I've Been GOOP-ed

MANILA, Philippines – I have a confession to make, I am obsessed with Goop. Goop (www. goop.com) is Gwyneth Paltrow’s personal website filled with things that will “nourish the inner aspect.” An odd name for a website, but it is supposedly Ms. Paltrow’s childhood name. She claims to be completely unaware of the other meaning of Goop, which is basically a line of glue products.

In her website, the Oscar-winning starlet dishes out advice on fashion, food, travel, gift-giving and child-rearing.

The premise of the whole thing sounds a little hokey as Gwyneth’s image isn’t exactly synonymous with the lifestyle advice of the Oprah and Martha Stewart category. This is why Goop has received a lot of flack from different people.

Critics and haters have called Goop irrelevant, unhelpful, narcissistic and patronizing. Many deem it particularly insensitive to the financial woes of the times as Ms. Paltrow suggests dining at Babbo or Gramercy Tavern in New York City, or recommending a stay at this “charming” place called the Ritz in Paris, or suggesting a $1,400 weekend bag from Bottega Veneta as a Christmas gift to a dear friend.

My personal favorite is her tips on using Mallorcan salt infused with the essence of hibiscus for poussins and using any kind of caviar. She recommends salmon roe for an oyster recipe. One can only shake one’s head and say, with utmost sarcasm, “Why the hell not?!?”

Gwyneth’s lists of advice seem like they are better off sent to her recession-proof friends rather than emailed to a growing number of gawkers, myself included.

But like a train wreck, Goop’s pull is one of quiet disbelief and slow-creeping charm. You have to remind yourself that it is a website where we do not seek real life-changing advice; it is to be treated as a peek into the life of the Gwyneth Paltrow — her aspirations, her tics, her overall image of herself.

Although it fails to “nourish the inner aspect,” Goop tries to humanize Gwyneth much like following celebrities on Twitter.

In the most recent Goop newsletter, Gwyneth shares her experience with a “frenemy,” a topic most of us can relate to. She shares: “This person really did what they could to hurt me. I was deeply upset… I restrained myself from fighting back. I tried to take the high road. But one day I heard that something unfortunate and humiliating had happened to this person. And my reaction was deep relief and… happiness. There went the high road.”

If that doesn’t sound like you during one of your catty moments with your girlfriends, I don’t know what does. I like the fact that Gwyneth lets us in on a very personal moment and one can only make their most intelligent guess on who the frenemy is. (My guess is Winona Ryder.)

Despite numerous backlashes about her online presence, Gwyneth Paltrow has established not only that she is a woman of taste, class and sophistication; she is also a woman with a good pair of brass balls.

In a British Elle interview, Gwyneth responded to critics by saying that she “feels sorry” for her detractors and she “can’t pretend to be somebody who earns $25,000 a year.” And more importantly, she also told the magazine, “F## the haters.”

And this is why I continue to be Gooped.