you’re going to want to come play this slightly demented woman. And she’s so playful and she’s so joyful and she just wanted to come and engage.

“Also, Jennifer Saunders has meant so much to me for so long, I had the AbFab box set as a kid, and I just think Patsy and Edina are the ultimate kind of messy women.

“She really showed me what comedy could be and… the space that women could occupy in comedy, and so having her come and join the show was really incredible.

“That was an episode that someone else was directing, Alicia McDonald, an amazing director, so I just got to sit and watch at the monitor like I was watching a movie, and it was very surreal for me.”

Too Much is out on Netflix now.

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‘I will not go quietly,’ Gregg Wallace says amid reports he’s been sacked by the BBC

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'I will not go quietly,' Gregg Wallace says amid reports he's been sacked by the BBC

Former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has vowed he will “not go quietly”, amid reports that he has been sacked by the BBC.

It comes after the TV host faced an investigation, commissioned by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK, into alleged inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC.

In November, the 60-year-old stepped back from presenting the cooking show after accusations that he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years.

Gregg Wallace receives his MBE for services to food and charity. Pic: PA
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Gregg Wallace received an MBE for services to food and charity in 2023. Pic: PA

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark, author and actor Emma Kennedy, and presenter Kirstie Allsopp, were among the high-profile figures who made claims of inappropriate behaviour against Wallace.

In a statement, released ahead of the publication of the summary of a report into the claims, the 60-year-old said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.

However, he said the report, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin, had found him “primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018”.

Wallace’s statement, published on Instagram, came hours before the BBC News reported that 50 more people had made claims to the corporation against the presenter, including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another.

In his statement, Wallace labelled BBC News’s claims as “uncorroborated tittle-tattle”.

Wallace wrote: “I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkin’s report – a decision I do not take lightly.

“But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others.

“I have now been cleared by the Silkin’s report of the most serious and sensational accusations made against me.

“The most damaging claims (including from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation.

“To be clear, the Silkin’s report exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.”

Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
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Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024

‘I was hired as the cheeky greengrocer – now that’s a problem’

Wallace said he recognised that “some of my humour and language” was at times “inappropriate” and, for that, he apologised “without reservation”.

“But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks,” Wallace, who also referred to his recent diagnosis of autism, added.

“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges, and all.

“For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.”

Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
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Wallace and his partner Anna Wallace, pictured in 2014

Wallace: Complaints from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’

Shortly after the allegations first emerged, Wallace recorded a video where he dismissed his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.

His remarks were met with huge criticism – including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic”.

Wallace responded by posting a follow-up clip where he apologised and said he “wasn’t in a good space” when he posted the comments.

Wallace was replaced in the 20th season of MasterChef, which aired this spring, by restaurant critic and former I‘m A Celebrity contestant Grace Dent. Several Christmas episodes of the show were also pulled from the BBC’s 2024 festive schedule.

In April, Wallace spoke to the Daily Mail, denying all accusations against him and saying he had contemplated suicide following the allegations.

Wallace’s lawyers have previously called allegations that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature “entirely false”.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”

A Banijay spokesperson told Sky News: “We won’t be commenting until our report is published.” They have signalled the report will be published later this week or next.

Banijay previously said Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with the external review.

Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015 to 2023.

He also featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.

More recently, Wallace has been promoting his health and lifestyle website, offering one-to-one coaching from both himself and a team of experts, which includes nutritionists and doctors, and his wife Anna in the role of recipe curator.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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Ozzy Osbourne reunites with Black Sabbath for ‘final bow’ in emotional metal goodbye

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Ozzy Osbourne reunites with Black Sabbath for 'final bow' in emotional metal goodbye

Ozzy Osbourne has reunited with Black Sabbath and performed his final gig – telling fans “you’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart”, in an emotional but truly metal goodbye.

Announced earlier this year, Back To The Beginning at Villa Park stadium was billed as the “final bow” for the man revered as a founder of heavy metal after several years of health problems, including Parkinson’s disease.

Rising up on a black throne featuring jewelled skulls, the 76-year-old performed a solo set before being joined by his original bandmates – Terence “Geezer” Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward – for Black Sabbath’s first performance in 20 years.

“Let the madness begin,” Osbourne cried as he appeared for the first time, telling about 40,000 fans: “It’s so good to be on this stage.”

