BBC explains, in "Gwyneth Paltrow verdict: Why she divides, and fascinates."
Side note: She won the case.
I trust that the jury ascertained that she and not the optometrist was the one who told the truth.
Does that make her a less ridiculous figure in our pop culture? I think so. But it's certainly interesting that she's been someone people feel free to criticize and mock — for her business ventures and for her health habits. There are so many things we can't ridicule anymore that she serves a gaping need in this culture. It may not be fair, but she has attributes that aggravate the life's-not-fair grumblers of this world.
ADDED: Here's how Naomi Fry puts it, in The New Yorker, in "Gwyneth Paltrow’s Trial Is Her Best Role in Years/In Utah civil court, the actress has unabashedly leaned into every stereotype that has ever been used to label her, in a performance that rises to the level of Ryan Murphy-esque high camp":
Over the years, she has never claimed to be anything but a very wealthy, very well-born white woman.... This attitude is surely annoying.... But, at a time when so many mainstream figures seem obsessed with appearing of-the-people despite being anything but, there is something admittedly refreshing.... [S]he’s taking us back to “a different era of celebrity,” when stars didn’t bother acting as if they were just like us.....
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Ann was right!
As usual, the trial came down to credibility. But I’ve got to say that the news coverage wasn’t very good.
I find Paltrow eccentric and harmless. I have no problem ridiculing her odd habits, particularly when she brands them with her name and attempts to sell them. However, I think she is a decent actress and generally less annoying than many others. I'm kind of glad she won her case, because it seemed like a deep pockets reach to me.
More than a few people (often women) are jealous and spiteful toward beautiful White women.
In 2010 the band Vampire Weekend released the album "Contra." The cover had a photo of a semi-startled White woman in a Polo shirt with a crooked collar. One controversy followed because the image turned out to be that of a successful professional fashion model and the seller didn't have publishing rights. Lawsuit. Settlement.
https://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/20/top-10-controversial-album-covers/slide/vampire-weekend-contra/
Beyond legal rights, the mere fact that an urban hipster band with many lefty fans (Vampire Weekend) put a beautiful preppy White woman on the cover sparked...outrage over privilege and whatnot...despite the band routinely focusing on music with a university/preppy/upscale theme.
Beauty and privilege rankings are in your head. Projection. White women are born as they are and a product of evolutionary history isolated from others. Sniping does no good unless one has genocide in mind, then YOU are the actual villain not the White woman -- paraphrased from "Falling Down" starring Michael Douglas.
Well, yeah. Okay. Gwyneth Paltrow is an interesting celebrity.
But she seems to have had the extraordinary good fortune of having been sued by someone who revealed himself to be QAnon in his trial testimony:
Link.
How do you know if a professional actress is telling the truth (not saying she wasn’t)?
Whatever force that makes some people credible and sympathetic in starring roles works also in their favor in front of juries: Robert Blake, Johnny Depp, and now Gwyneth Paltrow....If you discount the race factor in the OJ case, Robert Blake holds the record, but there have been other cases where juries found the star presence was more illuminating than the evidence. The public doesn't resent the wealth and privilege of movie stars. There is a prejudice in their favor....I don't follow Paltrow and her trials and tribulations, but she doesn't inspire resentment. I hope this frees up more money for her to continue her research into the healing properties of goop...It has a calming effect if you focus your attention on Paltrow's legal trouble versus those of Epstein or Trump so she does serve a useful purpose on this earth.
Paltrow is my least favorite Nepo Baby by far because she seems to be part Karadashian with her merchandising.
Though I suspect my reaction also reflects upon my feelings of those who pay any attention to Paltrow and buy her crap.
The things that can be learned from current events! Did you all know that Gwyneth Paltrow and Lisa Kudrow are two completely different people? Whooda thought.
'Somebody's celebrating with TWO cups of Bone Broth tonight!' - Meme found on GAB this morning.
Plaintiff's lead counsel had a nice illustration of how in an accident both parties can perceive that they were in the right. Unfortunately, in context it sounded like he was excusing his own client's mistaken perception. And his summation was remarkably lacking in references to trial evidence detail.
"How do you know if a professional actress is telling the truth (not saying she wasn’t)?"
Amber Heard.
