Gwyneth Paltrow did an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday. I wish I could say that I poured over the video, hanging on her every word, but I had to stop the video about one minute in because her voice gets on my last nerve. If you’re made of stronger stuff, you can watch the video here. Thankfully, other sites had already pulled the best quotes. Gwyneth talked to Bloomberg News about Goop and how she’s an entrepreneur and businesswoman and brand nowadays. Which she is, I guess, although her focus is so narrow, it’s a wonder she makes any profit from peasants actually buying her crap. Some highlights:
Whether Goop.com is “out of touch”: “I think there is sometimes a miscommunication. We aren’t a super-luxury site but we’re aspirational. We have things on there that cost $4. We have things on there that cost $500. Sometimes I think that some of the criticism Goop gets is because people haven’t actually gone to the site and looked around and seen what we actually are.”
She doesn’t want to be super-involved with Goop in 20 years: “I very much want Goop to be its own stand-alone brand. I know at this point it’s inextricably me but we are a team of amazing people who bring incredible ideas to the site and it’s not only me. My dream would be that in 20 years, people would sort of recollect that I maybe had something to do with it at one point and my involvement would be less essential. I never wanted to do a proprietary brand. I wanted it to be its own thing that my children could run one day if they wanted to.”
Starting her own business: “I was a fool and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I have to say it’s been incredibly rewarding. I learn so much every day and we’re in a really exciting time in the business right now and it’s amazing to be the creative force and also to understand what’s going on on the fiscal side and with raising money and all of that. It’s very challenging. It’s a side to me that I didn’t necessarily know that I possess.”
I think she has learned a lot on the job (if you want to call it that) with Goop. I still visit Goop every now and then to see what she’s shilling, and the site is much more efficiently organized and well-run than it was in its first years. But will Goop be a stand-alone brand that will still be around in 20 years? Eh. I have my doubts. People like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez have successful brands because A) they actually make affordable stuff for peasants and B) because they work with major retailers (I think J.Lo is exclusive to Kohl’s now?). Will we see Goop at Macy’s? Or will Goop always be a minor little niche?
And Gwyneth is talking out of both sides of her mouth on the “out of touch” criticism – Goop is the very definition of “stuff rich people like.” She’s shilling $1100 blazers (the largest size is 10, because Goop has a “no fatties” rule) and $650 shorts.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.
I think the site, Like Goop herself, are troll-able.
You mean, you DON’T’the find her to be “aspirational” to you??
What a moron! SMH. (Goop, not you! ☺️)
To Paltrow, “aspirational” translates to “Learn from me, lowly peasant, and gaze upon the lovely things you’ll NEVER have HAHAHA because you are not ME.”
if I ever aspire to buy clothes pins for a dollar a piece, please slap me. uh, not everybody aspires to be ridiculous with money just because they can be.
Not only are her products ridiculous, the recipes are inane and impractical as well. One detox broth contains 16 obscure ingredients & the instruction to “make your own chilli paste or use a vegan, gluten free & shellfish free brand.” Aren’t detoxes supposed to be simple?
I’d make the point that detoxes are unnecessary as your liver and kidneys do it for you, but I think it would fall flat, considering this chick wants to steam clean her baby maker.
Yes, I do aspire to steam clean my hoo-ha. Whatever would I have done without Goop telling me about the perfect steamer?
Oh god, this woman…
Ironically, if she touts something and I hear about it (I don’t need to waste time checking out her site, did it once and was plenty to understand her “brand philosophy”, so no thanks) I go out of my way to NOT buy it. In fact I was at Sephora yesterday and realized that I will not buy any hair product that Aniston shills, any nail product that a Kartrashian endorses, etc.
Agree!!! If their greasy mitts are on it, no thanks.
She is so full of crap.
Insert cleansing joke here. 🙂
How did I miss that?! Lol!
Gwyneth needs to steam all the smugness out of her well-visited Goopgina.
i’d like to actually hear from the people who do find goop ‘aspirational’.