Ozzy smiles and waves his arms. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Ozzy smiles and waves his arms. Pic: Ross Halfin

Ozzy Osbourne sings while sitting on a black throne
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Ozzy Osbourne sings while sitting on a black throne

With the crowd chanting his name, he performed both sets sitting down, but the voice and the crazed glint in his eyes were there almost throughout.

Singing fan favourites including Mr Crowley and Crazy Train, and Iron Man and Paranoid with Black Sabbath, Osbourne conducted the crowd to sing “louder, louder”, and “go f****** crazy”.

This was an orchestrated exit by heavy metal’s biggest character, with a supporting line-up of hard rock luminaries – from Slayer and Halestorm to Metallica and Guns ‘n’ Roses, plus stars including Steven Tyler, Ronnie Wood, Yungblud, Travis Barker and Chad Smith, who showed up for “supergroup” performances.

More on Ozzy Osbourne

Many said they would not be the musicians they are without Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

Ronnie Wood. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Ronnie Wood was among the hard rock luminaries in the line-up. Pic: Ross Halfin

Steven Tyler. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Stars at the concert included Steven Tyler. Pic: Ross Halfin

“You know, there’s not another guy as respected in metal as Ozzy Osbourne,” former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar told Sky News just ahead of his performance. “And for him to be sick and to be saying, I’m out, I’m done. Man. There’s no one else that can replace that.”

“Without Sabbath, there would be no Metallica,” said frontman James Hetfield during their performance.

“We’re not here to say goodbye,” said Anthrax’s Scott Ian. “We’re just here to say thank you.”

Throughout the day, giant Ozzy and Black Sabbath beach balls, in the Aston Villa claret and blue, were bounced around a jubilant crowd.

Tributes from other celebrity friends and fans, from Billy Idol and Ricky Gervais to Dolly Parton and Sir Elton John, were played on screen.

Read more: From Black Sabbath’s Prince of Darkness to reality TV star

Metallica frontman James Hetfield. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Metallica frontman James Hetfield during the show. Pic: Ross Halfin

Yungblud at the concert. Pic: Kazuyo Horie
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Yungblud also performed. Pic: Kazuyo Horie

Hollywood actor Jason Momoa, who hosted the event, told the crowd heavy metal had been a “safehaven” for many growing up, and Black Sabbath’s music had “influenced and inspired musicians” of all eras and genres.

The farewell show was the idea of Osbourne’s wife, Sharon – one final gig to finish his performing career on a high – after he was forced to cancel shows he had planned in 2023, telling fans he “never imagined” his touring days would end that way.

Sharon Osbourne told Sky News earlier this year that his one regret was not being able to say a thank you to his fans, and so the idea for the reunion gig was born.

Profits from the show will be shared between Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn’s Children’s Hospice.

Confetti rained down on fans during the show
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Confetti rained down on fans during the show

The gig came after the Black Sabbath band members were awarded the freedom of Birmingham earlier in June, recognised for their significance to the cultural and musical identity of the city they grew up in.

The group formed in 1968 and went on to become one of the most successful metal bands of all time, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide over the years.

They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 – Osbourne again later as a solo artist last year – and awarded a lifetime Ivor Novello songwriting award in 2015. In 2019, they were presented with a Grammy lifetime achievement prize.

Back To The Beginning's all star line-up. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Back To The Beginning’s all star line-up. Pic: Ross Halfin

Now, their first performance in 20 years will also be their last – one for the metal history books.

The show ended with fireworks and a roar from the crowd, who had chanted Ozzy’s name throughout.

For fans, Back To The Beginning capped it all – the ultimate rock and metal line-up, and one last opportunity to show their love for the Prince of Darkness.

“I feel lucky to be able to attend this,” said Calum Kennedy, 19, from Dunfermline. “It’s the biggest metal show known to man, [the biggest line-up] ever. I’ve never seen anything better.”

Ozzy wore a shiny black jacket and a gold armband bearing his name. Pic: Ross Halfin
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Ozzy wore a shiny black jacket and a gold armband bearing his name. Pic: Ross Halfin

Read more from Sky News:
Oasis reunion: Ultimately, it was all about the music
BBC to stop showing ‘high risk’ performances live

Ben Sutton, 24, from Chester, added: “I feel like it’s important – we’re of the younger generation – for us to see some of the heritage and history of the genre we love, metal in general. It’s such an honour to say goodbye to him.”

Steve Townson, from Lincolnshire, said: “I saw him the first time round and the fact that he’s still going is incredible, isn’t it? I was there at the start, I’m happy to be here at the end.”

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