Gwyneth: ‘Being the person that people perceive me to be is inherently traumatic’

Taylor Swift attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, at Hotel Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA, on 05 January 2020. | usage worldwide

Gwyneth Paltrow covers the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar to promote her new six-episode Netflix show, The Goop Lab With Gwyneth Paltrow. Bazaar actually got an advance copy of the show and the way they describe it… oh my God. It should have been called Gwyneth Talks About How She Has A Tough Life. Which… I would watch? There are so many funny parts to this interview too, and of course the piece is also full of quotes from her friends and her current husband about how she’s the best person to ever exist. Some highlights:

The Goop Lab: The six-part series, The Goop Lab With Gwyneth Paltrow, functions almost as a Goop reality show. Paltrow, whose staff calls her “GP,” moderates each 30-minute episode, interviewing experts with Goop’s chief content officer, Elise Loehnen. In one episode, four Goop employees travel to Jamaica for a “healing trip,” where they try psychedelics (magic mushrooms). At one point, Paltrow talks about having tried another mind-altering substance, MDMA, in Mexico with her now husband, Brad Falchuk, noting that she did not hallucinate but adding that she thinks “there’s so much to unearth” if she took it therapeutically. “What could possibly be wrong with you?” Loehnen asks Paltrow. “You have everything. You’re beautiful. You’re wealthy. You’re famous.” Paltrow responds, “Being the person that people perceive me to be is inherently traumatic.”

The fact that she & Brad Falchuk didn’t live together for a year after they married: “So our sex life is over!… I thought it was really interesting how resonant that was for people. One of my best friends was like, ‘That is my dream. Don’t ever move in.’ I think it certainly helps with preserving mystery and also preserving the idea that this person has their own life. So this is something I’m trying to remain aware of now as we merge together.”

On her relationship with Chris Martin: “It’s not like there’s a finish line: ‘Oh, we consciously uncoupled; we’re done.’ It’s a lifelong commitment to constantly reinvent your relationship with your ex, which you do presumably because you have children together. I don’t see a reason to do it if you don’t have children together. Some people do. But I think we put all the hard work in at the beginning. I would say very rarely is it difficult now. We’ve learned how to communicate with each other. We love each other. We laugh. We have the best of each other. It’s really nice. It makes you feel like you don’t have to lose.”

On Chris’s girlfriend Dakota Johnson: “I love her. I can see how it would seem weird because it’s sort of unconventional. But I think, in this case, just having passed through it iteratively, I just adore her. I always start to think of the ampersand sign—what else can you bring in, instead of being resistant to or being made insecure by? There’s so much juice in leaning in to something like that.”

On her exes: “One of them is still one of my best friends—one from high school, Tony Woods. And I’m friendly with Brad Pitt. I don’t have any really bad blood.”

She doesn’t watch herself when her films come on: “I vom. I gag. I hate it.”

Whether she’ll go back to acting full-time: “Literally never—nev-er. When I was acting I really burned myself out. When the flywheel kicked in, I was doing three to five movies a year. I really got to the point where even the little things, like sitting in the van going to set, getting your makeup touch-ups, and everything—I really don’t know that I can bear it. The last movie I starred in, I was pregnant with my daughter. It was a movie called Proof, an adaptation of a play I did in London, and I was like, ‘I’ve had it. I can’t do this anymore.’ I had morning sickness and I was dying, and I had these five-page monologues. So when I had her, I knew I was going to take a big chunk of time off. And I’ve never starred in anything again.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

I’m sorry, I’m never getting over this: “Being the person that people perceive me to be is inherently traumatic.” That one statement is a full JOURNEY. I can’t even unpack it, but I am absolutely sure that Gwyneth has every right to feel traumatized!! As for how she felt burnt out and swore she would never return to acting full time… God knows, I’m not a GP defender, but I kind of wish she would act more and Goop less. And the stuff about Dakota… I feel like that’s probably traumatic AF too.

