Gwyneth Paltrow's 'vagina poster' slammed as Netflix show sparks concern

Gwyneth Paltrow is taking her controversial lifestyle brand Goop to the silver screen with a Netflix series confirmed for January 24th.

‘Goop Lab’ will explore alternative medical practices – some of which are unregulated, as one woman admits in the trailer.

Already a divisive brand thanks to certain unsubstantiated sexual health practices, Gwyneth has recommended in the past, the latest news has predictably unleashed a tidal wave of pushback online.

Among everything cited by irate medical practitioners and citizens alike, there is one troubling detail in the announcement which has stolen the show.

Namely, the advertisement which one fan dubbed ‘the vagina poster’.

Shared to Twitter by Netflix, the poster shows Gwyneth smiling serenely in the middle of a pattern in various shades of pink which does remind the viewer a hell of a lot of, well, a vagina.

“What’s going on with this pic? Is she supposed to be a jade egg? Or maybe some mugwort steam?” one witty onlooker wondered, referring to the jade ‘Yoni Eggs’ the site recommended be inserted into the vagina.

“Why is she in a vagina?” another wondered.

“Who designed this poster?” was another’s takeaway.

It’s a question that makes perfect sense given Gwyn’s history with vagina-related advice.

Why Goop is so controversial

Goop has faced criticism in the past over its support of controversial treatments, most infamously the recommendations that ‘jade eggs’ and vaginal steaming promote vaginal health.

The articles resulted in the company paying a settlement over misleading claims and accusations of promoting pseudo-science.

In the finding, the District Attorney at the time, Tony Rackauckas slammed Goop’s offending products as ‘snake oil’.

“People have been selling snake oil for a long time. This is just another type of snake oil,” the lawyer told CBS News.

The items have since been renamed and offending claims removed.

While Jade Eggs are no longer for sale on the site, a ‘VFit Intimate Wellness Solution’, a device that seems to be a heated vibrator, is available.

The device is described as ‘using red light and gentle warmth to stimulate blood flow and promote intimate well-being” with the vibration an added bonus.

Oh, and it will set you back over $700, no returns accepted, though in this case, at least one scientific study has cleared the device for use.

The site continues to attract pushback from individual members of the medical community, who have spoken out in the past.

Dr Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN, and other medical professionals have spoken out against the practices the company was originally slammed for.

Dr Gunter slammed the site in many articles, most notably labelling it a “scare factory.”

Dr Anna McNulty, Director of Sydney Sexual Health, responded to the 2015 vaginal steaming claim telling The Sydney Morning Herald, "your vagina is very good at keeping itself healthy. Just leave it alone."

Gwyneth Paltrow hits back

Now however the Oscar-winner has hit back arguing Goop, which introduced disclaimers in 2018, has learned from its mistakes.

In an appearance on CNBC’s Power Lunch on Monday, the Oscar winner defended seeking out “alternative ways of healing” that may help women who feel overlooked by modern medicine.

“Look, well, I think when we were a little start-up and didn’t know about claims and regulatory issues and all, you know, we made a few mistakes back in the early days,” she told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.

“But, you know, for over a year now, we’ve had an incredibly robust and brilliant science and regulatory team in-house. It’s led by an MIT scientist.”

In the trailer, one of the Goop workers explains their perception on the role of Goop as a lifestyle site.

“What we try to do at Goop is to explore ideas that may seem out there or too scary,” she says.

Netflix users slam show

It seems for many members of the public, the ideas do remain ‘too scary’.

Twitter users are irate and continue to slam Goop, as well as Netflix for taking their unusual ideas to a very public streaming platform.

“No. We don’t need snakeoil and health wuwu disinformation given a platform because it’s peddled by a celebrity. Do better. #HealthLiteracy #ScienceRules,” one woman wrote.

“Is she going to discuss the harmful suggestions & ideas about vaginas she gives to women?” another wondered.

Some even threatened to pull out of the streaming service.

“Yeah, this might make me cancel my Netflix. Has Dr Jen Gunter seen this? Can she have a show instead? Please?” one woman wrote.

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