A few weeks ago, Gwyneth Paltrow brought her “Goop Summit” to London. She’s held these Goop Summits before, and they must be a major moneymaker for Gwyneth. Basically, she charges rich white women thousands of dollars to get in the door, then those women can also pay extra for sh-t like crystals that improve your acne, or stickers which heal your Parkinson’s or whatever. It’s the most elite con, the most exclusive snake oil. Personally, I’m more offended at the Goop site, because the internet is egalitarian and peasants might read one of the Goop posts and get confused with all of the pseudoscience mumbo-jumbo. But the Goop Summits are exactly what they’re supposed to be: dumb sh-t for rich bitches only.
If you’re stupid enough to pay $5000-9000 on Goop’s snake oil, then you deserve to lose that money. All of which to say, the rich bitches in London were apparently quite upset with the Goop Summit. They thought Gwyneth was a “f–king extortionist” for how shady and weird everything was. Yeah, duh. That’s the con. Which is basically what Tracy Anderson said in defense of her BFF and business partner Gwyneth:
Tracy Anderson is defending longtime pal and business partner Gwyneth Paltrow after Paltrow got heat from some attendees who said her $5,700 Goop conference in London was a Goopy rip-off. Anderson, who appeared at the Goop fest, told us: “It’s just options. She’s not telling anyone what to do, or what to wear.”
She added of the high prices: “My gyms are $900-a-month. I have been criticized time and time again, but if people really understood the craftsmanship it takes to run custom prescriptions programs at that level — in the real estate I’m in — they would understand that opportunity has a price tag. It’s just the system we live in.” Anderson added, “I also … make sure I have $9.99 DVDs. I am creating options, and Goop is also creating options.”
The Goop London session included a workout with fitness trainer Anderson, plus a sound bath, tips on how to “hydrate mindfully,” and a store with fare such as a $55 vibrator called “the Millionaire.” Anderson, who launched a capsule collection with Barneys this week, said of the backlash, “Everyone has a voice now on social media — if you are too negative, people are going to start shutting down and communities are going to be destroyed instead of built up.”
“I have been criticized time and time again, but if people really understood the craftsmanship it takes to run custom prescriptions programs at that level — in the real estate I’m in — they would understand that opportunity has a price tag. It’s just the system we live in.” Which is true, in a sense. Rich women want to be catered to and they’ll pay more to have exclusive feelings, exclusive workouts, exclusive exhaustion, exclusive care, exclusive pampering. If Tracy didn’t do it, someone else would. If Gwyneth hadn’t exploited this niche demographic so thoroughly, someone else would have too. You’re not paying thousands of dollars to learn new things at the Goop Summit, you’re paying thousands of dollars to be part of an exclusive club of ignorant rich women being validated by Gwyneth Paltrow and Tracy Anderson.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
