Gwyneth Paltrow defends wellness claims ahead of Goop Netflix show

Less than 24 hours after dividing the fashion police with her sheer brown Fendi gown at Sunday’s Golden Globes, Gwyneth Paltrow, 47, stirred up a bit more controversy by releasing a promo for her lifestyle brand Goop’s first foray into TV.

Premiering 24 January on Netflix, The Goop Lab sees the actress delving into wellness trends like energy healing and cold therapy.

“We’re here one time. One life. How can we really milk the s*** out of this?" she says in a just-released trailer for the show.

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But Paltrow’s enthusiasm for wellness claims that aren’t necessarily backed by science has worn thin with some health experts, and her upcoming show has renewed criticism that she’s promoting fads over facts.

In an appearance on CNBC’s Power Lunch on Monday, however, the Oscar winner defended seeking out “alternative ways of healing” that may help women who feel overlooked by modern medicine.

Paltrow acknowledged the issues Goop has faced in the past over its support of controversial treatments, such as the jade egg and vaginal steaming, which has resulted in the company paying a settlement over misleading claims and accusations of promoting pseudo-science. But she insisted that Goop, which introduced disclaimers in 2018, has learned from its mistakes.

“Look, well, I think when we were a little start-up and didn’t know about claims and regulatory issues and all, you know, we made a few mistakes back in the early days,” she told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.

“But, you know, for over a year now, we’ve had an incredibly robust and brilliant science and regulatory team in-house. It’s led by an MIT scientist.

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“And we’re very focused, of course, on, you know, backing up the things that we talk about with scientific claims when necessary or you know, being able to say like, ‘Hey, this is just for your entertainment.’ But it is really important. It’s like people say sometimes, we’ll talk about something and they’ll say that’s controversial. But then in six months, it’s a more widely adopted thing.

“And I think, you know, to generalise and say there’s been controversy around us, I don’t think is quite fair, especially when you look at other businesses and some of the hot water they’ve gotten into along the way.

“Like we’re really just trying to move culture forward, especially as it comes to women. And I think the reason why Goop has become as popular as it has become is because women feel largely ignored when it comes to talking to their doctors about how they’re feeling.

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“And so, they are wanting to kind of check out alternative ways of healing and having autonomy over their own health and their own selves and their own sexuality and their own relationships, whether it’s parenting or at work, etc.

“And so, I think we feel really proud about the fact we’re blazing trails a little bit and that we changed the conversation and that people, you know, seem to follow suit.”

Paltrow — who recently shared a photo of herself trying out an infrared sauna while topless — hasn’t just set her sights on TV domination. Goop will also bring its high-priced wellness summits to Celebrity Cruises, and plans to release its beauty and wellness products through Sephora in a new partnership.

When pressed by Boorstin on accusations that the aspirational Goop lifestyle is out of reach for many shoppers, the star defended the brand as “very price-sensitive.”

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“There’s actually quite a big range of price points within them,” Paltrow said. “I think, as we continue to grow and get more economies at scale, we always hope, we’re very price-sensitive. Our raw ingredients are very, very high quality and expensive.

“There’s, you know, when you’re using a lot of plastics and synthetic, that’s how you’re able to keep the price really low. So, we’re aware of the customer and potential customer and our desire to really connect with that customer that wants clean efficacious holistic beauty. And we want to be able to reach her. So, of course, we always are thinking about that.”