U.K. Medical Boss Blasts ‘Dodgy Procedures’ in Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Goop Lab’

By Tim Dams

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Netflix series “The Goop Lab” has been criticized by a senior British medical leader.

National Health Service (NHS) England chief executive Simon Stevens took aim at the “dubious wellness products and dodgy procedures” featured in the series while speaking at an academic event in Oxford, U.K., on Thursday.

“Goop has just popped up with a new TV series, in which and her team test vampire facials and back a bodyworker, who claims to cure both acute psychological trauma and side-effects by simply moving his hands two inches above a customer’s body,” said the NHS executive, the most senior medical professional in England.

“Her brand peddles psychic vampire repellent, says chemical sunscreen is a bad idea, and promotes colonic irrigation and DIY coffee enema machines, despite them carrying considerable risks to health.”

Stevens’ scathing comments come just days after “The Goop Lab” was first aired on on Jan. 24.

“The Goop Lab” format sees a self-styled expert on a method of healing or growth show up at the Goop offices, explain his or her methods, while often taking a shot at the medical establishment. Then, Paltrow’s staff test a version of the practice, interspersed with testimonials from non-Goopers about how their lives have been changed by it.

On its website, Goop says it loves being “vulnerable” and “asking difficult questions.”

Each episode begins with a medical advisory card that reads: “The series is designed to entertain and inform – not provide medical advice. You should always consult your doctor when it comes to personal health and before you start treatment.”

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