Are you wary of experts? Do you enjoy a fact-free lifestyle? Are you itching to splurge on non-toxic skin creams and 24-carat-gold sex toys? Well, I’ve got brilliant news. Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s controversial lifestyle brand, has signed a deal with Netflix. Soon we will all be able to stream Paltrow’s glamorous strain of woo on demand.
Keeping with the general theme of Goop, facts about the new Netflix project are hard to come by. All we know so far is that the docuseries’ 30-minute episodes will be hosted by Paltrow and Elise Loehnen, Goop’s chief content officer. Loehnen has also said the series “seeks to dial up the aesthetics and quality of storytelling surrounding issues like mental, physical and sexual health”. Which, again keeping with the general theme of Goop, sounds lovely but means little.
Goop’s deal quickly sparked a backlash. While the company has a devoted following, it has attracted criticism for pushing potentially dangerous pseudoscience. Last year, for example, Goop paid $145,000 (£112,000) in fines for making unsubstantiated claims about its jade vagina eggs. It has also drawn flak for promoting dubious practices such as coffee colonics, which can have unhealthy effects. And Goop’s “wellness summit” in New York last year featured a panelist with strong antivaccination views.
While it may be unfair to judge Paltrow’s Netflix show before it launches, it’s unlikely that the series will depart from the scientific illiteracy embedded in the Goop brand. And that is deeply worrying. We live in an age in which medical misinformation is rife. Measles is re-emerging because people listen to celebrities, not doctors. Indeed, the World Health Organization recently declared “vaccine hesitancy” one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Netflix has 139 million subscribers worldwide. Its deal with Goop both validates and amplifies pseudoscience. Which should make everyone feel very queasy indeed.