Gwyneth Paltrow Defends GOOP

Gwyneth Paltrow hit back at critics of her lifestyle newsletter and website GOOP.comGOOP.com.

At a charity event in New York she hosted for Bent On Learning, Paltrow told People:

"I think the people who are criticizing it or criticizing the idea of it, don't really get it, because if they did, they would like it..."

Paltrow said she believes some of the barbs simply stem from the fact that she's doing something new and different. "I think that people like people to stay in their 'box' - they like people to stay how they are comfortable seeing them."

Paltrow says she decided to launch the Web site, which carries the tagline, "Nourish The Inner Aspect," "because I felt like I had a lot of really useful information that I was privileged enough to get, because I have this amazing, super, fortunate life."

This week's newsletter contained Paltrow's favorite hotels and restaurants in Paris. (Scroll to read as they are not on Goop.com yet)

Here are photos of Paltrow and some of her friends at Wednesday night's event:

• • • • • • • • •

GWYNETH'S PARIS:

Places to Eat

l'Ami Louis
32, rue du Vertbois
3e
[phone]

There are two schools of thought regarding l'Ami Louis: one is that it is an overpriced place for tourists and the other is that it is one of the best, most venerable bistros in Paris. I am firmly in the school of the latter. It is small and wood paneled with an ancient oven and a sicko wine list. Every time I go, I see a former French president or the like, and I leave so full that I walk back to the hotel.

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Le Voltaire
27, Quai Voltaire
7e
[phone]

Le Voltaire is a lovely place on the river with a lighter type of French fare (grapefruit and avocado salad). It is one of my favorite spots to go for lunch.

Market
15, Avenue Matignon
8e
[phone]
www.jean-georges.com

From superchef Jean-Georges, this restaurant serves Asian/nouvelle French cuisine done wonderfully and served in a clean, contemporary space.

Kinugawa
9, rue du Mont-Thabor
1e
[phone]
http://kinugawa-hanawa.com

After a couple of days in Paris when I need to lay off the butter and goose fat, I head to Kinugawa for a Japanese lunch. After a lovely bowl of miso soup, some beautiful sashimi and a seaweed salad, I am ready to partake in all things French once more.

T'CHA La Maison de Thé
6, rue du Pont de Lodi
6e
[phone]

This is a little teahouse off the beaten track in the sixth arrondissement. It is a great place for a light lunch or a perfect cup of sencha.

Da Mimmo
39, Boulevard Magenta
10e
[phone]
www.damimmo.fr

I was told about Da Mimmo a few years ago by one of my coolest, most in-the-know friends. It is rustic Italian, super simple, super good. There is a massive display of the day's fresh antipasti in the center of the room and that's the best part of the dinner. No tourists here.

Le Duc
243 Boulevard Raspail
14e
[phone]
http://leduc.abemadi.com

Don't let the nautically themed room put you off. The seafood is fresh and wonderful.

Mariage Frères
13, rue des Grands-Augustins
6e
[phone]
www.mariagefreres.com

I absolutely adore this tearoom and shop. It's perfect for afternoon tea and beautiful objects for the home. Don't miss the famous Mariage Frères candles (the Darjeeling one is my fave).

Cinq-Mars
51, rue Verneuil
7e
[phone]

This place is the cozy, affordable, locals-only restaurant you always search for but never find when traveling. The food is simple but well prepared and it's a nice break from the big, loud brasseries.

Joséphine Chez Dumonet
117, rue du Cherche-Midi
6e
[phone]

This old-school bistro is one of my favorite places. The room is quite plain and unimpressive if you are looking to be dazzled but it has a wonderful feeling and it is very authentic. I love the duck confit...and watching all of the regulars.

Restaurant Hélène Darroze
4, rue d'Assas
6e
[phone]
www.helenedarroze.com

Hélène Darroze is one of the few women to ever be awarded two Michelin stars. And these stars are well deserved. The food is terrific. And the room is quiet, calm and elegant.

Brasserie Balzac
49, rue des Ecoles
5e
[phone]

Balzac is a great old brasserie with excellent service (the waiters have been there forever but are not pissed off, they retain a dry sense of humor). The food is good, classic brasserie fare and it's a great spot for Sunday lunch or late dinner.

