In a deliciously candid moment, Gwyneth Paltrow unleashed her inner savagery on none other than former President Bill Clinton. During her appearance on the blazing hot wings challenge show “Hot Ones,” the Oscar-winning actress didn’t hold back when asked about the long-standing rumor that Clinton nodded off during a White House screening of her 1996 film “Emma.”
With her signature nonchalant flair, Paltrow confirmed the infamous incident, recounting, “True. He was snoring right in front of me.” Can you imagine the mortification of having the leader of the free world audibly catching Zs mere feet away while your artistic endeavor unfolds on the silver screen? Undeterred, Paltrow played it off with her trademark dry wit, quipping, “I was like, ‘Wow, I guess this is going to be a real hit movie.'”
But the real showstopper came when the “Shakespeare in Love” starlet punctuated the anecdote with a savage parting shot directed at the 42nd President: “But it was. So f–k you, Bill Clinton!” Talk about a mic drop moment!
While the former commander-in-chief’s apparent lack of appreciation for the Jane Austen adaptation may have stung in the moment, Paltrow can take solace in the fact that “Emma” was indeed a critical and commercial success. The romantic comedy, which also starred Toni Collette, Jeremy Northam, and Alan Cumming, raked in nearly $40 million at the global box office on a modest $8 million budget.
Paltrow’s brazen candor didn’t stop there, however. The 51-year-old also took aim at the superhero movie industrial complex, despite her own stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the “Iron Man” films. “If I look at the industry as a whole, there’s this sort of big push into superhero movies,” she opined. “I mean, you can only make so many good ones that feel truly original and yet there’s still, you know, always trying to reach as many people as possible, which sometimes hinders quality or specificity or real point-of-views.”
It’s a refreshingly unvarnished take from an A-lister who has largely stepped away from the acting world in recent years to focus on her wellness and lifestyle brand, Goop. While Paltrow has clarified that she’s not quitting acting altogether, she admits that Goop is her “full-time passion” and that she only takes on acting roles “occasionally when something is the right thing and it works out around my children and my goop life.”
Of course, Goop has courted its fair share of controversy over the years, from its infamous “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle to its promotion of various pseudoscientific health claims. But love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Paltrow has carved out a unique niche for herself in the wellness space – one that’s equal parts polarizing and undeniably successful.
In the end, Paltrow’s unapologetic candor and willingness to call out even the most powerful figures (looking at you, Clinton) is a testament to her unwavering confidence and self-assuredness. Whether you’re a fan of her acting, her lifestyle brand, or neither, there’s something inherently compelling about a celebrity who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and throw a few verbal jabs along the way.
So kudos to Gwyneth Paltrow for keeping it delightfully real – and for giving us all a hearty laugh at the expense of a former president who really should have known better than to catch some shut-eye during a screening of one of her films. That’s just bad form, Mr. Clinton.