Taylor Swift attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, at Hotel Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA, on 05 January 2020. | usage worldwide

Covers courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar.

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67 Responses to “Gwyneth: ‘Being the person that people perceive me to be is inherently traumatic’”

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  1. Cherry says:

    Ah, the Tom Ford warrior breast plate on the cover! Zendaya wore it better, indeed.

    • Cherry says:

      Also, re-reading this… I can’t believe I’m defending Goop, but I can sort of see what she means by the ‘being the person that people perceive of me’ comment and how it could be traumatic. It reminds me of that Sex and the city episode where Stanford tells Carrie about this really hip psychiatrist GP is allegedly seeing. Carries reaction: ‘What does Gwyneth need therapy for?’ Stanford: ‘She suffers from too high self esteem.’ You know, if that’s the way you are portrayed in pop culture, I could see how that could be traumatic. Like she is actually being forbidden to ever struggle with life because she’s famous, rich, white and beautiful.
      It would be a much better look for her to keep such thoughts for herself, though, cause let’s face it: most people have bigger problems than that.

      • Mia at Home says:

        I think someone needs to tell her to snap out of it and get a grip on reality. She is now using language and individual words incorrectly and out of context it all sounds like gobblegook. When you have to unpack a statement to try and figure what someone is trying to say its time for them to have a good look at themself if they what any credibility.

      • Calibration says:

        Cherry, my definition of trauma is sexual or physical abuse, homelessness, a life changing tragedy or event. I’ve experienced trauma and I have ptsd. GOOP saying that people see her (as she is) is not trauma. It’s her being more of her: Self absorbed and thoughtless and just plain stupid.

    • ferdinand says:

      About that Tom Ford warrior breast plate that Zendaya wore before, people pointed this to her and she said “I’m just glad I have something in common with Zendaya. She’s cool” to which people quickly replied “Gwyneth, you both starred in Spider-man”.

      She probs doesn’t even remember. I just can’t with her, and having said that, I can’t wait to binge watch the goop lab.

  2. morningjacket says:

    The. Living. Worst.

    That said, girl’s my hero in Sliding Doors and was excellent as Emma.

  3. grabbyhands says:

    So like, is this series supposed to make her sounds less insufferable?

    Because it just sounds like more rich white woman humble brag circle jerking. If she’s so traumatized, maybe she should step back off the pseudoscience and just live her life.

    • Annie says:

      Rich white woman humble brag circle jerking is GP’s main hustle. Every interview is a chance to stage her perfect life. This story about why she’s not acting anymore is a way of bragging about how sought after she was (to the point where it “burned her out”), and how she turned the industry down on her own accord. The truth is probably that her movie career would have faded anyway, because Hollywood is cruel to over 30s and only the best survive in the long run. GP was good in a couple of movies, but she’s no Meryl Streep and she knows it.

      I think the reason for bragging is partly her personal need for validation, her self image is based around being someone other women wish they were (skinny, rich and famous). The other reason is professional – wanting to be like GP is why stupid white women pay stupid amounts of money for the shit she’s shilling. She’s quite clever, really – she hasn’t been relevant in Hollywood for a long time, and yet she manages to keep up the appearance that she’s still the hottest celeb around.

      • Annaloo says:

        @annie: you are 100% right. Gwyneth is desperate for relevancy. There’s no name she won’t drop, no vagina stunt she won’t pull, and everyone knows she never could carry a film on her own since her early days when the world was obsessed with her for being Brad Pitt’s girlfriend. I look at Julia Roberts and how legend she is, and Gwyneth had that potential.. instead, she hawks quackery. I guess we all need to make a buck,.

      • GreenDress says:

        Very well put. Makes me think of our society as a whole and the need for validation through Facebook, social media etc etc. We are all becoming a bunch of narcissists.

    • dlc says:

      No, it’s supposed to make her richer. 🤣

    • Redgrl says:

      @grabbyhands – best comment !

    • Green Desert says:

      “rich white woman humble brag circle jerking” is my new favorite insult. 🙂

  4. Michelle says:

    She’s beyond insufferable!!!!

