When Gwyneth gave off Melania vibes, the backlash was relentless. But was it fair?

June 14, 2026 — 5:00am

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There are plenty of celebrities people love to hate, and a select few where the hating is particularly satisfying. Such is the case with Hollywood actor-turned-entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow, whose icy blonde superiority both fascinates and repels.

This week Paltrow found herself freshly reviled due to two things she did.

First, she starred in a promotion for an Israeli luxury apartment development. It is a slick advertisement which owes a lot to the AI-utopia aesthetics of the video Donald Trump posted in 2025 of Gaza, re-imagined as a Dubai-style pleasure dome. In the ad, Paltrow wakes in her luxury apartment, and then embarks on a blithe morning jog around the adjacent park.

She is resplendent in athleisure gear and bathed in golden light, her bouncing ponytail apparently indifferent to the unrelenting suffering of millions of Gazans about 100 kilometres from the apartments’ planned location.

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Paltrow can advertise whatever she wants, of course, but as the entire internet pointed out in countless outraged posts, it is hard to watch the ad and not wince at its tone-deafness. It felt like the televisual equivalent of that time Melania Trump wore her infamous “I really don’t care, do you?” jacket for a visit to a detention centre housing migrant children in 2018.

Which brings us to Gwyneth’s second crime of the week, which was to appear on her own podcast (or that of her wellness company, Goop) and declare herself an independent voter when asked about her political views.

She said her husband was very progressive, explaining that he has “such a sweet heart, and he wants to, like, make sure everybody’s looked after”, but, Paltrow said, she challenges his views.

“In my journey........

© Brisbane Times