Gwyneth Paltrow's latest Goop wellness summit has sparked backlash from a few attendees.
Page Six reports that some of the people who signed up to attend "In Goop Health 2019" on June 29 and 30 in London were unhappy and felt let down after paying $5,700 to attend all weekend.
Among the chief complaints? Gwyneth didn't appear often enough, the weekend felt like a giant Goop sales pitch and the cost was too high for what was offered. One anonymous summit-goer was so irritated by what the New York Post's gossip column called "the aggressive Goop hype" that she branded Gwyneth "a f - - -ing extortionist" in a WhatsApp message to other attendees, Page Six claimed.
"Gwyneth acts like she's a health goddess, but actually she's a pretentious, greedy extortionist," a summit-goer told Page Six. "She had a ton of security… She was unapproachable. She did the minimum — a few fireside chats with Twiggy and Penelope Cruz, then she put on her Birkenstocks and snuck out… I was a huge fan of Gwyneth; now I feel like I have lost my faith in God."
According to the Goop site, attendees could book a "Summit Pass" for Saturday for about $1,260, then sign up a la carte for Sunday workshops and classes that started at about $38. A Goop pop-up shop, which sold items such as beauty products, books and a $55 sex toy dubbed "The Millionaire," was open during the weekend too. Gwyneth gave a tour of the Goop pop-up shop at Harvey Nichols department store on her Instagram account (daughter Apple Martin filmed it).
The top-tier ticket — a "Wellness Weekender" pass that included accommodations and access to VIP activities (like a workout class with Gwyneth and trainer Tracy Anderson and cocktails with Goop's chief content officer, Elise Loehnen) — cost $5,700. That was the option the Goop summit website offered "if you want to make a baller weekend out of it."
According to Page Six, Goop encouraged summit-goers to book hotel rooms at the Kimpton Fitzroy London at a rate of $1,300 for two nights, which included a gluten-free breakfast. Some people were irked, apparently, after learning that the hotel's weekend rates were less, though it appears that $250-a-night-rooms mentioned by Page Six were smaller and absent the same perks.
A rep for Goop disputed the claims, telling Page Six that attendees in fact enjoyed the weekend's schedule of offerings, which also included panels with Gwyneth and wellness experts; beauty, body and mind classes; a workshop with a psychotherapist teaching how to "dissolve negativity" and "replace it with an ongoing sense that there's something greater than yourself on your side"; breakfast, lunch and snacks provided by plant-based London restaurants Farmacy Kitchen and Farm Girl and more.
According to a statement from Goop, "The overwhelming response to our London Summit was incredibly positive. It should be noted that the actual value of the weekend package was over $8,000. The cost included a hotel suite (valued at $1,600) and a gift bag valued at $3,000, among other items. During the event, Gwyneth opened the day, conducted three fireside chats (almost half of the day's panels) and hosted a workout and Q&A the next day."