  5. brinibini says:

    The woman invented yoga! We owe her so much!

  6. Lucy2 says:

    Well she starred in Mortdecai just a few years ago, but like everyone else, I think she wants to forget that.
    I’m exhausted by her just reading little interviews, I can’t imagine actually being around her. But I will give her credit for having a good relationship with her ex-husband, since they do have children together.

    • ABC says:

      I hope that in real life, she’s exactly like her character in The Politician. Netflix, 2019. (Maybe she doesn’t consider that acting? Who knows).

      And I agree, Goops best “product” is her conscious uncoupling brand. It’s not easy to let go and rise above in that way with your ex, but she does it pretty gracefully. I give her credit.

    • Birdix says:

      And that country music movie! Remember when she was singing at all the awards shows?

    • jaylee says:

      Country Strong really sizzled at the boxoffice too. She does realize she failed to carry a bunch of movies, right? GP baffles me.

  7. Nanea says:

    &?!?

    Ah yes, the infinite wisdom of the tragically traumatized Gwyn P.

    Whereas the scientifically-minded docs like Jen Gunther, ob-gyn, have to deal with the fallout of GOOP’s harmful esoteric quackery. And NASA!

  8. I'm that person says:

    Listening to or reading you is inherently traumatic for me, too, Gwyneth.

  9. minx says:

    Shut up shut up shut up.

  10. dlc says:

    iteratively? I had to look that up. To be fair, I think she should have too. I don’t think she used it correctly.

  11. Alex says:

    And from whom do they bought their MDMA here in Mexico? Thanks a lot GOOP for being a “fun recreational customer” for cartels. Greetings from a mexican who wakes up every day praying not to become another victim of organized crime

  12. Ali says:

    Do you think she has a journal where she writes down things like “I think of the ampersand” for use in a later conversation?

    • minx says:

      Yes, I do. She dropped out of college quickly and I think she’s somewhat insecure about it. She often uses what she perceives as fancy-schmancy words.

  13. T says:

    I usually try not to judge what others perceive as being traumatic to them, but this is one big eyeroll. I cannot with her.

  14. Lexilla says:

    It’s traumatic for us too Gwynnie.

  15. Originaltessa says:

    Lainey already pointed this out, but it’s like she erased Country Strong and that whole era from her life! Proof was waaay before Country Strong.

    • Annaloo says:

      That’s RIGHT!!! Gwyneth singing about a double wide!!! Lol, that’s probably when she knew Goop had to work, or she’d be broke

  16. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    She nailed it. Her thinking of the ampersand is because she is the ampersand personified. A very common entity existing solely on the energy of those surrounding it lol. More apropos, she’s an operator with a value of only one, and when orbited by other ‘ones’ she essentially has the value of zero.

  17. Jackie O'Glasses says:

    Jfc, could you imagine being on mushrooms around her? If she’s this awful sober, hallucinogenics must take the insufferability level up to eleven. I don’t hate her acting tho, but I don’t miss seeing her in movies either.

  18. Allergy says:

    What? Then don’t be that person?
    Her face is puffy like when you have a thyroid problem.

  19. Valerie says:

    Oh, give me a fucking break.

  20. Texas says:

    I actually thought she was an excellent actor. I liked most of her movies. I have always liked her too. I bet she is fun. But tho GOOP crap is just too much.

  21. Charfromdarock says:

    Cry me a friggen river Gweny.

  22. Haapa says:

    This is an insult to survivors of trauma. Do you have PTSD from it too Gwyneth???

  23. Kate says:

    I think she irks so much because she thinks she is being “real” but really she is very much caught up in portraying her life as being aspirational and idealistic. She will sometimes allude to her “struggles” and I’m sure her divorce was hard AF but she just glosses over everything and makes it sound like the tough stuff was over as quickly as a movie montage. People sense that she is inauthentic and everything she says just becomes an eye roll.

  24. anon says:

    Let’s be honest.

