# Why's everyone hate Gwyneth Paltrow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179 "2013-12-12T18:23:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/1 "2013-12-12T18:23:53Z")
I’ve always thought she was great looking and a terrific actress. But I’ve been seeing all sorts of references and allusions to how people hate her. Did she do something horrendous that has provoked this? Is her child’s goofy name to blame? What is the source of the enmity? Just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/2 "2013-12-12T18:36:15Z")
Coincidentally, [cracked.com](http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-most-undeservedly-hated-famous-people-2013_p2/) more or less addressed this a few days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/3 "2013-12-12T18:40:23Z")
She has a slightly stupid website/clothing line/ philosophy called GOOP and that pisses people off, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/4 "2013-12-12T18:48:12Z")
There’s a general sense that she’s always lived surrounded by privilege and feels entitled to special attention, which she then takes for granted. (A new story I just heard a couple of days ago. Paltrow was supposedly on location and had to use a shower that other people were using. But she insisted somebody in the crew go in to the shower first and dry off the floors and walls so she wouldn’t have to touch somebody else’s water. I don’t know if this is true or not but it’s indicative of the kind of stories you hear about her.) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/5 "2013-12-12T18:51:27Z")
In general she comes off as an aristocratic ice queen who thinks she is better than the rest of us. But for me, her worst offense was the 2002 Oscars Alexander McQueen dress. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/6 "2013-12-12T19:02:47Z")
I don’t hate her. In fact, I’d like to have her over for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/7 "2013-12-12T19:14:56Z")
I’ll take her. She’ll have to pay her own way. I can’t afford her. But I’ll take her. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/8 "2013-12-12T19:25:52Z")
Can’t say I hate her personally since I don’t know her but from what little I’ve seen of her acting I find her to be rather dull. She was pretty boring in the comedy Shallow Hal even playing the straight role. Done 100x better by someone like Cameron Diaz in Something About Mary. She was a big part of why Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was such a snoozer. And she did nothing for me in any of the Iron Man movies. No chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. at all. Compare their chemistry to something like RD Jr. with Rachel McAdams in Sherlock Holmes. So maybe she’s the nicest person in the world. But if I never see her in another movie ever again that would be a positive. ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/9 "2013-12-12T19:33:03Z")
I think she’s fantastic! I thought she was really great on GLEE a few years ago and read that the cast of the show adored her also! She is also one of the few American actresses who can pull of a genuinely believable British accent! I loved the movie “Sliding Doors” with her and John Hannah and “Emma” was excellent. I also adore her mom, Blythe Danner. She is probably best known for playing Will’s mother, Marilyn Truman, on ‘Will & Grace’. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/10 "2013-12-12T19:40:29Z")
“Fishsticks” Paltrow? I dont hate her - she doesnt inspire that much emotion. She’s just a thin, pale, bland nothingburger and takes herself way too serious. ---
**Author:** ![jrsone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jrsone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrsone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/11 "2013-12-12T19:45:01Z")
She’s like watching someone take a nap. That’s only my opinion. I hear she thinks pretty highly of herself too. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/12 "2013-12-12T19:54:11Z")
She’s a crappy actress is my only reason. She is pretty enough but nothing special by Hollywood standards. She is very lightweight in acting itself and has never delivered a performance I actually liked. She has delivered a several I didn’t dislike but that is the best I can say about her. That an I still resent _Shakespeare in Love_ winning Oscars over Saving Private Ryan. Another crappy piece of fluff over an excellent movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/13 "2013-12-12T20:02:44Z")
