Topics: Gwyneth Paltrow, Feminism, US News, Shopping, Weird, Celebrity, California
Gwyneth Paltrow has hit back at the outrage her 'vagina candle' apparently caused with a pretty savage three-word response.
The 52-year-old has no regrets when it comes to selling that controversial candle, which was launched from her website at Goop at $75 a pop.
In case you missed the viral product that 'broke the internet' back in 2020, the simplistic-looking candle was wrapped in a label with a plain white background with only the words: "This Smells Like my Vagina," in black, emblazoned on it.
Now, the Californian actress has broken her silence about the ordeal, revealing how it came about in an interview at the 2025 Mindvalley Manifesting Summit in Los Angeles on Saturday (May 17) - with a blunt expletive-filled snapback to anyone who disapproves.
Advert
Giggling at the question, Paltrow said: "You know 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.'"
She said it started as a joke with Heretic perfumer, Douglas Little, who took it the extra mile.
"I was joking," she continued. "And then he [Douglas] was like, ‘Oh we should make that a candle and put it on the site.' And I thought he was kidding and I was like, 'yeah, definitely. That sounds like a winner right there,'" she said sarcastically.
However, then 'all of a sudden, it was literally on the website,' Paltrow laughed.
"And then we broke the internet, again. And then it took us a long time to live that one down," she added.
Despite the backlash, Paltrow said she defiantly decided to keep it on the site for sale - and went on to add to the 'range'.
"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", she added, and, in response to the haters, she concluded: "Go f*** yourself."
The candle has since been discontinued but did contain scents of geranium, citrus bergamot, cedar, Damask rose, and ambrette seed, and racks up prices of hundreds of dollars on the resale market, according to Page Six.
After its success, Paltrow launched another humorous duo with female-empowering messages - 'This Smells Like my Orgasm' and 'This Smells Like My Prenup'.
Another, 'Hands Off My Vagina,' came in 2022 in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, restricting women's abortion rights.
Paltrow's company went on to donate $25 per every candle to the ACLU Foundation's Reproductive Freedom Project.