    It’s phrases like “inherently traumatic” that zero in on why she grates on people’s nerves. Look, GP built her entire career on the unachievable Ice Queen persona. She wallowed in that shit. She was “pedigreed” from her mother’s side in Old Line Philadelphia. She wanted you to know that Steven Spielberg is her godfather. She went to schools on the UES. She was a master of passive-aggressive shade. And, to get to the point, she wasn’t above screwing over her friend for a part in a movie. Just ask Winona Ryder.

    And now that her movie career has slowed down, she’s hawking tacky shit for money. And, like Donald Trump, her marketing strategy is built for maximum clicks. Shock works. So a candle that smells like her vagina will sell out because of course it would. But I gotta say, not even the trashy Kardashians would go that low rent to sell the same candle you can get at Walmart – and they invented low rent.

    So complaining that she’s “inherently traumatized” is bullshit. I’m sure she cried all the way to the bank.

  25. kerwood says:

    Then CHANGE.

  26. Ann says:

    I’m going to watch the hell out of Goop’s gooptasticly goopy show. It’s going to be so ridiculous. I started following GP on instagram and good lord this woman is out to be Queen of Vaginas. Or maybe she’s aiming for Vag CEO cause she is a businesswoman, after all. Ol’ Goopy Paltrow has cornered the pus market!

    And I hate that breast plate thing!! I wish it would go away forever.

  27. Tiffany says:

    I am not gonna lie, GOOP is the gift that keeps on giving. I mean, there is never a time that I don’t laugh, roll my eyes or just straight up side eye her when she speaks.

    Thanks GOOP, sometimes I just need this release and damnit if you don’t deliver.

  28. Wit of the Staircase says:

    She needs to give up the long blonde hair parted down the middle. Cute in her 20’s. Pathetic now. She’d probably look very chic with a short haircut. Also: insufferable.

  29. A says:

    Can this sociopath just stop talking?

  30. sparker says:

    that second picture makes it look like someone hung an anchor around her neck and tried to drown her… but make it fashion.

  31. Kay says:

    She seems to get away with so many things. She actually left her husband for another man she met on a television series and nobody seems to be judging her. He was married too with children. She also went ape shit when asked whether she had plastic surgery – she wouldn’t answer the question. She is never honest with what she she does to look young and wrinkle free. You shouldn’t be promoting products to look younger when you yourself have plastic surgery to look younger.

    • Maddie says:

      also re:health….she always fails to mention she still smokes cigs & for decades….”but oh, they’re organic & blessed by an Amazon shaman!” Lol as long as idiot rich white women waste their money but no One else is affected, that’s ok. There’s a 10 second moment in the film Contagion (great film btw & VERY realistic) where she’s having a seizure, pretty good acting. Otherwise I got nothin 😂

  32. Jaded says:

    Why does she always sound like she’s flipping through a dictionary and comes across two big words and puts them together THEN tries to make meaning out of them.

    How about intrinsically excruciating Goop?

    There, fixed it for ya.

  33. KRW says:

    A cancer diagnosis is traumatic. Seeing a person you love die in front of you is traumatic. I can’t imagine what about Gwyneth’s life is actually traumatic. I know suffering is relative, but she is… (rolling eyes)… I just can’t with her.

    • Berlin George says:

      Hate to say this cause I do NOT like GP, but she did see a person die in front of her with cancer…her Dad.

  34. Christina says:

    The ampersand sign. When the word and just won’t do!

  35. Middle of the road says:

    From the reviews I read, it’s boring and a waste of time. No thanks I’ll pass and watch the Witcher again

  36. Alicesrightfoot says:

    Am I the only one who snortled after looking at the cover with the line “Are you wearing the WRONG BRA?” right next to what must be the most uncomfortable looking bra/top on the planet (though pretty cool looking).

  37. Dorothy says:

    She’s so insufferable reading her words is traumatizing

  38. Annaloo. says:

    Goop is like herpes, the irritating gift that keeps giving