I liked how GP handled herself at trial. She took it seriously and occupied her space — not too big or too small. She cared about her reputation and she behaved appropriately, not entitled. When she said she lost half a day of skiing, she was being accurate and not exaggerating or apologizing for what to some people sounded entitled.
I like her a lot more now than I did before. I mostly know her from "The Royal Tenenbaums," and that's a really great movie. I saw "Shakespeare in Love" when it came out, but it's a completely faded memory. GP is a type, a character. Why do people let her bend them out of shape? She's ok with me.
I have no problem with Paltrow's weirdness. It's par for Hollywood actresses and she is reliably entertaining.
As for the case, I am agnostic about who hit who. What I doubt are the claimed injuries, supposedly the Dr.'s head and back were hurt, but the lighter actress skied off unscathed?
Both sides agreed she landed on top of him, which would explain why he sustained 4 broken ribs and she nothing as severe. The disputed severity of his head injury took up the most time in the trial in part because that's where the $$ were. Of course it became irrelevant once he was found 100% at fault.
A lot of commentary on Paltrow's fashion choices, but unfortunately we never got to see the 10 who she was dressing to impress.
As for plaintiff's fashion, I read one day his counsel made him change his tie (from smiley faces).
BBC explains...
I don't know why, but for some reason Paltrow is roundly disliked in the UK. Personally, I never paid much attention to her.
Side note: She won the case..
Apparently, as kooky and snotty as she can be, the guy suing her was much worse.
How do you know if a professional actress is telling the truth (not saying she wasn’t)?
Ask anybody that has worked in the industry how many takes for a "professional" to come across as authentic. In a courtroom and on the stand, multiple takes are just more opportunities for the opposing lawyer to trip you up and expose you as inauthentic. That's why criminal defense lawyers try to encourage the accused to avoid taking the stand.
Sorry, I’m buying what Paltrow is selling. On par with the Olsen twins. I find it quite endearing, actually. Contrast with the usual leftie/cause/everything is a campaign of the typical Hollywood actress….
Does that make her a less ridiculous figure in our pop culture?
Hell no.
She brought gift bags to court one day and made a candle scented like her lady parts and recommends deep steaming one's lady parts. With the exception of the latter advice, she seems harmless and amusing and living proof that there are categories other than race and sex that deeply differentiate us.
"vaginal steamers, anyone?"
My opening line in college.
In real life I find bony, uptight white women unappetizing but Paltrow was exquisite in The Talented Mr. Ripley, one of the greatest fin-de-siècle American movies.
From what I saw of the testimony, the plaintiff came off as the whacky one.
She has killer legs.
All I'm saying...
Sanderson's trying to get money out of Gwyneth-hatred was a threat to all of us amateur Gwyneth-haters.
But reports are she did say "I wish you well" in his ear at the end of the trial. So there's that.
The candle, it's said, didn't actually smell like Gwyneth's vagina or anyone else's. It was aspirational -- what you wished your vagina would smell like.
"How do you know if a professional actress is telling the truth (not saying she wasn’t)?"
When she countersues for $1.
Performers generally don't have it easy. In addition to talent and looks, they have to navigate the ingratiation game, which can, more often for women, include the casting couch. They mostly fight for scraps until they're 25 or so, at which point they have a brief window to play teen roles. For women, they're usually mid 30s before they can make big money, and the opportunity cost of starting a family is astronomical. They also tend to be poorly educated and likely to make poor decisions about people to trust.
Paltrow has done better than 99% of her peers.
This was a pretty obvious attempt at extortion, a little bit like Stormy Daniels but an honest jury, which will not be present for Trump's show trial.
She is our PT Barnum. She sells (out of) vagina-scented candles for $75 a pop at a store named GOOP.
She is the ultimate troll. Mad props.
Of the postings today, this has given me the least amount of agita. In gratitude to Gwyneth, I'd like to offer some helpful advice on how to extend her brand. Why not come out with Goop Poop?....There have been several articles about the beneficial effects of poop pills on the gut biome. Many people are reluctant to swallow a pill whose active ingredient is poop. I think part of that reluctance comes from the very idea of swallowing some stranger's poop. This problem could be circumvented if there was a premium brand of Gwneth Poop Pills on the market. She could market a super premium brand for when she's on a bone broth and meditation diet and another less expensive brand for when she's on her regular six hundred calorie diet of avocados and ski vacations. Clearly, she doesn't produce enough poop to satisfy the demands for a mass market but perhaps she has some equally famous and health conscious friends who might want to supplement their income. I personally wouldn't have much confidence in Leo DeCaprio's biome, but I bet Brad Pitt has an absolutely sterling gut. This is an idea whose time has come.
