Well looky here. Gwyneth Paltrow landed the cover of People magazine this week; she’s being called The World’s Most Beautiful Woman. Ludicrous for a few reasons, including the fact that the editors at People did not meet all of the women in the world. But also: This cover comes just two weeks after Star magazine named Goop Paltrow the most Hated in Hollywood.
Tucked inside the “drunk and alone” issue of Star — dated April 23 — was a list of the 20 Most Hated in Hollywood. Chris Brown was number 20; Lindsay was 16; Katherine Heigl was 5, John Mayer was 4. Gwyneth Paltrow landed the number 1 spot. Six days ago, Fox News ran a story called “Why Does Everyone Hate Gwyneth Paltrow?” Google “hate Gwyneth Paltrow” and you’ll get 13 million results. While this issue has been around for a few years — witness the 2009 piece “Gwyneth Paltrow Wonders Why People Hate Her” and the 2010 article “Why Do So Many People Hate Gwyneth Paltrow” — Google trends shows we may be reaching peak Paltrow hate. There’s even a Tumblr titled Eff You, Gwyneth Paltrow.
Of course, the People cover is a marketing tool, and the celebrities chosen for covers like Most Beautiful or Sexiest Man Alive always have a product to promote. In Patrow’s case, it’s Iron Man 3, which hits theaters May 3. This issue of People is dated May 6 and hits newsstands nationwide on Friday, April 26. Iron Man comes to us from Paramount Pictures, one of the largest — top-grossing — movie studios. Iron Man 2 has grossed over $600 million worldwide, and there’s no reason to believe this sequel — which is also sort of a spin-off of The Avengers — won’t earn a whopping amount of cash. In fact, the folks at Box Office Mojo believe IM3 will “absolutely” earn over one billion dollars. Millions will flock to the theater while this issue is on stands. Money is what’s truly driving this choice, not beauty or likability. Cash rules everything around me. (Although, in all fairness, “I love Gwyneth Paltrow” tracks higher than “I hate Gwyneth Paltrow.”)
Funny: In a behind-the-scenes video clip, Paltrow says, “When I first heard that I was going to be on the cover of People’s Most Beautiful issue, I honestly thought someone was playing a joke on me.” No, dear. The joke is on us.