Rose Bakery
30, rue Debelleyme
3e
[phone]

My friend Elena just got back from Paris and she had the most delicious meal at Rose Bakery. They have organic produce, fresh tarts, quiches and a sweet waitstaff.

Lina's Café
22, rue des Saints-Peres
7e
[phone]
www.linascafe.fr

Lina's is a chain but you wouldn't know it, biting into their famous turkey club. Fresh and delicious, it's the perfect inexpensive meal to have while walking through the streets of Paris.

Places to Stay
Ritz Paris
15 Place Vendôme
1e
[phone]
www.ritzparis.com

Although I occasionally try the "new" spot or an old-new spot, I always keep coming back to the Ritz. The place is just beautiful and the service is pretty flawless for France. Yes, it costs an arm and a leg, but it's worth it.

Hotel Montalembert
3, rue de Montalembert
7e
[phone]
www.montalembert.com

This hotel is very small (as are the rooms) but it is clean and modern and tucked away in a great area off Boulevard Saint-Germain. You don't feel like a tourist in the way you do when you stay at one of the grande dame hotels. When I shot a film in Paris, my dad stayed here with our black Labrador for weeks - it was our home away from home. They were incredibly gracious and welcoming. Room 81 has a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Hôtel Particulier Montmartre
23, Avenue Junot
Pavillon D
8e
[phone]
http://hotel-particulier-montmartre.com/fr

This once grand mansion turned five-room chic hotel was recommended to me by a discerning travel journalist. He had just gone to the opening and said it was really special and worth checking out. Each room is distinctly decorated by various artists. I've never stayed in Montmartre, but I love the idea of being in that area of Paris.

Hotel Saint Vincent
5 rue du Pré aux Clercs
7e
[phone]
www.hotelsaintvincentparis.com

Another spot in Saint Germain, this small boutique hotel is a great deal in an otherwise overpriced area. I have friends that have stayed here and rave about the intimate, clean rooms and ideal location.

Comments

[lmab]

Like wow man.....li­sten to me.......y­ada yada yada......­...

" I have this amazing, super, fortunate life."

[Mavin1620]

I get GOOP. Were I in Paris, I would use this information

[Halsey]

Give it a rest....I'­d LOVE to have her resources.­....I'd pamper myself once in a while..and have GREAT time giving to fabulous charities.­..(Women for Woman, Vital Voices...e­tc)...but yes..I'd allow an expensive meal..say.­.once a moneh or so...Gweny­th did NOT bring down the world economy...­she is o Madoff or Lehman brothers or AIG...she was born to money....a­nd made a bunch more than her mother, the FAB Blythe Danner!!..­ever did...so what....
only thing is...she's just not that interesting anymore...­but there are far worse sins..

[hilts]

Gwyneth Paltrow is the sexiest woman in the world and has the most beautiful rear end of all-time.

[helpontheway]

whatever floats your boat, but I'm not into pancake butt

[timetraveller3]

two (rhetorical) questions:

1. Whose inner aspect was she nourishing with those comments?

2. Why does the phrase "poor little rich girl" spring to mind?

Her quest to become the Oprah of/to the jet-set has not gotten off to a flying start, unfortunately.

All kidding aside, these (as well as some others she's made in public over the years) comments betray deep inner wounds, not to mention a development arrested some time in the early teens, and she needs to be on the receiving end of some nourishment rather than trying to dish it out.

And these flare-ups are just proof-positive of that fact.

And I think she's been major-league frontin' for a long time now, pretending to be some kind of intelligent. Check that vocab . . . it's one "oh my God!" and "like, totally" away from a 12-year-old's (a 12-year-old American's, anyway).

"Bent on Learning", indeed.

tt3

[rzan1]

Your observation about her vocabulary and way of expressing herself is right on. She sounds like a 12-year-old and a not very bright 12-year-old at that. I am not a psychologist, so will not even attempt to assess the reasons why. It is very likely that she has had no reason to emerge from being a teen. Her dopiness is considered charming by many.

