Reaching New Depths

Sometimes you see something that just seems so weird, wrong and off putting that you honestly can't believe it got made. No, I am not talking about the recent movie version of the musical Cats, I'm talking about the trailer for The Goop Lap, a new six part series coming to Netflix on January 24th in which Gwyneth Paltrow will explore various "wellness issues".

Netflix say the show is aimed at people who are "deeply inquisitive" and want to gain an understanding of "boundary-pushing wellness topics" and it will be looking at such topics as energy healing, psychedelics, psychic mediums and, well, orgasms. Much like the company the show it based on, Goop, the show appears to be largely aimed at women and involves practices that are referred to, in the trailer itself, as "unregulated" and "dangerous". At one point in the trailer Paltrow proclaims "what the f&$% are you doing to people?", though whether this is aimed at the people pushing these "dangerous" and "unregulated" practices or at the Netflix executives who put this on TV it is not entirely clear.

For those not in the know, and I envy you, Paltrow's company Goop have been pushing "dangerous" and "unregulated" products for years now, and perhaps unsurprisingly have landing themselves in trouble with regards to the claims they have made about some of those products. Just last year the company was forced to pay $145,000 in civil penalties related to the repeatedly debunked claims it was making about it's Yoni eggs, jade and rose quartz eggs that were designed to be inserted into the vagina and which Goop claimed would "balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles, prevent uterine prolapse, and increase bladder control". Gynaecologists on the other hand point out that these eggs, being made of porous material, would likely act as a breeding ground for bacteria and were a "risk factor for bacterial vaginosis or even the potentially deadly toxic shock syndrome". You can still pick them up from the Goop website by the way, for the low low price of £60 and possibly your life.

While you are there you could also splash out and spend over £100 on a coffee enema, a product that health experts warn could cause "arthritis, allergies and asthma" as well as "cramping, bloating, nausea and vomiting". Oh and in case you were wondering they also have all of your energy healing, homeopathic and vaginal steam cleaning needs covered as well. They also promote the idea that bras cause cancer, which they don't, and the use of bee-sting therapy, which claimed the life of a 55-year-old Spanish woman last year.

So there you go. As with so many other things in 2020 we seem to be off to a great start with regards to promoting pseudoscience. There is something of a growing backlash against Netflix for this move but it is unlikely to make any difference at this stage. Anyway, here's the trailer if you want to check it out for yourself, and I am sorry for inflicting it on you in advance, though once you have watched it read the comment section and it will restore a little bit of your faith in humanity, and yes the irony of that is not lost on me.