Late last summer, there was some enticing gossip that Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter was going to do a story on Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop-ification, and how Gwyneth has passionate haters and defenders. As the months went on (with no VF story), the rumors grew around the alleged article, and it morphed into an “epic takedown” in which Gwyneth’s shenanigans would be exposed. More months of waiting followed, and still no article. Then word came that Gwyneth had panicked, that she was either trying to shut VF down or that she had played nice with Graydon Carter in exchange for more favorable coverage. Well, now we finally have the product of all of that hand-wringing. Graydon wrote about the Goop situation in the March issue, and VF just put a preview online:
In the full version of the Editor’s Letter, Carter explains that he had originally assigned contributing editor Vanessa Grigoriadis to write a story about Gwyneth Paltrow after noticing that people tend to have passionate opinions about the actress—some positive, some negative. The letter continues:
Vanessa turned in her story at the end of the summer. And it was just what had been assigned—a reasoned, reported essay on the hate/love-fest that encircles Gwyneth Paltrow. I thought it perfectly explained the whole phenomenon. But it was such a far cry from the almost mythical story that people were by now expecting—the “epic takedown,” filled with “bombshell” revelations—that it was bound to be a disappointment. What to do? I decided to sit on it for a time.
In October, Gwyneth called me. We talked for about 20 minutes about the story and her reaction, or over-reaction, to it. At one point, she asked my advice as to what to do to get the “haters” on her side. I suggested putting on 15 pounds. I joked that it works for me. She replied I had put on much more than that. Which I thought was fair and funny. Two months after the phone call, Web sites lit up with news of a truce. We received more mail, much of it now criticizing us for caving. There had also been conflicting reports that Gwyneth had coerced George Clooney into not being on our cover—clearly not true. There were reports that she was trying to scuttle our annual Oscar party, that she was going to organize a competing dinner. The Paltrow camp subsequently denied both claims.
We were in uncharted waters. At Vanity Fair, we tend to keep stories we are working on under our hats. It’s not easy being a monthly magazine in an Internet age, and since most of the publications we compete with are weeklies or dailies, when it comes to the stories still in train, a certain amount of institutional secrecy is required. The Gwyneth Paltrow saga had clearly just gotten away from us. My instinct was to continue to let it sit until people had forgotten about it, or at least until expectations had diminished. The fact is the Gwyneth Paltrow story, the one we ordered up, as delightfully written as it was, is not the one the anti-Gwynethites expect. That it has generated more mail and attention than many of the biggest stories we’ve ever published only makes the situation more complicated . . .
“I suggested putting on 15 pounds. I joked that it works for me. She replied I had put on much more than that.” Classic Goop. Always telling fat people to their fat faces that they are fat. Perhaps Graydon should have said THAT to Gwyneth: stop talking about weight so much, stop focusing on weight, stop judging people as “less than” just because they don’t juice fast every month and work out three hours a day.
So, basically, it’s just a couple of elitists bending over backwards to accommodate each other’s privilege. Of course, Gwyneth wouldn’t see it that way. She had to DEIGN to speak to a peasant like Graydon Carter (on the telephone, no less, but at least she didn’t have to see his fat face) and there isn’t a juice fast big enough to cleanse her system of that.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I think Goop came across well in this. She JOKED about him putting on more.
Same. It’s still an off comment for me from Goop- but nevertheless he wasn’t unhappy so …whatever?
I agree. If her remark, or its accuracy, didn’t offend him then no harm, no foul.
I would have enjoyed an article full of juicy gossip about GP. Oh, well.
The white dress, that’s one of her best looks. She wore it well.
Just because you say something while laughing doesn’t make it a joke. And if the tables were turned would Goop be laughing about her weight? nope.
Fair point. If the genders were switched, people would be pissed at the male for making a joke about a woman’s weight.
Well isn’t this just a big fat whoopee cushion. Loud, and full of nothing but hot air. (and everyone leaves just a wee bit embarrassed)
Ha! Perfect description.
Wow, he really HAS put on a ton of weight.
I don´t know what he looked like before, but he looks nice to me, much nicer than you know who!
She’s skinny and overprivileged. He brought us SPY Magazine.
I’d rather be intelligent than skinny.
Good grief so this supposed expose is nothing but a puff piece. Nice going VF (eyeroll)
I think it was not meant to be either. I also firmly believe what he is written as opposed to what the Internet claimed about the story
Yeah I am starting to feel like the whole internet got catfished waiting on this huge slam piece that VF was going to run.
Goop= Go Off On Peasants…..OK, I got nothin’..I just cannot stand that woman. Ugh.
I´m starting to feel the same, she´s insufferable!
She has a Tracy Anderson jaw in the first picture. She’s morphing into her buddy, it seems.
If she wants the haters to leave her alone (seriously getting them on her side is a complete pipe dream) she needs to stop talking. Like forever
amen.
