Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has found herself at the heart of an epic backlash, with critics calling her “tone deaf”, “stupid”, and referring to her recent shameless stunt as “Gwynocide”.
The 53-year-old actress turned lifestyle entrepreneur with her brand Goop has appeared in a promotional video for 51 Park, a 51-storey luxury residential development in Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv.
In the cringeworthy spot, Paltrow narrates a morning routine and praises the appeal of park‑side buildings.
“There’s a reason the world’s most iconic buildings are by a park,” she says.
When asked if the luxury building is in New York. She replies: “Herzliya. Israel.”
This clip has prompted a wave of criticism on social platforms, with commenters citing the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis. Indeed, mere miles away from 51 Park, Palestinians are being killed and displaced by settlers and the Israeli military. According to a recent analysis from Oxfam, more Palestinians have been killed in the last three years than in the previous 17 years combined.
While Paltrow, who was raised in an interfaith Jewish-Christian family, did not post the clip herself, many commenters posted Palestinian flags and “Free Palestine” messages on her most recent Instagram posts.
One user on X wrote: “Total moral degradation. While children in Gaza face genocide, starvation, and daily massacres, Gwyneth Paltrow is busy promoting luxury apartments in Israel. No conscience, no ethics just pure complicity with an occupying regime. Absolutely repulsive.”
Another posted: “Disgusting woman. Anything for a bit of extra cash I guess.”
One X user said: “I used to love Gwyneth Paltrow because of her acting skills. I have not missed a single movie of hers till now. Today I feel like throwing up. For a few bucks, which she already had in abundance, she sold her soul to the devil by promoting a residential development in Israel being developed on a stolen Palestinian land.”
Check out some of the reactions below:
Several public figures also chimed in, calling the advert out for its glaring lack of sensitivity and labelling Paltrow as “complicit”.
Alana Hadid, activist and sister of models Bella and Gigi Hadid, called the campaign “tone deaf” and “complicit”, while influencer Matt Bernstein slammed Paltrow for her participation in the ad, saying: “The level of greed and depravity is truly incomprehensible.”
Colin Firth’s ex-wife, Livia Giuggioli, criticised Paltrow for her “disgusting” participation in the advertising campaign and announced she has cancelled Paltrow’s upcoming visit to her farm in Italy.
“I just cancelled Gwyneth Paltrow,” Giuggioli said in a recent Instagram video. “She was supposed to come to the farm in a couple of weeks’ time on a tour, a soil-to-fork farm experience, and we just cancelled her because what she did is completely unacceptable.”
Giuggiolo added: “Making an ad for a luxury condo is as disgusting as it can be for someone [with] privilege. How detached are you from reality? You’re either so detached that you need to be cancelled, because you live in another world. Or you’re actually a really, really nasty person. Or you are stupid. Which are you, Gwyneth Paltrow?”
Paltrow has yet to address the backlash publicly, so the question goes unanswered for now.
Paltrow isn’t the only high‑profile celebrity that has faced scrutiny for business investments involving Israeli companies or projects. Last year, we reported that Leonardo DiCaprio faced similar backlash for co-financing a luxury eco-hotel in Israel. DiCaprio had previously been involved in several projects in Israel, including investments in Mobli, a social media startup, and Aleph Farms, a farmed meat company.
Israel has been accused by several human rights organizations of committing genocide in Gaza. Last week, Amnesty International released a 149-page report accusing the Israeli government of carrying out a campaign of “state-sanctioned, state-driven and state-implemented” ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly denied the allegations, saying its military campaign was aimed at defeating Hamas.