Gwyneth Paltrow gives Mario Batali free gym membership

Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Bassols, Mario Batali and Mark Bittman

Gwyneth “The Goop” Paltrow is so perfect that she only has perfect friends. Well, with one exception – fattie chef Mario Batali. At least that appears to be the way Gwyneth sees him. I think Batali does a good job of pulling off his look; somehow it works for him. But according to Page Six, Gwyneth gave Mario a free membership to her massively overprice gym. Not just for his health, and not because she’s worried about him. But because she only has one fat friend, and it’s Mario.

OVER the years, Mario “Fanta Pants” Batali’s weight has ballooned along with his ego. It’s gotten so bad, insiders said, that his pal Gwyneth Paltrow gave him a free membership to the pricey gym that she and her fitness friend Tracy Anderson are opening in TriBeCa this summer, saving him the $4,500 membership fee and monthly bills. An insider said, “Mario is the only fat friend she has, and [she] wants him to change.” A rep for Paltrow didn’t return e-mails.

[From Page Six]

If Gwyneth wants someone to change, they better hop to it! Heaven forbid anyone not measure up to The Goop’s standards. It really bugs me that it seems to have nothing to do with Mario’s health, but more that Gwyneth has a fat friend. The horror! And not that she’d give a crap, but pushing health and fitness on someone doesn’t work. They’ll make a change when and if they’re ready. All stuff like this does is alienate a friend and make them feel self-conscious. For three birthdays in a row all my dad gave me was running shoes, even though I do not run, nor have I ever expressed anything but massive disdain for sports. Do you think it got me out on the track every morning? All it made me want to do was kick him in the ear.

Nonetheless, Mario and Gwyneth still seem to be friends, as he’s stuck up for her during her whole “frenemy” debacle – joking that he is in fact said frenemy.

Gwyneth Paltrow wasn’t referring to Winona Ryder when she recently wrote about a “frenemy” who was once “hell-bent” on taking her down. She was referring to Mario Batali, jokes the chef, her Spain … On the Road Again cohost. At the NYC Food Bank’s Can-Do Awards on Tuesday, Batali kidded about rumors that Ryder and Paltrow’s friendship soured after Paltrow went after Ryder’s part in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love.

“Well, I wanted the part as well, too, I must point out,” Batali joked with Us. “And I said some very nasty things about both those girls in the bathroom one day. And thank God there were no blogs yet at that time because no one was able to write it down!” Kidding aside, he said he thought it was interesting that bloggers began speculating that Paltrow was referring to Ryder.

“People who used to have to try to write a letter to get it published by the editor now can write it and have it immediately published and have it become actual fact in no time at all,” he said. But Paltrow can’t complain. “If you’re going to be famous and make $5 million a movie, you gotta take the lumps,” he said.

[From Us Weekly]

How unfortunate it is that even we commoners get to voice our opinions without massive editorial restraint! I can see why Mario and Gwyneth are friends; they both have the same attitude. Initially I was trying to stick up for Mario against The Goop’s bitchy, passive aggressive gesture, but now he’s on his own. It’s not surprising that either of these two would have some frenemies.

Good luck at the gym Mario. Maybe if you lift weights diligently for a few months, you’ll get strong enough to twist that stick out of The Goop’s ass.

Here’s Mario Batali at the Brooklyn Academy of Music 2008 Spring Gala last April. Header with Gwyneth at the “Spain… on the Road Again” Television Series Launch in September. Images thanks to WENN.com and PR Photos.com.

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22 Responses to “Gwyneth Paltrow gives Mario Batali free gym membership”

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  1. kiki says:

    this was the woman who was in SHALLOW HAL… in a Fat suit.. ummm wouldnt it be funny if she got fat really really fat one of these days

  2. Ggirl says:

    I hope Fanta Pants takes advantage of the membership!

  3. RhymesWithSilver says:

    What nerve! I admit, though, I’ve been a little concerned about Batali lately- one of his closest foodie cohorts was recently forced to lay off the pork fat after a heart scare. I bet if you cut Mario in half, he’d look like a giant mortadella. Still, that’s no excuse for a friend to send a not-so-subtle message.