[missjabez]

"For those who like that sort of thing, I should think that is just about the sort of thing they would like."--Ab­raham Lincoln.

Done. Next.

[NaBa]

I clicked on Goop.com expecting to see the typical pretentious view of GP and what I found was so far from that. I enjoyed perusing her site (which btw, wasn't pretentious at all in my opinion!) and thought that she had some heartfelt advice on what has and hasn't worked for her (go beyond the Ritz!). Even though she's led a privileged life, she doesn't speak down to you on this site and comes across very earnest. I mean yeah, she's been privileged, but she's still had trauma in her life (losing both parents) and suffers from ailments many of us deal with, i.e. depression, fatigue... It's interesting to read what has worked for her (she has a lot of options with her wealth) and the advice that she gives from her doctors and others isn't anything we'd probably ever be exposed to in our normal lives, esp. me without health insurance! She's seems genuinely concerned with raising her kids the right way and elicits advice from others on how they make it work.

She doesn't HAVE to share any of this and as someone said before, you don't have to look at it! All in all, a great website and one that I will come back to in the future, esp. for recipes that cater to an organic lifestyle. Can you imagine a site like this being put up by the likes of say, Paris Hilton? I think not...

[Yovovi]

My absolute favorite memories growing occurred were when our family lived in Europe and traveled to Paris and Amsterdam and little villages in Germany with no mapped out plans, no itenerary, no guidebooks, no celebrity recommendations - it allowed us to truly live in the moment and each day was an adventure. My favorite aspect of travel is the joy of discovery. Finding a quaint bakery and cheeseshop and buying bread and cheese and eating them in a beautiful park for lunch while watching the locals was so fun! I wouldn't trade those treasures for any stay in the Ritz.

[sunnyminh]

I've been hearing a lot of criticism from this site so I decided to check it out. I read a few newsletters and navigated through the site, and honestly..­. what's the big deal? It's a very simple site with recommendations and advice. You don't have to take any of it, but it's there if you're interested.

There's various different review sites out there (ie. yelp, zagat..etc­) where people sound completely pretentious and pretend as if they're connoisseurs of whatever cuisine they're eating.

Also, she has led an extremely fortunate life and we all know that. Why are we giving her such a hard time? She does sound a little too spiritual and all-knowin­g...but her tone in her writing may just be misconstrued.

I say it's a cute site. Nothing special and nothing worth all this criticism.

[fff]

Gwyneth is merely trying to share with others out of her own fullness. Which is a lovely thing to do. For anyone. I wonder how many of these critics have bothered to put up a website to share their own good thoughts and ideas with others? Out of their own fullness?

What Ms. Paltrow is doing is merely positive. It harms no one. And yet you somehow enjoy using her website to flagellate yourselves into a pithy froth of the bitter-nasties, which you then spew forth with contempt and derision.

You are just as nuts as the person who would walk into a grocery store, drag the manager over to the vegetable department, eat a handful of brussel sprouts, then scream at the manager that you hate brussel sprouts, which you then demonstrate by vomiting all over the floor. What's the manager supposed to say, "Thanks for sharing?"

Why not share the love, instead.

Just start here, right now---pick a vegetable of your own choosing, wax eloquent, and inspire the lowly minerals with song; for the vegetable kingdom is vast, and contains much food for thought.

[Loophole]

One of the first against the wall?

[usa loveit or changeit]

Oh, I 'get it'. She's pretentious, preachy, condescending and...it makes for a bad mix to "advise people" on how to live their lives.

[SteveMDFP]

These are times of loss, pain, and fear for so many. Such poor taste to gush on and on about one's own delicious, pampered life.

Publicly luxuriating in luxury could be excused. The relentless narcissism and self-centeredness of the writing can't be.

She used to be more intelligent and sensitive than this. What happened to this woman?

[Yovovi]

I think maybe she's on the verge of irrelevence and needs attention.­..

[JScott]

Acutally how is this different from Martha Stewart?

[bookbabie]

I agree with Ms. Paltrow. People want to put other people in a box, this who you are. Creative people often have many passions, so she has interests other than acting, good for her!

[fuelrod]

I wish she and her husband would go away already,, She's a spoiled rich kid,,