Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Was Sued For False Advertising, But She Only Owed $145,000

Gwyneth Paltrow's company got sued, but the dollar amount didn't really make sense given her multi-millionaire status.

She used to be famous solely for her acting abilities, but Gwyneth Paltrow had bigger dreams than just being a Hollywood starlet. She founded Goop in 2008, and the brand began with a newsletter. Goop later became a wellness website, complete with products for sale, plus a fashion brand, magazine, podcast, and even a documentary series on Netflix.

Stars like Cameron Diaz got on the payroll, and others endorsed Paltrow's products. But as the brand's notoriety grew, so did its marketing claims. It would eventually be the marketing—what critics called false advertising—that got Goop and Gwyneth in trouble with the law.

Being a high-powered celebrity, there's not much that can shake Gwyneth Paltrow. She also seems relatively comfortable in court, even after being sued for allegedly causing a ski accident.

The man who sued Gwyneth after he slammed into her on the slopes failed in his lawsuit, but that wasn't the only time Paltrow has gone to court.

Paltrow did go to court over her divorce from Chris Martin, though their conscious uncoupling seemed fairly tame in the scheme of celebrity divorces.

Unfortunately, other court cases didn't end so positively, or in Gwyneth's favor at all.

Goop mostly makes headlines these days for its wild products, with many snickering at Gwyneth Paltrow's idea of self-care. But the company has been successful overall, stocking shelves all over with everything from adult toys to probiotic powders to purses.

With its celebrity also came some legal troubles, specifically related to the claims made about the products. Of all things, Gwyneth's company was sued for promoting various products, the touted benefits of which were apparently not rooted in science.

In 2017, the state of California sued Goop and alleged that the company was responsible for falsely advertising the health benefits of an essential oil blend plus two different "eggs" (one jade and one quartz).

Related: Gwyneth Paltrow's Spending Is Even More Obnoxiously Extravagant Than Her Controversial Goop Products

Promotional materials claimed that the essential oil blend could 'fight depression' and that the 'yoni eggs' improved women's sexual energy and health. Other reported false advertising instances involved the recommendation that Goop readers walk barefoot to "cure insomnia" or wear Goop's perfume to improve memory or use it as an antibiotic.

A watch group originally flagged Goop's problematic claims, which led to the state of California filing a lawsuit on specific products. This, however, was after Goop was notified and then made "limited changes" to its website and marketing materials.

By 2018, the California lawsuit was settled, with Goop on the hook for a measly (by million-dollar company standards) $145K. NPR interviewed an author who penned a book about Gwyneth (Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?); he called the lawsuit settlement "largely symbolic."

Goop seemed to see it that way too; a statement from Goop noted, "This settlement does not indicate any liability on Goop’s part."

It wasn't the last time Goop was in the news for its dubious claims about products—or the safety of them.

In 2021, Gwyneth's famous candle, which was marketed as being scented as an NSFW body part, came under fire for being unsafe. One man sued Goop alleging that his candle "exploded" after burning for three hours.

While the candles carry a warning to not burn them for more than two hours, the consumer apparently ignored the warning and also considered it insufficient. The lawsuit claimed that Goop, which did not manufacture the candles (they were supplied by another company), knew the candles were defective, and thus posted a limited warning.

That lawsuit wasn't the first inkling that Goop's candles might be faulty; a woman reported that her candle exploded after only a few minutes after being lit. That case didn't make it to court, but the man who sued asked for $5 million from the company.

Related: Is Gwyneth Paltrow’s Diet Actually Wildly Unhealthy? The Real Story About What The Wellness Influencer Eats

It's unclear, from updates on the case, whether the man successfully received a settlement from the company. It would appear that the plaintiffs would have to prove that they did follow the candle's safety instructions, which were available on the website as well as on a label atop the candle.

What is clear is Goop didn't take the reports seriously, explaining, "We're confident this claim is frivolous and an attempt to secure an outsized payout from a press-heavy product."

At the time of the lawsuit, the candle had not been removed from Goop's website, but it was sold out.

Amid all the brand's legal troubles, fans might assume that Gwyneth Paltrow would have something meaningful to say, but she largely remained quiet on the subject.

Though Gwyneth Paltrow was originally the only face of Goop, it seemed that by 2017, she wasn't as active in the lifestyle brand as previously thought. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Gwyneth said of Goop, "I don’t know what the [expletive] we talk about!"

Lane is a writer who loves entertainment and media and watches as many movies as she reads books. She loves a good story, even if she has to write it herself.