  4. kelly138 says:

    From the annals of Passive-Aggressive Gifts: One Christmas, my mother-in-law gave my sister-in-law a coupon for a housecleaning service. I hope Goopy’s gym membership was better received.

    But I have to agree that Mario needs to lose a few. And he needs some camomile and a good moisturizer to calm that skin down.

  5. really says:

    This is bullsh@t. Just like the tabloid rumor with her getting scarlett in shape and on a diet. But people will believe it because any negative rumor about gwyneth must be true.

  6. baby contest says:

    lol – he is a cook… don’t you think he’s got a “decent” excuse to be a fatty? Cooks… around food… eats… doh!

  7. Annie says:

    I adore Batali!!!

    And I totally believe she is capable of doing something so obnoxious. She like excels at that.

    And you know, honestly? I’m wary of a skinny chef. LOL.

  8. Mel says:

    I like Goopy less and less every time I hear about her.

  9. LouRob says:

    I wish she’d give him a decent pair of shoes instead so he’d get rid of those nasty-a** crocs.

  10. Kaiser says:

    Agree, Annie. When a chef is overweight, you know their food is good.

    I enjoy Giada DiLaurentis, but I get mesmerized by her tiny little body. Her food can’t be that good. Give me Paula “Put Some Butter On It” Deen any day.

  11. Granger says:

    I’m not a Gwyneth fan, but I have trouble believing this one. Come on! I just don’t think someone — even Miss Perfect there — could be THAT rude to a friend.

  12. M.I. Opinion says:

    Maybe he expressed interest, and she wanted to thank him for all the wonderful adventures they shared in Italy together! Or, maybe she gave memberships to quite a few friends, you know, to fill the place up so it won’t be embarrassingly empty. I recently have gained a lot of weight, and I PROMISE you that if someone gave me a membership in a beautiful, upscale gym, and did it with love, I would NOT be offended…I’d be grateful they cared. Hate this blob of humanity, but i don’t think that everything she does has to be ill spririted or thoughtless.

  13. ChristinaT says:

    he does seem to have gained a bit of weight hasn’t he…

  14. jennifer says:

    I’m not being snarky, I’m being completely honest – I’m not seeing where this Batali guy has the same attitude as Gwyneth (supposedly) does? I’m missing something here obviously LOL

    BTW, I have to agree with him on this:

    “People who used to have to try to write a letter to get it published by the editor now can write it and have it immediately published and have it become actual fact in no time at all,”

    Well, DUH. That’s what rumours ARE, and 90% of what we read on this site, on all the gossip blogs is based strictly on rumour, and more than once a story has gained a life of its own and become “fact” (Beyonce, anyone?) Happens all the time, and it’s why I don’t get why people get their knickers sooooooo twisted over these stories – chances are whatever you’re reading is about 1% true – the rest is just strictly entertainment for us gossip junkies LOL 😉

  15. cara says:

    Didn’t they had a food show together? And I’d pay to see Mario working out with that anorexic, swindling pixie.

    (well maybe not Pay$$, but it would be a sight)

  16. Trillion says:

    Crocs are bad enough but bright orange ones? I guess it does draw the attention away from the rest of the package, but ouch, my eyes!

  17. Cinderella says:

    He looks just like she did in Shallow Hal.

  18. cherryblossom says:

    Yay! They called him fanta pants. That makes me happy.
    But really, just because someone could probably use a gift does not mean you should force it upon them.
    If she wants to do something nice, then get him out of those crocs! Those hideous, hideous things!

  19. the original kate says:

    you know, when gwoopeth “retired” and moved to england i rejoiced, because i thought i’d never see her again…how wrong i was. can she please go back to england and stay there?

  20. tigerlille says:

    What gibberish.

  21. j. ferber says:

    Oh. My. God. Paltrow has a fat friend? Well, surely that’s a reflection on her?

  22. j. ferber says:

    TheOriginalKate, Sadly, the move to England will not offer any of us a respite from Gwyneth and her doings. The greatness that is hers will arch over the Atlantic Ocean, find us wherever we are and remind us that she’s better than we are.