September 24, 2008 | 6:00
pm
Web Scout covers the backlash over Goop.com (where Gwyneth Paltrow seems to be positioning herself as a sort of Martha Stewart):
Gwyneth Paltrow's new lifestyle/advice website, Goop.com, went up yesterday in preview form, but the backlash is already well underway. The site will be a collection of recommendations and musings from Gwyneth herself about things that make her life special.... but the road ahead looks bumpy for this little operation! It's not just that no one wants to take life direction from the girl who has it all -- though that's a powerful thread in the criticism of the site. There are also some more basic technical problems on display, starting with the layout of the two-page site. It's not clear why she bothered to put it up with so little content on it. It feels like something that won an award for Web design in 1998.
When you click on the fork and knife icon, you get an essay about how she loves "to travel, to cook, to eat, to take care of my body and mind, to work hard...," etc.
Photo by Luca Bruno/Associated Press
She used to live around the corner from us here in NYC on West 4th Street. Drove a silver Mercedes SUV. Chris Martin was nice to our local homeless guy, Ed. Bothers me she's such close friends with that idiot Madonna. I would view anything she wrote through that lens.
Posted by: Julie | November 18, 2008 at 11:09 AM
I read some of her site in the same way one might pause while driving by an accident. Horrifying! By all means, let a vapid, self-absorbed snob advise the general public (folks who have actual problems and work for a living) on fabulous things to do to improve their lives. Let's go off the beaten path to Williams Sonoma (huh?) and stop eating white. Black is the new red! Clean your house! Read a book! Treat yourself!
Amazing, insightful stuff from GP! GOOP, indeed! Perhaps she could do a PSA for the NAACP since a mind IS a terrible thing to waste.
Posted by: Christina | November 17, 2008 at 03:31 PM
I think she has a lot of good advice to give. It's common knowledge that she looks great and leads a very healthy lifestyle and I think many people are eager to learn how to live in a more healthy way. Not everyone has the money to buy organic products constantly or to follow a macrobiotic diet, true. But the point she makes about eating natural foods is very valid. Food products today are packed with chemicals. Sometimes my dog won't eat them. And if the dog won't, that has to say something.
Posted by: elizabeth | November 16, 2008 at 01:54 PM
Wow. What a cool idea. Despite her political views, I think she is a pretty real gal who truly wants to make a difference in the world.
Coincidentally I have kids the same age as her's. My hope is that she has some kind of Oprah give-away and invites me to have a play-date at her pad in London!
Posted by: Todd | September 26, 2008 at 02:06 PM
Oh, this is gonna be great fodder for my blog. Can't wait to see what an uneducated person has to say.
Posted by: sickitten | September 25, 2008 at 06:14 AM
I think it's really great she is launching her own website! I'm looking forward to viewing the site. People have real issues with Gwyneth when really she is a Very down-to-earth woman. I have met her in person a few times and each time she was truly kind and sincere. I have met many celebrities and I have to say Gwyneth is one of the nicest I have met :)
Posted by: Kate | September 24, 2008 at 08:44 PM