Are Celebrities the New Journalists?

I’ve just done something controversial. I’ve signed up for the GOOP newsletter.

This may ring a bell. It’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s nifty little way of sharing lifestyle advice with the masses. Old news perhaps, but you may have also noticed she’s on the cover of the May issue of Harper’s; and of course inside she talks about GOOP.

Critics and journalists may have panned it for being gushy and self-indulgent but I have to say having browsed the GOOP site that I find it somewhat inspiring. The tagline ‘nourish the inner aspect’ may sound a little new-agey to some, but in today’s toxic rat race, it makes some serious sense.

I just don’t get what the problem is with this venture, or indeed her. Granted, she’s not the most exciting of celebrities. We’ve never seen her falling out of a taxi without knickers, and perhaps her husband Chris Martin isn’t the most dynamic man on the planet. Then again, if she’d chosen Brad Pitt she’d probably be in Jen’s shoes right now, unmarried and longing for a baby rather than playing at ‘earth mother’. Still, she’s been privy to a life that many could only dream of and I can’t help but feel that half of the backlash has been for this reason. Envy. No one likes a Mrs Perfect now do they?

So what does Gwynnie think of all the criticism?
"There was a brouhaha in the beginning there, which I thought was very interesting, because people don't like you to step outside of your box. Also, journalists are terrified of celebrities having a journalistic voice. You can spend your life worrying about it or you can just do what you're doing. Especially if you're doing something just to be nice, just to share and have fun. I don't have advertisers or anything, and I would never want to."
You have to give the woman a pat on the back, even if it’s just for the use of the word 'brouhaha'.

I’m with every narky journalist out there; I’m petrified, if not a touch green. Regardless, I see that as no good reason to pan GOOP for the sake of it. Aside from the odd typo (see, she’s not that perfect), and occasional ‘duh’ recommendation, it’s not a bad read. Admittedly, I don’t earn Gywnnie’s megabucks so I do find the prices of many of her gushes out of my range. Still, they're nice to fantasise over in the same way that one would paw over designer handbags in Vogue. Nothing wrong with a bit of aspiration.

I’m also stoked to see that she recommends Pizza East in Shoreditch. I can’t exactly imagine La Paltrow troughing down a 10” cheese and tomato (even though she claims that - gasp! - she eats white flour), but I could imagine her approving of the wild rocket, fennel, almond and parmesan salad. I’ve not dined there yet, even though I walk past it every day, but I’ll definitely be popping this one on my to-do list for the weekend. Waiter, I’ll have what she’s having.