I thought she was doing okay image wise in the 90s-00s, she didn’t seem obsessed with how she appeared to others. She had some mystery about her but it’s gone now, aaaand now we have GOOP.
the fact that she asked how to get haters on her side is very telling
I said all along when people on here were salivating about a take-down story and all the juicy things that would unearthed that they would be disappointed. For once, I was right in my prediction. I knew people were bound to be disappointed expecting something far more. I was pretty sure the story would have been snarky on her Marth Stewart pretensions and comments she makes and her elitist buble, just never what people were expecting, some dirty expose on her, and that the story would have many positive things about her also.
That’s what’s so annoying about her, she needs EVERYONE IN THE WORLD to adore her. She doesn’t understand that it’s normal to not be loved by everybody. She acts like we’re all just numbers on her win chart, like there’s something she can do to trigger our mass adulation and
then all of her problems will be solved. Life isn’t like Facebook, Gwyneth — the person with the most “friends” or “likes” doesn’t win. If fame isn’t working for you, that might be a hint?
That sound like a truly boring article.
…just a couple of elitists bending over backwards to accommodate each others privilege…BRILLIANT!
+ 1
+2. Perfect description.
I’d like to know who has passionate positive feelings about her? People either seem to think she’s harmless/boring/no opinion, or enjoy despising her.
Carter played up the big expose angle for more attention for VF, so to act now as if they didn’t have anything is pretty silly. His advice should have been “stop being a judgmental snob”.
Everyone! Pipe down. Pay attention! Lose some weight. Exercise more! Buy some houses and mansions! And before your singing lessons, order GOOP’s “Room in a Box” and just, you know, for heaven’s sake, like her more and live as she tells you to!
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/homestyle/gwyneth-paltrow-thinks-inside-the-box-for-interior-design-20140204-31z0l.html
The inside of Gwyneth’s house looks exactly how I expected it to look.
White is so hard to keep clean if you have anything like a normal life. Color is so much better for your walls: it brings energy with it and can be so beneficial. That’s why I just can’t go for all white walls with only those ‘designer’ pops of color.
Graydon Carter may have planned the piece as he describes, about the binary opinions she seems to elicit in people, or maybe it was truly a “slam piece” that he has since killed. I hope it was the former because I’d hate to see GOOP getting away with anything.
I would almost say I feel sorry for her, because she seems to shed “best” friends as fast as pounds. And it’s got to be exhausting caring that much what everyone thinks of you, and hating food so much you regularly starve yourself. But feeling sorry for her would be giving her more attention than I care to.
Here is the thing, that has intrigued me about this story.
Her complete freak out about the “allege” hit-piece… was very real. What is buried in her deep closet, of her well documented mean girl behavior. That she thought, was about to get expose.
What exactly ~is~ Gwyneth afraid of. People seem to be missing the fact, she has behaved like a person who was about to have her perfect PR built world blown up. But manage to kiss enough ass, to get it stopped.
That, word by word.
The fact she freaked out is more revealing than any article could ever be lol
I know! That freak out, told me there was something juicy/ugly…. she was desperate to keep quite.
I am so disappointed that we will never know what it was…
She looks like Heidi Montag minus the balloon boobs.
Just for the sake of argument, can you imagine anyone admitting to telling someone to LOSE 15 pounds? Cuz you know it happens!
She is point-black mean.
Bottom line: the reason she has so many “haters” is the woman fundamentally lacks empathy. She is unable to walk in another’s shoes.
“stop talking about weight so much, stop focusing on weight, stop judging people as “less than” just because they don’t juice fast every month and work out three hours a day.”
The fact that she asked Graydon Carter (of all people) how to make people LIKE her speaks TONS to me. For all her judging and condescension…Gwyneth is ragingly insecure girl.
But you know what? The mean girls always are. Insecure, I mean. Deep down, when you peel back all the layers of entitlement, self-righteousness and condescension, there almost always exists a girl who, at her core, is deeply insecure. And it doesn’t shock me one little bit that she deeply cares what people think of her. But unfortunately for her, she’s a narcissistic asshole and will never understand what it is that is so off-putting to the public.
I’m really starting to enjoy and appreciate what an unapologetic bitch she is. It’s actually refreshing when every day people are forced to apologize for calling things as they see them. We may have a Constitutional right to free speech but it appears we are losing our social rights to it. “Fire everyone! Words!” I’m over it. Cheers to Gwyneth for being an ice queen with impeccable and expensive taste. I would if I could.
She does have an amazing body and its obvious she works hard for it.
I love that gold dress
Hey Goopy, I’ll stop being a hater if you lend me $5,000.
Will Gwyneth (and Chris) attend the VF Oscar party?
Funny thing is that all the comments VF is already getting in response to his editorial is surely highlighting the whole point of how much people don’t like Paltrow!
You sound like a bitter jealous harpy.