Apparently, that Gwyneth Paltrow "takedown" article in Vanity Fair isn't going to be much of a takedown at all.
Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter used his Editor's Letter in the March 2014 issue to talk about "The Paltrow Affair," the media blitz that ensued after The New York Times revealed Paltrow was attempting to stifle a Vanity Fair profile on her by bluntly telling friends to ignore the publication.
"If you are asked for quotes or comments, please decline," she reportedly wrote in an email to those close to her. "Also, I recommend you all never do this magazine again.”
While it might've been the email heard 'round the world, the actress' reaction was apparently overblown. Carter said the actual story was a "far cry from the almost mythical story that people were by now expecting."
It would not be an "epic takedown" like Us Weekly reported, nor would it dish up juicy details about a Paltrow affair like the New York Post surmised. Instead, what contributing editor Vanessa Grigoriadis wrote was an essay focused on the public's love-hate relationship with the Oscar winner.
Carter admitted he did speak to Paltrow in October, discussing the buzz around the piece and her reaction to it. At the time, she asked him for advice on how to get the "haters" on her side. He jokingly suggested she gain 15 pounds.
Alas, the cart was already before the horse at that point.
"The Gwyneth Paltrow saga had clearly just gotten away from us," he wrote. "My instinct was to continue to let it sit until people had forgotten about it, or at least until expectations had diminished. The fact is the Gwyneth Paltrow story, the one we ordered up, as delightfully written as it was, is not the one the anti-Gwynethites expect. That it has generated more mail and attention than many of the biggest stories we've ever published only makes the situation more complicated."
In October, Carter told The Times of London the Paltrow piece would run because "she sort of forced my hand." However, it is unclear if or when the profile will be published. A representative for Vanity Fair was not immediately available for further comment.
Click here to read the excerpt from Carter's letter. The full letter can be read in the March 2014 issue of Vanity Fair, "The 20th Annual Hollywood Issue."
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