The only person I can think of is Jessica Seinfeld. They’ve been besties for quite some time now and both have their heads of their as**s.
I find her site fun to look at for ideas and such but I do not feel bad that I am not living her vegan or die lifestyle. I don’t think that means I find her aspirational 🙂 Hmmmmmmm.
I don’t care how much money you have, shorts are not worth $650. That’s just gross.
Unless they’re dragon emblazoned beige booty shorts with Cheez-its pockets, right?
No mimif, those would be priceless
Well, you have me there. I didn’t think of that. Lol
Uh, Sweetie……calling Goop “aspirational” with a straight face is the very definition of out-of-touch. Now, go clean yourself up with that $700 Goop face wash made of angel tears and eau de Smugness.
HaHa!! 🙂 Love this!
I did just go on the site, and you know what’s for sale? A plain white t-shirt – $90. Knit maxi dress – $750. Drawstring shorts – $290. Tank top – $220. Orange candle – $68. Ordinary looking button down shirts – $150-220.
So yes, dear Goopy, I have gone and I have seen, and I still declare you out of touch. There is no miscommunication. It’s not “aspirational”. It’s overpriced stuff marketed to the rich and privileged, but she’ll never admit that.
That’s what “aspirational” means
Who but the super rich is she trying to “aspire” to own a single shot glass worth a thousand dollars? This woman is and always will be a deluded arse.
90% of the time Goop doesn’t really bother me too much. Every once in awhile though a rage breaks through and I just wish she would go away and leave us alone. You win gwyneth, your richer, smarter and more refined than everyone. So please go be smug somewhere else. Please? Pretty please? *sigh* But she will never go away. Ever.
Richer, probably, but a UCLA Santa Barbara dropout is not smarter than everyone else.
I know, we all know, but if we humor her maybe she will feel her work is done and she will go away. I can dream.
FYI, UCLA and UCSB are different universities.
Aspirational. LOL
I do love many recipes on there, though, and it is a well laid out site, easy to navigate.
God, she is stupid.
‘Aspirational’ is a barely-disguised euphemism used all the time in advertising & marketing docs – quite cynically – to sugarcoat an outrageously priced product or service that has deeper reach beyond its supposed upper-niche target market or user base. It’s often meant to signify that the perception & idea of said product determines the value, and that overlooked (less affluent) consumers will still part with plenty of dough for it even if the demographics suggest they don’t realistically have the resources to spend in that category.
+1 Well put.
I don’t even know what she’s trying to tell us with that word but yes, it sounds like marketing speak. It’s like Prada sunglasses I guess. You can’t afford a Prada bag or a dress but you sure can scrape together enough money to buy a pair of sunnies and thus own a piece of luxury. It’s how these brands make their money. A piece of plastic is never worth $350 but we still go for it because we “aspire” to belong.
Amen.
Drawstring shorts and tank top for $510 and an out-of-the-box hair color.
More like asspirational…
exactly 🙂
+1
(And, by the way, how much for that leather face she’s sporting in these photos?)
So, in her mind, am I aspiring to the $4 item?
You know, she’s probably right. There probably are people for whom this is aspirational in the same way that buying the candles in In Style can be aspirational. It depends on who you are and where you’re starting.
So maybe I’m still just not her market. Really, though, it’s not the products I find ludicrous. It’s the “health” fads.
Uh Huh. Even Martha Stewart has partnered with major retailers over the years. And these days I think Jessica Alba’s Honest company has a better chance than GOOP. I see those ads on TV all the time lately. GOOP is very much a niche company that caters to the wealthy. If her real goal is a stand alone company in 20 years time she needs to start rebranding.
Goop…The stuff you clean out of a clogged drain.
This woman makes me stabby. Her and Kanye can both go and shill their super expensive basic looking crap, and whine to each other how they are oh so misunderstood.
Both of you. Seats. All of them.
She needs to start wearing more sunscreen. That’s sun damage on her chest if I’m not mistaken.