She's a lot less annoying than the Kardashians. And she's a fine actress. I appreciated her standing up against a shake down when it would have been easy for her to settle.
She is a passably good actress. She is a fairly attractive woman. She has no truly memorable roles I can recall. (I did not see the Talented Mr. Ripley, in which I hear she did very well.
I understand she sells high price stuff of no interest to me to wealthy, possibly naive. women.
Thus ends my knowledge of and interest in Ms. Paltrow.
Ann:
She is great in "A Perfect Murder" with Michael Douglas and Viggio Mortensen.
Watch it! Great movie. Great performance.
She has a sensitivity that is rare. It’s almost healing. The Jury pardoned her. Juries in claims for damages usually only decide how much they shall award. It’s a rare case where a jury finds its power to write a check irrelevant. Her persona won them over.
"hyper-fixated on things that most have never thought about (vaginal steamers, anyone?)"
The extreme disdain for Gwyneth Paltrow -- while perhaps understandable -- has led to incredibly lax reporting on her business. Very basic research shows that Paltrow (and her company) have never sold or recommended "vaginal steamers" (although that's an actual practice in some South Asian healing traditions). Nearly 20 years ago, she wrote a (and soon deleted) a one-paragraph blog post describing a visit to a professional spa in California, where they treated her "area" with steamed leaves. That's the whole thing. It's the press who have been "hyper-fixated" on this ever since.
Meanwhile, the "vaginal candle" that the BBC also mentions was always a joke. It's a regular candle that they gave a funny name (and a high price tag).
There's plenty of actual stuff to criticize, and make fun of, in Paltrow's world of ultra-expensive female wellness products. But expecting reporters to do reporting, instead of repeating incorrect claims over and over, isn't too much to ask, even when they're just delivering snark.
I don't know the first thing about her but every time I see her name I think that it would be a cool name for one of the elves in LOTR.
I used to love Bythe Danner her mother.
And I used to think GP was a good actress. In the 90s, I Was sort of shocked by some of the negative reviews she got. Well, i went back recently and saw her again in "shakespeare in love" and "Emma" and guess what? I was wrong. She wasn't very good.
I think -back then - there so few decent, good looking american actesses doing shakespeare or Austen, i must have overcompensated.
Anyway, I still like her in that movie she did with Michael Douglas. And her small role in "Amazing Mr. Ripley". And yes, she was good in Royal Tanandbums.
As for GP the person. She's just another overcompensated, undereducated, vulgar actress.
At least she didn't go to Iraq and laugh and joke with Iraquis as they tried to shoot down Americans. Or call people "Cunts" on TV. Or threaten pro-life people with murder.
So, She's no Jane Fonda. She's not that bad.
Yet.
Her”Well, I lost half a day of skiing” was
1. A statement by a totally self-aware depiction, of a
certain smart but innocent character she often plays.
2. She is so in her own head, unaware of her effect on an audience; that she really is unaware of perceptions she engenders.
3. She is actually a weird, pampered snob with talent, looks and self evolvement refined to an exquisite form and degree.
P. Paltrow playing a charter totally aunaware
I am pretty sure that I have said in the comments here previously, that in my opinion Paltrow is the greatest mind in Hollywood. I know that James Woods is supposed to have a very high IQ, and I just checked the net worth of each:
Woods worth is reported to be: 8 million
Paltrow: 200 million
She is not a dumb woman, and far too often we make the mistake of assuming people are dumb. There is that famous adage not to assume people are acting maliciously but to assume they are stupid. I doubt Sun Tzu would agree with this as a first face assessment of any potential adversary. Not that Paltrow appears to me to be an adversary. She seems too smart for that.
Sliding Doors was a pretty good time paradox tale without getting all science fictiony.
Even with John Hannah in it.
“She is our PT Barnum. She sells (out of) vagina-scented candles for $75 a pop at a store named GOOP.”
The Sweet Smell of Success!
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