Gwyneth Paltrow DEFENDS selling Goop’s controversial ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’ candle

Gwyneth Paltrow suited up to attend the Mindvalley Manifesting Summit 2025 in Los Angeles on Saturday where she was confronted about Goop’s controversial ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’ candle.

In 2020, the 52-year-old Goop CEO-founder teamed up with Heretic Parfum founder Douglas Little to create the $75 candle scented with geranium, citrusy bergamot, cedar absolutes, Damask rose, and ambrette seed.

‘That product is so fascinating because we were messing around with different scents one day. And I smelled something and I was like, “Oh, that smells like… you know,”‘ Gwyneth recalled during the sold-out Q&A.

‘I was joking. And then [Douglas] was like, “Oh we should make that a candle and put it on the site.”‘

Paltrow thought Little was kidding and she sarcastically agreed that it ‘sounded like a winner.’

‘All of a sudden, it was literally on the website. And then we broke the Internet again. And then it took us a long time to live that one down,’ the Oscar winner said of the discontinued candle that now sells for $400 on eBay.

Gwyneth Paltrow suited up to attend the Mindvalley Manifesting Summit 2025 in Los Angeles on Saturday where she was confronted about Goop’s controversial ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’ candle

In 2020, the 52-year-old Goop CEO-founder teamed up with Heretic Parfum founder Douglas Little to create the $75 candle scented with geranium, citrusy bergamot, cedar absolutes, Damask rose, and ambrette seed

‘But, I kept it on the site because there is an aspect to women’s sexuality, that I think, we’re socialized to feel a lot of shame. And I sort of loved this kind of punk rock idea. “We are beautiful and we are awesome and go f*** yourself.”‘

But it wasn’t all rose-scented success as Texas customer Colby Watson filed a $5M class action lawsuit against the lifestyle brand in 2021 when his vagina candle allegedly ‘exploded’ after burning for ‘an estimated three hours or less.’

Months earlier, London customer Jody Thompson alleged that her vagina candle ‘exploded’ in her living room and sparked a similar ‘inferno.’

In 2022, Goop released a $75 ‘Hands Off My Vagina’ candle benefitting the ACLU in honor of the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which was overturned by the Supreme Court the same year.

Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh all declared Roe v. Wade was ‘precedent’ and ‘settled law’ while under oath during their confirmation hearings, but then promptly overturned it with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

The LA-born nepo baby originally launched Goop in 2008 as a weekly e-mail newsletter providing new age advice before expanding the brand into e-commerce, a wellness summit, a print magazine, a podcast, and a Netflix docuseries.

On the personal front, Gwyneth has two children – daughter Apple, 21; and son Moses, 19 – from her decade-long marriage to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and they ‘consciously uncoupled’ in 2013.

Apple has been acting in plays when she’s not studying law, history, and society at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

Moses fronts the band Dancer Dancer Dancer Dancer when he’s not busy with his freshman studies at Brown University in Providence, RI.

Gwyneth recalled during the sold-out Q&A: Gwyneth recalled during the sold-out Q&A: ‘That product is so fascinating because we were messing around with different scents one day. And I smelled something and I was like, “Oh, that smells like… you know”‘

Paltrow continued: ‘I was joking. And then [Douglas] was like, “Oh we should make that a candle and put it on the site”‘

The Oscar winner said of the discontinued candle that now sells for $400 on eBay: ‘All of a sudden, it was literally on the website. And then we broke the Internet again. And then it took us a long time to live that one down’

Gwyneth added: ‘But, I kept it on the site because there is an aspect to women’s sexuality, that I think, we’re socialized to feel a lot of shame. And I sort of loved this kind of punk rock idea. “We are beautiful and we are awesome and go f*** yourself”‘

But it wasn’t all rose-scented success as Texas customer Colby Watson filed a $5M class action lawsuit against the lifestyle brand in 2021 when his vagina candle allegedly ‘exploded’ after burning for ‘an estimated three hours or less’ 

In 2022, Goop released a $75 ‘Hands Off My Vagina’ candle benefitting the ACLU in honor of the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which was overturned by the Supreme Court the same year 

Paltrow originally launched Goop in 2008 as a weekly e-mail newsletter providing new age advice before expanding the brand into e-commerce, a wellness summit, a print magazine, a podcast, and a Netflix docuseries (pictured in 2020)

Last year, the LA-born nepo baby wrapped her role as Timothée Chalamet’s (R, pictured October 16) much older love interest in Josh Safdie’s solo feature directorial debut Marty Supreme, which hits US theaters December 25

Last year, Paltrow wrapped her role as Timothée Chalamet’s much older love interest in Josh Safdie’s solo feature directorial debut Marty Supreme, which hits US theaters December 25.

A24’s $70M-budget ping pong drama also stars Tyler the Creator, Fran Drescher, Penn Jillette, Abel Ferrera, and Sandra Bernhard.

The empty nester will also have a cameo in Rachel Israel’s indie comedy Miracle on 74th Street alongside Drew Barrymore, Jill Kargman, Justin Bartha, David Krumholtz, Christine Taylor, and Jason Biggs.