If the word “Goop” does not cause you to immediately roll your eyes, then it is quite possible that you don’t know what it is.
Let’s start with a quick primer on that.
What is Goop?
Goop is described as a wellness and lifestyle brand. It is in fact a money making venture founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Basically under that label they sell overpriced nonsense and pseudoscientific bullshit packaged up as something good and healthy, then sold to gullible victims. It is one giant con.
Permit me to quote mine the Wikipedia page a bit …
…A number of products sold by Goop, as well as ideas promoted in its blog posts, have been criticized for having no scientific basis, not producing the desired results, having no medical benefit, or potentially even being harmful….
… Timothy Caulfield wrote a book on the negative impact of celebrity endorsement called Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? …
…In January 2017, Goop marketed the “Jade Egg” for US$66 as a form of vaginal weightlifting which, according to their website, is “used by women to increase sexual energy, health, and pleasure.”[157] Gynecologists were critical of this product,[158] with Gunter calling it a “load of garbage”.[159] In 2018, this post was tagged as an “Ancient Modality”.[160] In September 2018 the Goop company agreed to pay $145,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that Goop has posted claims about the eggs and about a herbal remedy, both without scientific basis.[161]…
…In June 2017, Goop marketed “Body Vibes”, wearable stickers that were claimed to “re-balance the energy frequency in our bodies.”[162] …
…In October 2018, the Good Thinking Society reported the company to the National Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority, claiming that Goop had breached over 113 advertising laws of the UK. Laura Thomason, project manager at the Good Thinking Society told The Independent:[169]…
…On January 20, 2020, speaking at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford,[170] the head of the UK’s National Health Service, Simon Stevens spoke about misinformation which harms patients, exemplified by Goop’s claim that “chemical sunscreen is a bad idea”, and Goop’s promotion of colonic irrigation, which Stevens said are “carrying considerable risk to health.”…
I think that should be sufficient background.
If you doubt any of that, then you can easily check. It is all verifiable.
Goop and COVID-19 – The con continues
Yes, she is still peddling nonsense.
Some of the old nonsense might indeed has passed. Low and behold, the queen of pseudoscientific nonsense has some brand new Goop BS to peddle to you.
She is on Netflix. Variety reports that “The Goop Lab” has a second season coming. It’s on netflix so it all just must be true and factual … right?
So what is the COVID-19 angle here, what is she be peddling?
Ars Technica has some fascinating insights.
They report that Paltrow blogs about how she fell ill with Covid, has since recovered, but now has what is known as long Covid. This condition is quite real, many who get COVID-19 and recover report continuous and ongoing symptoms. The UK’s NHS discusses that here.
Here are some details, via Are Technica, of the Long Covid nonsense that Goop is now promoting …
…the actor-turned-peddler of exploding vagina candles consulted with a chiropractor (naturally). The chiropractor, Will Cole, set Paltrow on a part-fasting, part-keto dietary plan that’s somehow “plant-based,” except that it includes “fish and a few other meats.” To complement this “freewheeling” diet, Paltrow also gulps a $102 fist-full of vitamins and supplements, which get washed down with a $60 “detoxifying” powder mixed with water.
Even though Paltrow says that she felt “energized, healthier” before even starting the diet, Cole informed her that based on her “labs” she needs a lot of healing, which will take “longer than usual.” Because, of course, who even needs evidence of benefits in the short term when you can just sign yourself up indefinitely for a pricy, unproven, long-term treatment that will pay off… someday… probably?
In addition to Cole’s protocol, the head Gooper has found some methods of her own for easing her long-COVID symptoms. Despite battling fatigue, she says she has energy and has been exercising in the mornings, including doing a lot of hiking. To keep trekking, she endorses a $220 pair of hiking shoes, a $145 hiking tank top, and an $8,600 gold necklace. [Yes, you read that correctly.] Apparently, Paltrow has a thing for wearing necklaces, often several at once. “But for a hike, just this [$8,600] one is perfect,” she writes.
When she’s not scaling mountains to combat her COVID fatigue, she focuses her foggy mind on making certain her skin looks good for her many Zoom meetings. She touts four products just for this part of her long-COVID regimen. They are a $500 infrared sauna blanket, a $98 oil, a $125 serum, and $125 overnight acid peel.
And after all of that expensive exercising, the skin care regimen, and the video conferences, Paltrow unwinds in a $125 “Goop University” T-shirt and a $32 mocktail served in a $112 glass.
Would anybody actually be stupid enough to spend vast sums of money on complete nonsense?
Apparently yes. Goop as a brand is worth about $250 million.
Remember, we live in a time when millions of people looked upon utter incompetence and corruption in the White House for over four years, and despite over half a million dead, ticked the box in the voting booth in Nov 2020 that says “Yes please, I’ll have more of that”.