The only reason that she has an acting career at all is because her father was the late Bruce Paltrow, a Hollywood producer and director, and her mother is the actress Blythe Danner. Otherwise she would still be waiting tables in some LA restaurant and waiting for her big break, that would never come, like so many others. Many years ago I had to sit through an afternoon viewing of “Shakespeare in Love.” I got laid later that night, but if I had seen the movie beforehand I would have skipped out on the date. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/14 "2013-12-12T20:08:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > (A new story I just heard a couple of days ago. Paltrow was supposedly on location and had to use a shower that other people were using. But she insisted somebody in the crew go in to the shower first and dry off the floors and walls so she wouldn’t have to touch somebody else’s water. I don’t know if this is true or not but it’s indicative of the kind of stories you hear about her.) Some people are so rich, famous, privileged, and sheltered that they live in a world that is inconceivable to the rest of us. I have a friend who works with a guy at Live Nation who once worked for Prince. If you don’t know, Prince is weird motherfucker. He exists in a world where if he decides he needs a giraffe at 2AM, he genuinely expects you to bring him a giraffe, and _he genuinely does not understand why that is not possible_. And trust me, you do not want to be the guy who has to try and explain this to him (my friend’s friend was that guy). I don’t know if Gwyneth Paltrow is that out of touch with reality, and perhaps Prince just has a genuine mental health issue, but money and privilege do strange things to people. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/15 "2013-12-12T20:25:41Z")
I think she’s pretty and capable as an actress. I don’t follow her particularly closely, but I liked her a lot in _Se7en_, _Shallow Hal_ (bonus points for wearing that enormous fatsuit) and _Shakespeare in Love_. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/16 "2013-12-12T20:32:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s a general sense that she’s always lived surrounded by privilege and feels entitled to special attention, which she then takes for granted. > > (A new story I just heard a couple of days ago. Paltrow was supposedly on location and had to use a shower that other people were using. But she insisted somebody in the crew go in to the shower first and dry off the floors and walls so she wouldn’t have to touch somebody else’s water. I don’t know if this is true or not but it’s indicative of the kind of stories you hear about her.) There is a local Birkenstock store that does quite a bit of business online. Several years ago there was a story about a particular hard-to-get sandal that she had her eye on, and this store had them in stock. They contacted her staff to see if she was interested in buying them, which the store thought would be good publicity for them. Her spokesperson replied back “Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t buy things. People give things to her.” The Birkenstock store basically told her to go take a flying leap. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/17 "2013-12-12T21:45:40Z")
My wife explained to me once that that a lot of women dislike her because she touts a lot of Hollywood mothering techniques, like no-carb diets and $500 baby slings. As if someone making $36,000 a year, who feeds their kids chicken nuggets, couldn’t possibly raise successful children. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/18 "2013-12-12T22:00:22Z")
I certainly don’t hate Gwyneth Paltrow. She’s both beautiful and hot in my view, and I’ve enjoyed her performances in the majority of the movies I’ve seen her in. In fact, scratch “majority”; I can’t think of a movie I’ve disliked her in. (Though I’ve been spared _Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow_.) ETA: I don’t know anything about her advice on parenting, or indeed her personal life, except that I have a vague notion she used to be married to either Brad Pitt or Ben Affleck. But as a matter of policy I avoid finding out ANYTHING about the personal lives or political views of actors, singers, writers, and directors whom I like. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/19 "2013-12-12T22:17:00Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > I think she’s fantastic! I thought she was really great on GLEE a few years ago and read that the cast of the show adored her also! That really hasn’t elevated her in my opinion. Also; Sliding Doors is just dreary, she presents herself as insufferably twee, and is married to champion bed-wetter Chris Martin. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179/20 "2013-12-12T22:40:43Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > There is a local Birkenstock store that does quite a bit of business online. Several years ago there was a story about a particular hard-to-get sandal that she had her eye on, and this store had them in stock. They contacted her staff to see if she was interested in buying them, which the store thought would be good publicity for them. Her spokesperson replied back “Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t buy things. People give things to her.” The Birkenstock store basically told her to go take a flying leap. That does not negatively affect my impression of Gwyneth Paltrow. The store was looking for free advertising. It was a business proposition pretending it wasn’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-everyone-hate-gwyneth-paltrow/676179.md?page=2)