‘A f **king extortionist’: Fury at Gwyneth over wellness summit

Gwyneth Paltrow has come under fire after she charged fans more than $8000 to attend a Goop retreat — only to skip out on some activities.

Attendees of Gwyneth Paltrow’s UK wellness summit in London are revolting after they were charged $US5700 ($A8148) to attend — then subjected to a weekend-long Goop sales pitch, while the actress skipped out on some of the festivities.

One attendee told Page Six that a prominent British guest was so appalled by the aggressive Goop hype that she sent a WhatsApp message to fellow attendees saying, “GP (what the Goop community calls Paltrow) is a f ***ing extortionist.”

Those at the event this weekend were urged to book rooms through Goop at $US1300 ($A1858) for two nights at the Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel, but some later discovered that rates that weekend started at $US250 ($A357) a night.

(The Goop rooms were suites with a gluten-free breakfast included.)

Goop CEO Gwyneth Paltrow speaks onstage at In Goop Health Summit Los Angeles 2019 in May. Picture: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Goop.

The event featured a “health summit” where Gwyneth — who was surrounded by security — offered helpful tips such as “creativity with your hands is like channelling God,” how to “hydrate mindfully” along with a sound bath, and a workout with her trainer Tracy Anderson.

An on-site Goop store offered fare like a $US55 ($A78) vibrator named the Millionaire (because it “feels like a million bucks”).

One attendee told Page Six: “Gwyneth acts like she’s a health goddess, but actually she’s a pretentious, greedy extortionist. She had a ton of security … She was unapproachable.

“She did the minimum — a few fireside chats with Twiggy and Penelope Cruz, then she put on her Birkenstocks and snuck out … I was a huge fan of Gwyneth; now I feel like I have lost my faith in God.”

One attendee likened the negative experience to being like she had “lost my faith in God”. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images.

A Goop rep said the true value of the weekend was over $US8000 ($A11,435) because of free extras including golden facials and “far-infra-red gemstone therapy” as well as health panels not connected to Goop.

As for Gwyneth, “In addition to walking around the summit, she also hosted an intimate workout class with Tracy … followed by … a panel, where she and Tracy answered attendee questions in an honest, casual setting … We have not received negative feedback … (It) was more along the lines of, ‘Thanks for an amazing weekend!’”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission