Gwyneth Paltrow's Ex-Staffer Shares Concerning Perspective On Goop's Cleansing Culture

Oscar-winning "Shakespeare In Love" star Gwyneth Paltrow made a huge mark in the health and wellness industry with her company Goop, but not without controversy. The company has been slammed for spreading false treatment claims about their jade egg and also for promoting a "leanest livable weight" goal, which some likened to promoting thinness over health. And who could forget when Paltrow insisted on releasing *that* NSFW scented candle? The "Great Expectations" actor even tried to rope Kim Kardashian into the scheme by sending her a candle that "smells like Kim's orgasm," per Complex. We'll give you a minute to let that information wash over you.

Now, Goop and the treatments it pushes are under fire again, but this time, the call is coming from inside the house. Former Chief Content Officer Elise Loehnen, who left the company in 2020 after six years, has slammed Goop in a new IG video, saying their juice cleanses promote a "toxic wellness culture," and her participation with cleanses that are "synonymous with dieting and restriction" made her have an "unhealthy" relationship with her own body. Hold onto your jade eggs, everyone. 

In her Instagram video where she speaks directly to camera, former Goop CCO Elise Loehnen spoke frankly about the damage she said was caused after participating in Goop cleanses. Saying she "decided to foreswear" all dieting and cleansing after leaving Gwyneth Paltrow's health and wellness company, Loehnen said Goop's cleanses left her feeling like she was "always trying to punish [her body], bring it under control."

Continuing in the caption, she wrote, "I needed to break a tendency to be critical and punishing ... I stopped weighing myself completely." She later added in the video, "This time I'm doing anything like that very differently," noting that she's trying a different kind of cleanse called Kroma Wellness, which she says allows her to eat veggies or protein as snacks. "I felt much better after," she said. "What's more exciting is that I didn't retaliate by eating badly immediately. It just released me into a new, slightly healthier lane."

This is in stark contrast to what Loehnen used to say about the company Paltrow built from the ground up. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she called the "Sliding Doors" star an "inspiration," who "isn't advertising short cuts." Goop currently promotes several different detox cleanses on their website but none of them are by Kroma. People has reached out to Paltrow for comment on this about-face from her former right-hand woman, but there was no response at press time.