Gwyneth Paltrow has firmly hit back at accusations that the work culture behind her wellness and lifestyle brand Goop is “toxic.”
In July, author Amy Odell claimed that the Oscar winner ran a “chaotic and sometimes toxic” workplace that led to mass resignations.
“The company she founded in 2008 hasn’t experienced sustained profitability, has allegedly suffered from a chaotic and sometimes toxic office culture, and has lacked a clear business strategy as it ping-pongs from one of Gwyneth’s ideas to the next,” Odell wrote, in an excerpt from her latest biography, Gwyneth.
Addressing the allegations in a new interview with Vogue, Paltrow admitted: “That bothers me. ‘Oh, Goop has a toxic culture.’ That drives me insane because we have never had that.
“Granted we’ve had a couple of toxic people and, because of my fear of confrontation, maybe I didn’t deal with it quickly enough. That does cascade down and I totally take responsibility for that,” she acknowledged.
“But we are such a good culture. We are,” she insisted. “It’s something that I am so proud of and worked so hard on.”
Realizing that “of course, I’m going to say: ‘It’s not a toxic culture,’” Paltrow reassessed, adding, “Of course! We are all human beings who go to work, sometimes with unresolved stuff and that comes out. People can have bad work experiences anywhere.
“But I can guarantee if I dropped you into the Goop office in Santa Monica, you’d be like: ‘What the f*** are these people talking about?’ You would see really engaged, really brilliant, highly collaborative teams who are excited.”
She reiterated her dislike for such criticisms, saying: “It impacts the team.”
The Independent has contacted Odell for comment.
Published in July, Odell’s book Gwyneth is described as an inside look into “the world of one of the most influential and polarizing celebrities of the modern era — complete with exclusive new stories about her childhood, acting career, romances, and her lifestyle brand Goop.”
According to Odell, she spoke with “more than 220 sources, including close current and former friends and colleagues.”
“Many were terrified to talk about Gwyneth,” she wrote. “Some people I interviewed had seen her take action against people she felt had crossed her.”
She added: “Gwyneth has had a habit throughout her life of bringing people close to her, then cooling on them. Some simply move on, while others become dismayed and desperate to get back into her inner circle.”
Paltrow, who founded Goop in 2008, has largely stepped back from acting to focus on her business. She’s previously admitted that she would “love” to retire from Hollywood to focus entirely on her wellness empire.
“I really love what I’m doing and I know it’s hard to understand… for people who are like, ‘You were a movie star! Wasn’t it fun?’” she said at a 2023 Goop event. “I like my nine to five. I like not travelling all the time and being away for months at a time.”
After a brief hiatus, Paltrow has returned to acting in Josh Safdie’s forthcoming sports drama, Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet.