Most people in California / the South have that. Even in their 20s
Who would want to “aspire” to becoming vain, shallow, materialistic, a sense of feeling superior to others, and narcissistic.
I will never buy a $1200 sweater from a woman named Apple.
No blazers larger than a size 10? To that my size 12 boobs say, “We wouldn’t pay $1100 for a blazer anyway, bitch.”
You know what I find aspirational? Finding new designer clothing with tags still on at Thrift Town for a tiny fraction of the original cost. In my size. I’m a professional woman with a master’s degree who makes plenty of money, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend more than I have to to get a good quality work wardrobe.
FU, Gwyneth.
So … you don’t want to buy the blazer… but you’d also like to tell her to F off because she doesn’t carry it in your size??
She is a not too smart C list celeb, I don’t know why anyone would find her, or her website, aspirational
I’m not a huge fan of Gwyneth but I like Goop. I don’t care if she sells $1500 blazers or suggests giving someone a peacock for Xmas. I wouldn’t buy half the things on her site but I’m not offended the way some people seem to be that she is not appealing to the masses. Who the f**k cares? I think its a fun site that I sometimes visit.
I just clicked on her site for the first time and yes, the clothes are stupid expensive, but not any more so than Saks, Neiman’s, and any other high-end boutique.
She’s a rich woman who lives a privileged lifestyle and her website reflects that. I’m not going to be shopping from GOOP, but I’m not outraged by it either.
*shrugs*
ive never wanted to slap anyone so much in my life. ..
It’s $4 LIP BALM.
Lip balm! for $4!
Sure, that’s “affordable”, but I wouldn’t pay $4 for lipbalm when a $1 chapstick or carmex does the job too.
I mean, why would anyone get that unless you’re just a shallow idiot trying to show off?
The next lip balm starts at $12. And it’s “lip conditioner”
OKAY , GOOP. You really proved your point that you’re not out of touch! It’s affordable luxury, I get it, I get it….
*cough*
The smoking really did a number on her skin, hey? There’s not enough Creme de la Unicorn Tears in the world to correct that damage.
There’s no way that GOOP wants to be in Macy’s or Kohl’s. Her stuff is expensive, but she’s partnering with other, established brands – so if you have a problem with their pricing, take it up with them. Those prices may give incredible sticker shock when you think about it within the context of our normal purchases, but an $1100 blazer is VERY different than what I’d pick up at Ann Taylor (who am I kidding, why on earth would I wear a blazer?). It’s like complaining that Elizabeth and James sells their white t-shirts for $200. Yes, I can find Hanes t-shirts for $10 and they’re the same in theory, but in practice there is a difference in materials and quality.
By calling her site “aspirational,” and drawing attention to the fact that you can buy something there for $4, Gwyneth is clearly trying to market to the “average” person and not just the super rich. Which means, to me, that GOOP is, at its base, the “work” of a wealthy, narcissistic woman who wants people to see how wonderful her life is. Drawing you in with the promise of $4 lip balm just so you’ll look around her site at all the beautiful hotels she stays at when she’s in Europe is the same, to me, as if she stood on the front steps of her 26-bedroom mansion selling Big Macs, and invited people in so she could brag about how she never eats Big Macs because she’s so much better than that. It’s bizarre and incredibly narcissistic.
I hate when people use the term “aspirational” like this. None of my aspirations in life have to do with buying overpriced clothes. I don’t aspire to be stupid enough to waste money like that, or shallow enough to think that flaunting one’s wealth — if one is lucky enough to have it — is something one should “aspire” to.
In the interview Goop sounds incredibly narcissistic talking about her kids talking over her website. Are you kidding me? She thinks that in TWENTY years her two kids will WANT to run her stupid overpriced business? What does Goop do that would be in anyway good for her children? What does Goop promote that would be in any way good for kids at all!!
What a self-focused Barbie doll Gwyneth has become.
I used to think her daughter’s name was adorable, but now I associate it with the brand, and that is unfortunate.