Gwyneth Paltrow on wellness, celebrity menopause criticism, and the famous vagina candle: ‘My instincts were right’
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.
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 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.”
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
Entertainment
Hailey Bieber pregnant: Pop star Justin and wife announce they are expecting first child
Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced they are expecting their first child.
Hailey, the 27-year-old model, posted a video and a series of photos on Instagram showing off her baby bump.
Justin, 30, is also in the social media footage and has shared his wife’s post. It racked up over 1.8 million likes in less than an hour.
The announcement did not include a caption, with Hailey simply tagging her husband in the post.
The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018. The Instagram footage shows Hailey in a white lace dress during an apparent vow renewal held in a field.
Kylie Jenner was among the celebrities congratulating the couple in the comments of Hailey’s social media post.
The couple married in secret in 2018. Pic: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX
US reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, model Gigi Hadid and TV personality Chrissy Teigen also commented with their warm wishes.
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Hailey is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of actors Alec, William and Daniel Baldwin, while Justin was discovered as a singer online aged 13 and went on to become a pop sensation with his hits including Baby, Love Me and Yummy.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Canadian superstar was forced to cancel the remaining dates of his Justice world tour last year amid his ongoing recovery from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that can cause facial paralysis.
He unexpectedly stepped on stage at Coachella last month to perform the 2020 hit single Essence, alongside Wizkid, during a set by Nigerian star Tems.
Entertainment
New Lord Of The Rings film The Hunt For Gollum to be first of two new movies set in Middle Earth
The team behind the Lord Of The Rings trilogy will work on two new films, Warner Bros has announced.
Peter Jackson, the mastermind behind the epic Oscar-winning films released in 2001, 2002 and 2006, will produce the films alongside Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
Andy Serkis, known for playing Gollum in the original trilogy based on JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novels set in the world of Middle Earth, will again star as the character and direct the first of the new movies, Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum.
In a statement sure to excite fans, Serkis used Gollum’s catchphrase, saying: “Yesssss, Precious.”
He added: “The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth – Peter, Fran and Philippa.”
Andy Serkis in 2004. Pic: Reuters
The producing team “will be involved every step of the way” in the new venture, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO, David Zaslav, said.
Warner Bros. had first announced in 2023 that it was planning a number of new films set in the Lord Of The Rings world.
Jackson’s original trilogy was followed by another based on Tolkien’s prequel book, The Hobbit.
The first new film focusing on Gollum is scheduled for release in 2026.
Mr Zaslav said it will “explore storylines yet to be told”.
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Jackson, Walsh and Boyens said: “It is an honour and a privilege to travel back to Middle Earth with our good friend and collaborator, Andy Serkis, who has unfinished business with that Stinker – Gollum!
“As lifelong fans of Professor Tolkien’s vast mythology, we are proud to be working with Mike De Luca, Pam Abdy and the entire team at Warner Bros. on another epic adventure!”
Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings films, which were shot simultaneously in Jackson’s native New Zealand, won 17 Oscars.
Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson with one of his Oscar statues in 2004. Pic: Reuters
A separate animated Middle Earth movie set 200 years before the plot of The Hobbit and entitled The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim, will be out in December this year.
Entertainment
Eurovision 2024: Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters march in Malmo ahead of semi-final
Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators protested in Malmo, Sweden on Thursday against Israel’s competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Protesters waving green, white, black and red Palestinian flags packed the historic Stortorget square near Malmo’s 16th-century town hall before a planned march through the city for a rally in a park several miles from the Eurovision venue.
Police estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part. Among those in the crowd was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The march took place at the same time as Israel’s entrant – 20-year-old Eden Golan – was taking part in the final dress rehearsal for the second Eurovision semi-finals, in the Malmo arena.
During the march – which included families with young children, and people with dogs and bicycles – smoke canisters in the colours of the Palestinian flag were set off, with some protesters carrying signs displaying images of Gaza civilians who have been injured amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.
There was also a banner done in the style of Eurovision with the word “genocide” on it – an accusation vigorously denied by Israel amid the war with Hamas.
Security in Malmo is high, and extra police have been drafted in from neighbouring Denmark and Norway.
During an earlier rehearsal on Tuesday, Golan was met with boos and cries of “Free Palestine,” and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.
The EBU has said only flags that represent countries taking part, and the rainbow flag, can be brought to the event.
They have said they will remove any other “flags, symbols, clothing, items and banners being used for the likely purpose of instrumentalising the TV shows”.
Israel’s Eden Golan with Hurricane for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
The 20-year-old singer performed her song Hurricane while flanked by five backing dancers and centred around a large wheel-like prop in the centre of the stage.
Earlier lyric changes
The song has been tweaked three times, after an initial version titled October Rain was ruled too political by the EBU who believed some lyrics referred to the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.
Some still believe that some lyrics in the current song – including “Dancin’ in the storm… I’m still broken from this hurricane,” still refer to attacks which killed over 1,000 people and resulted in hundreds of hostages being taken.
In the run-up to the competition – which is the world’s largest live music event – there have been calls for Israel to be banned over their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza.
However, the EBU – which says it is an apolitical organisation – has ruled that Israel can take part as they say it has not broken any broadcasting rules.
The EBU has also condemned harassment and abuse of artists competing in the show and said they form no part of the decision-making process. As it stands no performer has withdrawn from the contest.
Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
More than 34,000 people have been killed, and over 77,000 have been injured in Gaza since the conflict began, according to Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry.
The second-semi finals
The run-through came ahead of the second semi-final this evening, which will choose the final 10 acts to go into the Grand Final.
Other acts taking part in the semi-final tonight include Norway’s Gate, San Marino’s band Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo and Danish entrant Saba, – all of whom called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the “safe return” of Israeli hostages in a joint statement in March.
The UK’s act, Olly Alexander, and Ireland’s Bambie Thug were also part of the joint statement. Both performed in the first semi-final on Tuesday and will be performing in the final.
The artists rejected calls from Palestinian groups to boycott the music contest, saying they “firmly believe in the unifying power of music”.
Golan, who has been performing since she was nine years old, left Israel when she was six to live in Russia with her family, but returned when she was 18.
She told ITV News she could not have asked “for a better year to be representing my country” earlier this week.
The Grand Final will see 26 countries battle it out on Saturday night.
Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the contest as it happens.
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