Close your eyes and imagine Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Brown sit before you both perched on separate dunk tanks. It's your turn to throw. Who do you choose?
In 2013, Star sent a fastball whirling toward Paltrow's tank, saddling her with an award even Anne Hathaway didn't prepare a speech for: Most Hated Celebrity. (Side note: In our hearts, Chris Brown will hold this dishonor for life.)
Paltrow herself admits she was taken aback by the label in a new interview with Stephen Sackur, host of BBC News' "Hard Talk," at the Cannes Lions.
"First of all I was like, 'I'm the most hated celebrity?'" she said, according to E! News. "More than, like, Chris Brown? What did I do?"
Maybe Goop had become too, well, Goopy at that point. (How many diamond-encrusted truffle shavers does one need?!) Or maybe we were all too obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence to give a former American sweetheart any love.
"I see where you are coming from, but maybe you just make people feel bad sometimes," Sackur explained on behalf of anyone who's seen "Mordecai."
Although Paltrow acknowledged how her presence could be off-putting, she stood her ground, as that was never her "intention."
"All I can do is be my authentic self, and if you know me, then you know who I am, and that I have fun and eat and am so appreciative for my life," she added. "But I think there are things about me that make people draw conclusions."
One of these conclusions she'd like to rebuke is "a sort of Hollywood princess idea." For many, Paltrow's affluent lifestyle stymies the connection to her fans, as she is presumed to be too cold, out of touch and, well, just the epitome of privilege. But as she has made clear in other interviews, Gwyneth would like to remind you that she received no support from her famous parents, the late producer Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, after college.
"My parents did well, and I was able to go to a fantastic school, and we grew up in New York City, but the minute I left my college to try to pursue acting, my father was really supportive. But he said, you know, 'You are completely on your own.' So, he never gave me anything. I never had any supplementation, he never helped me with my rent, I never had a trust fund," Paltrow said. "So the idea that I am spoiled or that I didn't work for what I have is just not accurate, but I can see how somebody might have that perception."
OK, Gwyneth. Maybe we were too quick too judge, but ...
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