Since she founded her lifestyle brand Goop 11 years ago, Gwyneth Paltrow has been the target of nearly relentless – and sometimes justified – criticism. She's been accused of peddling pseudoscience and being out of touch with the needs of regular women, of building a multimedia empire on overpriced, even dangerous, woo woo.

Goop and Paltrow have taken particular heat over issues related to sexual health. There were the unsubstantiated claims that $US66 ($98) jade eggs sold by the company could boost "feminine energy" when inserted into the vagina. There was Paltrow's endorsement of a spa that offered "vaginal steaming" as a treatment for "cleans[ing] your uterus, et al". More recently, there was the $US75 candle made with bergamot and cedar named This Smells Like My Vagina, which didn't put anyone's health at risk but was probably not scrupulously accurate marketing.

MCT